Million Dollar Tear Downs Have Begun!

I was out for a run a few weeks ago and on my way back to the house I looked up and a house I walked by a couple hundred times was missing.  Totally gone from where it stood the last time I was in this particular part of town.  These pics are from the fisherman's beach area. There is a road and several large houses that are as close to "beach front" as you can get on this end of town.

Some of the houses have been there for a long time since this is certainly prime real estate for those wanting a house on the beach.  Many of these homes need lots of work to bring needed upgrades and systems to this high rent district in town.  So much work that it appears that buying and tearing down these places has begun.

An older property just a few doors down from this lot is for sale for about $2.5 million USD.  Two doors down the other direction a small new condo complex has been under construction with the penthouse unit going for about $1 million USD and rest of the building's units selling for a bit less.

So, when a buyer has millions of USDs and they know they can just tear down and rebuild something bigger, better with all the modern amenities that will fetch a better return, tearing an older existing place down and building something new is a no brainer.  The time of Sayulita's million dollar tear downs has begun.

Computer rendering.

UPDATE:  This condo complex that I just saw online is now available for sale in this exact location.  4 of the proposed 6 units are already sold pre-construction.  When you can buy a property for a couple million USD, tear it down and sell 6 new units for over 3.3 million USD I'd say the investor appears to have done well enough that this will not be the last tear down and rebuild that we will see in the near future.

Sayulita Scenes - SAYULITA!

New letters appeared in the Plaza just recently.  BIG photo op spot in town.

Sibling Support

So proud of these two. They both raced their hearts out and did amazing in their races today. But what I am most proud of is the support they gave each other. Trace board caddied for Alex and Alex was there at the finish line with hugs for Trace. It makes my heart so big!! It isn’t always like this so I especially enjoy these moments.

Sewer Treatment Plant Improvements Update Part 2 - March 2019

Just a quick update on the emissor pipe installation for the upgraded sewer treatment plant.  The work has begun connecting the pipes and attaching the concrete weights to keep the pipe from coming to the surface.  Interesting to watch.  Photos by Capas Sayulita and Ed Dorsett.

Sewer Treatment Plant Improvements Update - March 2019

From Sayulita Life El Sayulero March 5, 2019.

As many of you have noticed, professional workers and engineers have begun the construction and placement of the new emissor at the river bed which connects to the main beach.  This is part of an ongoing project from Sayulita’s new Sewage Treatment Plant. I talked with key members from the board of Grupo Pro Sayulita, who began this project several years ago and remain the liasons with the government officials now in charge of the plant and project. All of the projects have been designed to upgrade previous wastewater management systems. Phase 1 began more than two years ago, and phase 3, being done now, will be completed in the next few weeks.

When and why did this project first begin? 

Until about two years ago, Sayulita suffered from occasional spills of grey and black water in Gaviotas street, where it connects with Calle Navarrete. These problems occurred during the rainy season, when rain water overwhelmed the old system in place. Grupo Pro Sayulita partnered with other government associations of Sayulita and Bahía de Banderas to understand this problem and solve it. Old and insufficient pumping was found, and it was discovered that the holding tank in the wastewater plant, known as a carcamo, was too small for our growing town. The upgrade to our current treatment plant doubled the capacity of the holding tank.

What was phase 1 of this project? What are the other phases?

Over two years ago, Grupo Pro Sayulita partnered with Oromapas, CEA and CONAGUA. Grupo Pro created an infrastructure committee and funds that worked with these government agencies and local and international engineers in order to authorize the needed work and fund it. At that time, CEA and CONAGUA agreed to provide the necessary permits, and Grupo agreed to fund phase 1, now known as the “Gaviotas Project”. Also, at this same time, Conagua and CEA agreed to create phase 2 and fund it. Phase 2 included the repair and upgrade of the waste management plant itself. These organizations also agreed to plan and fund phase 3, the underwater emissor. Over the last year, phase 2 was completed; now phase 3, the emissor, will be complete in the next several weeks.

How does an underwater emissor work? 

Emissors are the most common form of wastewater management systems in the world, and are used all over Latin America, the US, and Canada. The emissor was designed by completing a wave and ocean study to ensure that the pipe does not disturb the reef, and to ensure it is located in a place that is safe for both ocean life and humans.  Our emissor will send treated water 2.3 km from the coast; it will be attached to the ocean floor and sit about 60m down from the surface. The treated water released can then be further broken down by natural ocean chemicals and effectively become food for ocean animals. This system will allow us to not put treated water into the river bed, and will allow the natural estuary of the river mouth to return. This is the work being completed now. 

What would you say to skeptics, or those who think this project will not work or is even more harmful to the environment?

There are many who do not understand this project and who do not understand just how common it is throughout the world. The reason it is so commonly used is that it is not a complicated system, and it works. For two years, we met with teams of wastewater engineers from all over the world, and every single one of them landed on this solution. In this consultation process, environmental protection was the first goal. The water will be treated from the treatment plant and discharged more than 2km from the coast, where it will be mixed with seawater without any negative consequences for marine flora and fauna. There are also those who are worried that the emissor will change the path of the waves; this is simply not going to happen because it is a pipe of just over 20cm in diameter, which will be fastened with concrete bases every four meters, and will be semi-buried, so as to not alter the ecosystem.

When do you anticipate the project to be completed? 

The treatment plant is ready to go and is waiting to be connected to the emissor. The emissor is scheduled to be completed in the next several weeks, however that does depend on the conditions of the ocean. We will be working with Conagua to publicly announce the completion of the emissor when finalized.

*Written by: Aanya Sheikh-Taheri

Emissor pipe staging in the river.

Photo by Sayulita Life

Trench digging at the river mouth during low tide.

Photo by Sayulita Life

This is a REALLY big deal for our pueblo.  With town's rapid growth and the years of mismanagement of the treatment plant/equipment the town's sewer situation needed tons of help.  Now the plant will have a new life with repaired equipment, a new larger holding tank, proper sized lines feeding the plant and a 2km emissor pipe taking treated water out to sea.  Official full capacity operation is so very close!

Sayulita Scenes - Malpaso

This is also Sayulita.  Just north of Sayulita the beach of Malpaso stretches out towards San Pancho.  As of yet there there is no development and it is just a short hike from the busy local beaches.  Beautiful!

Photo by Ashley

A New Casa...In 2019?!?!?!? Construction Update - March 1st

February saw more finishing going on at the house.  We think these will be the last priority items on the exterior list for the short term.  We still would like a door to the property at the sidewalk and a driveway gate but those are down the road a ways.

Speaking of driveway....we now have one!!!  Once the cistern was buried, our guy Antonio took to selecting and placing each stone.  After over a week we had our driveway and it is beautiful!  People actually stand at the end of the driveway and admire Antonio's work.  Selecting a cobble stone driveway was a good choice to mix of the materials a bit.  Had we known that Trace was showing a real interest in basketball perhaps we would have chosen something that was more friendly to shooting some hoop but we are super happy with what we have.

The other big item for the front of the house was the iron work.  We had bars installed on the apartment window.  When we lived in this space we could never really feel good about leaving the window open when we left the house.  Plus the window is a bit hidden from view behind the stairs so it was really a case of providing some basic security and allowing for ventilation.  Clean, sharp and functional.

The other items completed were roof structures over the main house entrance and over the apartment terrace.  We used the same iron and polycarbonate combination as we did in the upper house.  The main entrance got one to deflect the rain off and away from the front landing.  As it was it was only protected by the 1 meter overhang of the upper floor and the landing was 2 meters deep.  So, when it rained most everything on the landing got wet like shoes and you got soaked when standing at the front door finding your keys.  Now the entire landing is protected and actually provides a small quiet area to hang out.

The second roof structure to go in was over the apartment terrace.  I have been waiting for this one to go in for a while.  We think the apartment is going to be a great space for anyone staying there and the new roof just makes things even better.  Ashley had ordered cushions for the built in couch. Once we get a few plants and some additional seating in the space it will provided an additional room to use 12 months a year rather than only when it isn't raining.  The polycarbonate allows the light through as well so the reduction of light in the apartment is minimal if at all.

I will take me some time to get accustomed to the look and I am not entirely pleased with it for some reason but I think I know why.  Some softening of the space is needed with some other materials and Ashley is the specialist on that front.  The polycarbonate needs to be trimmed a bit closer to the frame so it does not look so floppy.  (I know, I know. Relax. Right?)  It will all work out in the end and be awesome but the details matter.  Regardless of what I think, we are in our home and it has been awesome so far.

So what is next?  A couple things are in the works.  We are trying to nail down a carpenter(no pun intended) to complete some work in the apartment and a few things in the main house.  Shower glass has been ordered for all the bathrooms.  More finishes are needed and a few furniture items need to be considered along with the process of selecting and planting the front beds.  There is always something but our primary focus is finishing the apartment by the end of the month for our first visitors(aka "the grandparents"!) to arrive.  Good motivation to get things done.