Real Estate Developer Abandons Mega Housing Project in Playa del Carmen

Promotora SS Residencial, a real estate development company, has halted plans to construct over 400 homes on ejido lands in the south of Playa del Carmen. This area has been a hotbed of land dispossession issues. The company had sought a land use permit change from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), a federal agency, for 16 hectares of land near Xcaret, where invasions and dispossession of Playa del Carmen ejido lands have been ongoing.

The company's withdrawal from the project, which was expected to be a significant investment in Playa del Carmen's housing sector, was announced last August by the company's legal representation. However, it was only made public this week. The project, named Costa Montenia, did not disclose its investment cost, but it was anticipated to be a multimillion-dollar endeavor.

According to the Environmental Impact Statement (MIA), the company filed for land use change permits on forest lands in July. A month later, the company requested Semarnat not to proceed with the administrative process. The MIA revealed that the project aimed to urbanize the area, complete with bike paths and green spaces. The access point for the proposed project was through the Bali subdivision, a location that has recently been embroiled in land dispossession controversies.

The proposed property is located in the irregular area known as Las Torres de la Paz, a housing strip that occupies the high tension line of the Federal Electricity Commission. Upon the project's withdrawal, Semarnat informed Promotora SS Residencial that they retain the rights to revive the project in the future. The municipality of Solidaridad has granted densification permits in this area to continue with the urbanization of Playa del Carmen.

Sources:

1. sipse.com: https://sipse.com/novedades/abandonan-mega-inversion-para-la-construccion-de-mas-de-400-viviendas-en-solidaridad-480581.html