www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Hey Mucho....is this a good thing? Its been a couple of years since I was up in Flamingo but I would think it would start to bring some people back of there helping the resort -si?

http://insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2008/april/23/nac06.htm

Flamingo was my first trip to Costa Rica in 2003. we caught 11 sails in 2 days. A good buzz everynight, Dancing in Amberes and can't forget Debbie from the Monkey Bar. seems like just yesterday.

Well, I don't know if it's a good thing or not. Kind of like a double edge sword. IMO I'm happy they're going forward with this, but I had no idea that it was going to be this "grand". I'd hate to see Flamingo turn into another Jaco or Tamarindo.

I've been waiting 4 years for all the bullshit bureaucracy and politics to play out, and for someone to finally take over the marina concession. I've already seen the layout / rendering of the new marina, and it's going to be huge. They're building 420 slips, plus another 1,000 foot slip to dock 2 cruise ships (one ship on each side of it). They're going to build another hotel, a commercial center and some smaller units for locals to rent and sell their wares.

The marina slips will run the entire length of the beach, from the main road - as soon as you enter Playa Portrero - all the way to the existing marina - and around the point where the Flamingo Marina Hotel / Monkey Bar is.

It'll certainly increase my business, but I'm just afraid it's eventually going to ruin another nice, peaceful and tranquil CR beach town.

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

Here's the article from last weeks' A.M. Costa Rica:

Flamingo marina operator to invest $91 million in project

Flamingo Marina's suspended operations may soon be back up and running, after the concession to rebuild and operate the marina was finally delivered Saturday. The concession went to the highest bidder, a company called Desarrollos de Marinas Matapalo Demm S. A., which promised to come up with a massive $91 million to develop a marina with 420 berths.

It took 15 months for the Consejo de la Municipalidad de Santa Cruz to make its decision, although the marina has been closed for much longer.
Operations ceased in 2003 when the original owner, Jim Mckee, was evicted for allegedly contaminating the environment and failing to hold the correct environmental viability studies. Eight companies joined the race for the concession when the municipality opened the process in 2006, but only four were left as the date came closer.

The final choice reportedly came down to two bids, that of Demm, and that of Willily Ocean View S.A., which proposed to invest $78.8 million in the project. “We chose to deliver the concession to Demm on the recommendation of a commission employed to reviewed the bids,” said an employee of the Consejo. Demm had also proposed to pay a higher fee to the government than any of the other businesses, amounting to an annual amount of around a half of a percent of the bid.

The marina should be finished in two years' time, and is designed to incorporate a hotel, a commercial center and an area to display local crafts. The company has announced that it is working with a prestigious construction and design name, Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc. Bermello Ajamil has worked on maritime projects worldwide. Donald Brooks, a man who was involved in Flamingo's development in the late 1970's, is also involved in the Demm marina project.

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!