Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Creating a new Cancún: Puerto Peñasco takes off
'Arizona's beach' may not be quaint for long
DAVID PITTMAN, SHERYL KORNMAN,
LA MONICA EVERETT-HAYNES
Tucson Citizen
and The Arizona Republic
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The once quiet fishing village of Puerto Peñasco, Son., is destined to become Mexico's next popular coastal destination resort, say Tucsonans with real estate and other interests there.
The state of Sonora, which borders Arizona, is about to launch a roughly $1 million advertising campaign, its largest ever, to convince Arizonans that Sonora is full of wonders within easy reach.
Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point, is on the Gulf of California and about a four-hour drive from Tucson, making it the closest sea beach.
Red-hot growth in the building of luxury homes and condos in and near Rocky Point is being fueled by Arizonans, who have turned the community into Arizona's beach.
"Condominium units are selling out faster than we can build them," Herb Kay, a Tucson investment adviser who is a Rocky Point developer and lender, told the Tucson Citizen.
About $800,000 of the advertising budget will be spent in Arizona, with the rest in New Mexico and other Sonoran target regions, The Arizona Republic reported.
In comparison, the Arizona Office of Tourism plans a $120,000 campaign this spring in Sonora to persuade Mexicans who visit Tucson and Phoenix for shopping to explore places such as Sedona, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.
While Sonora's campaign aims to boost awareness, Rocky Point is already well known and growing.
"I was there two weeks ago (and) the new construction is amazing," said Margie Emmermann, director of the state tourism office. "Everywhere there are new towers developing."
Emmermann joined Sonoran officials recently at a news conference in Phoenix to review developments and plans for Sonora, with which Arizona has an agreement for binational promotion.
- Roughly 1,000 condominiums are sprouting from the sandy soil and another 1,000 are said to be in planning stages. About 800 condos reportedly were built from 1994 to 2004.
Private investment has more than tripled, to a projected $268 million this year from $76 million in 2002, Sonoran officials said.
- The Rocky Point airport is targeted for a $1 million runway extension and new terminal, and a new airport capable of landing commercial jets is planned for about 2008.
- A new highway is planned from the Yuma-area port of entry at San Luis that will take motorists from the west on a more direct path to Rocky Point that then follows the coast to Guaymas, Son.
"This highway will open things up to those in southern California, who cannot afford their own real estate anywhere near water," Kay, a member of the Arizona-Sonora Commission, a group of business people promoting cross-border commerce, told the Citizen.
- Phoenix's Westwind Air Service will begin Friday/Sunday flights to and from Rocky Point on March 1 from Deer Valley Airport. No commercial airlines fly from Tucson to Rocky Point.
- Federal projects intended to create a "nautical ladder" for sailboats and cruise ships up the coast of the gulf, also known as the Sea of Cortez, include plansfor a new marina in Rocky Point and a larger marina with a hotel and commercial project in Guaymas.
PLANS FOR ROCKY POINT:
- Private investment has soared to $268 million, with 1,000 condominiums being built and another 1,000 in the works.
- The Rocky Point airport should get a $1 million runway extension and new terminal.
- The Sonora government will spend $1 million for an advertising campaign.
- The federal government has announced plans for a new marina.
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