by  Mike Cobb

You did what? Where? Are you out of your mind? For anyone who has developed property in Nicaragua, these are some common questions you get used to very quickly. However, for people who visit and live here, the truth is so much better than the misperceptions and it is hard not to feel sorry for people not in the know. I speak from experience because Nicaragua captured my heart. Since 2002, this has been home for me, my wife, and two small daughters. Seven years ago my business partner and I pulled together a group of investors to purchase a spectacular oceanfront farm one hour west of Managua with 2200+ acres and 3.5 miles of uninterrupted beach. To date, over $16 million has been invested and we are just getting started. Having worked in the region for many years, we both knew this property was exceptional and with the proper development approach, it will become a world class resort and retirement destination.
 
Roots in humanitarian outreach
 The history of our involvement here runs back to the early 1990s when my business partner, Joel Nagel, came here representing the Pittsburgh Rotary Club to build a health clinic north of Jinotega. Pittsburgh’s connection to Nicaragua goes back even further, more than three decades to Pittsburgh Pirate Baseball Hall of Famer, Roberto Clemente, whose plane crashed while flying in relief to Managua after the 1972 earthquake.
 Joel involved others from around Pittsburgh, resulting in the shipment of numerous containers of hospital supplies, medical missions, and cross training programs with major universities over more than a decade, scholarship programs for Nicaraguans to study in the US, and many other humanitarian efforts. This outreach continued as we began to develop Gran Pacifica. It quickly went beyond our expertise and abilities and so we started a foundation and launched the Children, Health, and Education Support Services (CHESS) program, hiring professional staff headed by our project manager, innerChange Associates International.
 The CHESS program is a $300,000 initiative shared equally by Gran Pacifica, Pittsburgh Area Rotary Clubs, and the Alliances Program. Its period is 26 months and focuses on improving primary education and healthcare for children and mothers. CHESS works closely with parents, teachers, municipal officials, and the Education and Health Ministries. Its mission stems from needs expressed by the communities in our municipality, Villa el Carmen.
 The program already impacts over 5000 students in 12 schools and gives support to the central clinic and three health posts. Projects to date include setting up libraries, adding water filtration systems, English-language programs, preservation of pre-Colombian archeological sites with an educational emphasis, basic nutrition and sanitation training, and significant infrastructure repairs and upgrades. Our preschool teacher training had such good acceptance and results that the Villa El Carmen Ministry of Education representative asked CHESS in January 2008 to train all municipal preschool teachers.
 Gran Pacifica has also entered into a formal relationship with SNV, a Dutch non-governmental organization focusing on sustainable tourism and inclusive small business development. We are coordinating efforts with UN World Tourism Organization’s STEP program to implement and then measure results of a program aimed at small business development and training. With our contractors, we are training workers in the construction skills needed by Gran Pacifica.
Gran Pacifica knows it is critical for community businesses to effectively participate in the economic opportunities created by us and we are committed to growing these efforts. This vision is acknowledged and shared by uniRSE (Nicaraguan Union for Corporate Social Responsibility) and is also formally recognized in the social responsibility contract we signed with INTUR (Nicaragua’s Institute of Tourism) in February 2007.
 
Socially responsible, sustainable
 These philanthropic efforts, while critically important, are only half the equation. Sustainability and meaningful transformation require an economic engine to provide long-term success.
We believe that the helping hand is more powerful than the handout. Our project is a tremendous opportunity to offer real and lasting improvements in the lives of people living in one of the poorest areas around Managua, with more than 50% unemployment.
Gran Pacifica takes pride that its business model is a socially responsible and sustainable form of development.
 First and foremost is the long-term approach, in our case 20-25 years for build out. With this extended vision, we understand that we are becoming members of the community and we view our relationships in that manner.
Second is serious job creation. From the outset, we have required home construction on almost all lots sold and have joint-ventured to launch three separate condominium projects simultaneously.
Third is creating tourism infrastructure. We are building homes and condominiums for tourists to utilize. This has the added benefits of creating sustainable service employment and tax revenues for the communities around Gran Pacifica.
 Not only are we creating sustainable change through the project model itself, through our foundation and partners, we are acting to enhance the social fabric of the local communities who are most likely to benefit from the economic opportunities being created.
 
Take time, build community
 How you look at timelines will shape the way you approach a task. Taking our time to get it right was important, but so was doing it the right way. Creating the “A-Team” was critical to the success of the project, especially when we looked at this as a 20-25 year project. With time now on our side, we could afford to look for new ways to go about the task of master planning. Given the size of the property we owned, we needed a city planner to help us get our arms around what Gran Pacifica would look like today, in 10 years, in 20.
Urban Design Associates is the firm Walt Disney used to master plan its town of Celebration near Orlando, Florida. They design with one goal in mind, producing “real community.” Easy to say, but very difficult, in reality, to deliver. Sidewalks and front porch placement, intentionally narrow streets, service lanes, authentic Nicaraguan architecture, covenants and restrictions, and mandatory build requirements will all contribute to the rise of a community.
 But ultimately, community is about people and our shared experience. Our sales approach has always been soft and inviting. Birds of a feather flock together and Gran Pacifica is a model that attracts, not a hard sell. The more than 200 property owners already part of this growing resort town feel at home here.
World class team delivering results
But people also need a reason and a place to congregate. Gran Pacifica provides both. World renowned golf course designer Tommy Haugen is currently constructing 18 holes of beautifully sculpted golf, four of which are ocean play. Nine holes will be complete and opened by December 2008; the second nine by mid-2009. Much of the water needed to maintain the course will come from the onsite wastewater treatment plant, an environmentally sound idea.
 Other infrastructure is also state of the art: a fiber optic network, TV, and high speed Internet are already provided and local phone service will be added in the future. Handmade clay brick sidewalks adorn the streetscape with all the utilities, including tap water pressurized to US standards, hidden underneath. Ten homes are completed and another nine are under construction. Four now have fulltime residents.
Adding to the community are our condominium partners. Larry Dewhurst of Las Perlas has completed his first building and is now renting 22 oceanfront, one- and two-bedroom units. The ocean side restaurant, bar, pool and clubhouse are open seven days a week. Roger Keeling is underway with construction of the first 40 condominiums in the Milagro del Mar Village. These 1500 to 2500 square feet oceanfront units will be finished in early 2009.
 A real community is emerging at Gran Pacifica. Through our CHESS foundation, we can be sure that the communities around us share in the benefits created here. By taking a long-term approach and making serious investments in planning and infrastructure, we ensure residents and guests a quality vacation or living experience. The synthesis of both is highly rewarding and is what gives true meaning to the effort. 
For more information about the company or our products, please email info@granpacifica.com.