Coastal Development Project in Puerto Aventuras Stopped by Environmental Authorities

The Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) has halted a real estate project that was seeking a special permit to change the use of forest land. The project intended to build 61 apartments along the Puerto Aventuras coastline in the Solidaridad municipality. The development, which was aiming to be an exclusive complex with an investment of 115 million pesos, included plans for 16 four-story residential buildings and a two-story commercial area on the same site. The permit was denied by Alejandro Pérez Hernández, the General Director of Environmental Impact and Risk of Semarnat, to the company "Latitud 40, S.A. de C.V." who applied for it on June 16, 2022. The company, established in San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo León, in 2006, is owned by brothers José Aurelio, Juan Bernardo, and Ricardo Lobatón Bernard, and Rodolfo and Rafael Correa Arroniz.

The project's proposal was to construct three blocks on a 14,854 square meter plot, located on Bahía Xcacel Street. The first block was set to include four commercial spaces, two on the ground floor and two upstairs, each ranging from 70 to 100 square meters. The second block planned for four four-story towers (13.45 meters high) with 16 apartments (four per level), each featuring three bedrooms, three full bathrooms, balconies, and elevators. The third block was designed for another 12 towers to house 45 apartments (one per floor), with additional amenities like a reception, business center, gym, and social areas. The plans also included communal terraces, solariums, jacuzzis, and relaxation areas on the rooftops of all buildings.

The permit was denied due to the lack of sufficient details presented in the project's description. The project intended to modify the coastal scrubland in 6,074 square meters, equivalent to 40.9 percent of the entire plot. It was also denied for violating several provisions established in the General Law on Climate Change, the municipal Ecological Planning Program, and the Urban Development Program of the Aventuras Solidaridad Population Center 2011-2050, regarding maximum density and restrictions on permitted heights and levels.

The company's main activities include real estate purchase and sale, management, and leasing of urban properties, as well as construction, urbanization, and subdivision of land, among other things. Four months ago, the company shifted its focus to acquiring real estate assets for development, and their subsequent disposal or lease for its own and third parties nationally and internationally, according to information from Electronic Commercial Folio 99561 of the Public Commerce Register of the Secretariat of Economy.