The physical landscape of Sayulita is constantly changing, in part because of floods, waves, tides, and other natural phenomena, but mostly because people build houses. For better or worse, the construction of trophy houses atop the hills around town represents the most significant element in our ever-changing visual landscape.
This has been going on for a couple of decades now, and no doubt will continue into the future, with the volume and intensity of new construction driven by economic cycles in the United States, Canada, Mexico and elsewhere. As a result, almost everybody in Sayulita lives or has lived next to, close to, on top of, or near a building site, for better or worse. Much of the time our hills and valleys are alive with the sound of…construction. More importantly, these new buildings forever alter the visual landscape. They change what we look at, living here.
However, nothing built to date (except perhaps the hulking Villa Amor, in the same direction) comes close to affecting the visual landscape of Sayulita to the degree that the project known as Punta Sayulita will affect it. We all look out to sea every day, and what we now see, alongside the ocean, is Punta Sayulita. The once-pristine, jungle-draped peninsula that forms the southern edge of Sayulita’s little bay is being transformed into an enclave of luxury homes, available and affordable only to the rich. The developers are making that little green mountain, behind which the sun sets every day, into a gated community, and the homes in this gated community will be what we see, instead of jungled-draped hill, in front of the setting sun. What we have discovered in the past year, watching the first houses going up out there, is that the view will never be the same.
So it goes, when paradise can be bought and sold.
Development has its downside, and for those for whom a place like Punta Sayulita will be forever unattainable—that is to say, 99.9 per cent of the people in the world, and just about everybody in Sayulita as well—the downside is the disappearance of another wild place. And this one is so close to home!
And yet—all is not lost, not by any stretch. The developers of Punta Sayulita are doing a thoughtful, environmentally sensitive, and aesthetically-pleasing job of it. Considering the scale of what they are doing, this development has a very low profile. Literally, for they have chosen not to build anything above the ridge line, and this makes a significant difference, visually speaking. In the end, when that jungle-covered hill is just a memory, a photograph in the file, what has replaced it will have a different kind of beauty: more civilized, perhaps more elegant. It will not be the same, but at least, as several people have said, “It could have been much worse. It could have been a Marriott Hotel.” And they are right. It could have been a 500-room chain hotel planted out there, or 300 ugly condominiums piled up on top of the hill, or a hodge-podge of bad architecture, bad planning, and dumb design.
Instead, we have Punta Sayulita: a projected total of 62 homes on 33 acres, with care being taken to knit the buildings into the landscape, to use organic, sustainable, and/or local materials, to disturb the flora and fauna as little as possible, and to impact the natural terrain minimally. This is impossible, of course, with water, power, roads, buildings, vehicles, swimming pools, docks and all the other infrastructure requirements of upper-crust living being put in place. But the buildings—the homes thus far, and the “public” buildings as well–are beautifully crafted, with much of the work done by hand. The architecture and design sinuously synthesize South Seas island style with Mexican overtones, there is abundant, painstakingly well-executed stonework, and the landscaping plan appears to embrace and “improve” on the existing ecosystem as much as possible under the circumstances. In short, the overall ambience of the development, when it is done, will be about as “organic” as it possibly could be—under the circumstances.
The homes at Punta Sayulita come in four basic models, all endowed with a high level of rustic luxury for indoor/outdoor living; they have been built with fairly strict design guidelines to assure stylistic consistency. They are all of a piece, created by the same architects and built by the same contractors. They range in scale from the relatively small 2604 sq. ft. “treehouses” through “casitas” at 2928 sq.ft., “casas” at 3467 sq.ft., and “casonas” at 6148 sq. ft. There are also “estate lots” available for sale. With some discounting available, prices range from roughly 1.5 to 2.4 million US dollars. No bargains here, although the $950 monthly maintenance per house seems very reasonable.
The construction is being done in phases, with the homes in each phase more or less clustered in one section of the property. The phase one development, currently nearing completion, includes the beach club, restaurant, bar, and pool area, with gym, spa, beach, dock, etc., and half a dozen houses. This first phase occupies the prime space on and above the shoreline facing towards Sayulita and the sunrise. The views from the houses back towards town are breath-taking. Inversely, these structures are now an integral part of what we see when looking out from the beach in Sayulita.
Sayulita—is Punta Sayulita really a part of it? Well, sort of. They will allow the fishermen who have always walked a waterfront path along the base of the peninsula out to the point, seeking fish, to continue to do so, and are improving the trail for them. They have opened an 800-meter stretch of road connecting two of our south-of-town back roads, shortening the distances to a couple of nearby beaches, and will maintain it for the public. And of course we have all witnessed and appreciated the developers’ contributions to the community over the past few years. There is no doubt the folks at Punta Sayulita have given much to the town. But Punta Sayulita is a gated, guarded enclave, and the restaurant and other facilities will not be open to the public. It will be a place that is both a part of Sayulita and apart from Sayulita.
The project is called Punta Sayulita for a reason, and clearly, what has drawn the first cluster of buyers and investors, and will continue to do so, is the proximity to our beautiful little town. To Sayulita. They have given us a lot, and Sayulita, in turn, has given them something back, something priceless: an identity.
What’s done is done. Let’s cut these new neighbors some slack, and not forget that they are people with resources enough to live almost anywhere on the planet–and they have chosen to live here. Almost in Sayulita.
Ultimately, I would not hesitate to recommend buying one of these places to anyone who could afford it, and likes Sayulita and the general atmosphere and ambience of this part of Mexico.
For further information on the property, visit puntasayulita.com, or stop by their offices on the beach, south side of town, when you next visit Sayulita.
