Four Major Quintana Roo Developments Under Environmental Review

Quintana Roo, Mexico — Four real estate projects located in tourist areas of Quintana Roo are currently under review by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), as part of the environmental impact assessment process required by law before authorizing such works. These are developments with different scopes, but one stands out for its size and complexity: the Hotel Terraesmeralda Punta Maroma, in the municipality of Playa del Carmen.

According to information submitted to the environmental authority, this is a comprehensive tourism development planned to be built in five phases over 18 years, within the Punta Maroma complex, 2.3 kilometers from the federal Cancún-Tulum highway.

The property where the hotel is intended to be built results from the merger of two lots, with a total area of 11.85 hectares and a beachfront of approximately 450 meters, with views toward the island of Cozumel. This space is projected to include the construction of 10 buildings that will house a total of 954 hotel rooms, distributed among junior, executive, and presidential categories.

In addition to the rooms, the project includes a destination spa, event hall, gym, commercial areas, tennis courts, and a total of eight swimming pools for adults and children. The construction of 802 parking spaces, located at the natural ground level, is also planned, as well as various service and consumption areas to accommodate the hotel’s capacity.

To proceed, the project requests a change of land use for 4.75 hectares of forested land, where there is currently secondary tree vegetation of medium sub-deciduous jungle. This point is one of the central aspects being analyzed by Semarnat, due to the potential environmental impacts that could result from the removal of this vegetation cover.

The promoting company, Terraesmeralda, S.A. de C.V., estimates an approximate investment of five million dollars for the development. Within its environmental statement, mitigation programs are also included, such as wildlife and flora rescue and relocation, environmental monitoring, waste management, soil conservation, reforestation, and environmental education, with an annual cost close to two million pesos.

The Other Projects

The second project under review is located in the municipality of Cozumel and is named The Stella. Unlike the previous one, this is a smaller-scale development, focused on the construction and operation of a building with 14 apartments and three penthouses, distributed across six levels and a rooftop, on Avenida Rafael E. Melgar.

In this case, the project already has three levels built, so the environmental assessment focuses on the continuation of the works and the operation of the property. The property has an area of 1,752 square meters and includes common areas, amenities, and ground-floor parking in an urban area of the island.

The third project is located in the Hotel Zone of Cancún, within the municipality of Benito Juárez, and corresponds to Plaza Tortugas. This development requests a change of land use for just over three thousand square meters of coastal forest land with residual secondary vegetation.

Plaza Tortugas is proposed as a mixed-use, tourism and commercial development of low scale. Its design considers commercial spaces, dining areas, outdoor gathering and recreation spaces, with an open structure combining covered and uncovered areas, at a strategic point on Boulevard Kukulkán.

Finally, the fourth project under review is again located in Cozumel and is called Centro Cozumel. This development is of a residential-tourism nature and contemplates a change of land use on almost six hectares of forested land with secondary vegetation of medium sub-perennial jungle, within a group of properties totaling more than eight hectares.

Centro Cozumel includes the construction of several residential towers, a condohotel, commercial areas, a beach club, swimming pool, and amenities. Due to its size and characteristics, this project, like the one in Punta Maroma, is under detailed analysis by Semarnat, which must determine whether the environmental impacts can be prevented, mitigated, or compensated before authorizing its execution.