Developer Proposes 425-Hectare Resort With Artificial Beach North of Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — A sprawling new resort and real estate development proposed north of Playa del Carmen would combine a 280-room hotel, residential and commercial areas, an artificial beach and nearly 91 hectares of man-made lakes on a property covering more than 425 hectares.

The project, called HAZUL, has been submitted by Arquitectoma Playa to the federal Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) for environmental review.

At roughly 4.26 million square meters, or 1,052 acres, the property is unusually large. It is located about nine kilometers north of Playa del Carmen, west of Federal Highway 307 near kilometer 300.

That location makes one feature particularly notable: HAZUL would have a beach without being anywhere near the Caribbean. Instead, the proposal calls for an artificial beach alongside a system of lakes created in areas previously excavated for limestone.

More Than Half the Property Could Lose Forest Cover

According to the environmental impact filing, the developer is seeking authorization to change the use of 251.10 hectares of forest land, equivalent to about 59% of the entire property.

The vegetation is described as medium sub-evergreen forest in a process of secondary recovery, meaning portions of the property have previously been disturbed and are now regenerating.

That distinction is important. The proposal does not involve clearing 251 hectares of untouched primary forest. But recovering forest still provides habitat and ecological connectivity, particularly in a rapidly developing section of northern Quintana Roo.

The development would unfold slowly. HAZUL is divided into nine phases, with each projected to take approximately five years. If carried through as described, development could therefore extend over several decades rather than occurring as one continuous construction project.

An Artificial Beach Built Around Former Quarries

One of the most unusual parts of HAZUL is its water system. The plans identify approximately 908,217 square meters — nearly 91 hectares or 224 acres — of water bodies, plus an artificial beach measuring about 11,020 square meters.

Those lakes are connected to the property’s previous use. According to the environmental filing, limestone extraction on the San Francisco property reached the groundwater table, leaving excavated areas filled with water. Rather than filling those areas, the developer proposes incorporating them into the design of the resort and residential complex. That makes the site’s hydrology an important part of the federal review.

The Yucatán Peninsula has little surface drainage because rainwater moves rapidly through its porous limestone into an extensive underground aquifer. In Quintana Roo, that groundwater system eventually connects with cenotes, caves and coastal waters. For that reason, wastewater handling is likely to receive particular scrutiny.

The HAZUL proposal states that wastewater would be contained in sealed systems, removed from the property and taken for treatment or disposal by authorized contractors rather than discharged directly into the ground.

Hotel, Homes and Commercial Development

The project is considerably more than a hotel. Plans call for a 280-room hotel, along with residential development, commercial areas, internal infrastructure and recreational spaces associated with the artificial lakes and beach.

The property’s size and multi-phase design suggest the development would function more like a new mixed-use destination than a conventional stand-alone resort.

The company already has some history with the site. According to the federal filing, the property holds previous state authorizations related to limestone extraction. The Quintana Roo Secretariat of Ecology and Environment also issued an environmental authorization in October 2023 covering urbanization works following changes to applicable land-use planning.

Those state authorizations do not replace the federal review now underway.

Because HAZUL proposes clearing forest land and carrying out works that fall under federal environmental jurisdiction, SEMARNAT must separately evaluate the project’s environmental impact and determine whether it can proceed and under what conditions.

Jaguar Recorded on the Property

The developer’s own biological surveys documented wildlife that could complicate that review. Several species recorded on the property are included in NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010, Mexico’s official list of wild species considered at risk.

Birds documented include the white-fronted parrot, black catbird, mangrove vireo and collared aracari. The survey also records ocellated turkey, spiny-tailed iguana and the Central American river turtle. Most notable is the jaguar, which is classified as endangered under Mexican law.

The presence of a jaguar does not automatically prevent development. It does, however, require environmental authorities to consider how clearing, roads, buildings and increased human activity could affect habitat and movement through the area.

That issue is particularly relevant in northern Quintana Roo, where development along the Cancún-Playa del Carmen corridor continues to break previously connected forest into smaller areas.

The Project Is Not Approved Yet

HAZUL is still at an early stage of the federal process. Submission of an Environmental Impact Statement, or MIA, does not constitute approval. It begins SEMARNAT’s technical review of the project and the mitigation measures proposed by the developer.

Federal authorities can approve the project as submitted, authorize it subject to additional environmental conditions or deny authorization.

The process can also open the door to greater public scrutiny. Under Mexico’s environmental review system, members of an affected community may request a public consultation within the legally established period after a project enters the review process. SEMARNAT then determines whether that consultation will proceed.

As of the project’s initial filing, no public consultation had yet been requested. That could change as more details become widely known.

A 280-room hotel is only one small piece of HAZUL. The larger question before federal environmental authorities is whether a decades-long residential, commercial and tourism development covering more than 1,000 acres can be built around former limestone quarries while protecting the forest, groundwater and wildlife that remain on the property.

For now, HAZUL is a proposal on paper. SEMARNAT’s review will determine how much of that plan, if any, can move forward.