Interestingly enough, Ixtapa was a much larger town than Puerto Vallarta at the time Vallarta became a municipality in 1918. Just outside Ixtapa was the land owned by the Montgomery Fruit Company, major exporter of bananas from 1924 to 1935. During this period of 11 years, workers came from the entire region, including Mascota, Talpa de Allende and Compostela.
The area is also known for the archaeological digs sponsored by the Centro Universitario de la Costa. Led by investigator Dr. Joseph Mountjoy, the area is believed to have been settled as early as 600 B.C. Ixtapa continues to function primarily as an agricultural and farming center, even as it becomes one of the bedroom communities of the Banderas Bay region.
As the Ixtapa area grows along with all the towns of Banderas Bay, a number of housing and residential developments are under construction. Lambert Schnell, developer of Selva Romantica as well as a number of private homes, is opening a project in what he calls Nuevo Ixtapa. The land is located just beyond restaurant El Coleguita. Entering through the remainder of a large orchard of mango trees, the double lane leads to the developing infrastructure. About 414 lots will be created on 30 hectares of flat land from the mango trees to the willow-lined river at the back end of the property. Several large native trees line the eastern edge as well, with an inviting view of the mountains beyond.
In the last two years the group has studied 200 years of the history of the floodplain to identify the pattern, which confirmed that the new canal drainage system needed to be raised about one foot to prevent subsequent flooding. With all services provided, the majority underground, such as electric, telephone and cable, streets are paved and will be well-lit. Standing trees will remain as part of the provision of green area, with the planting of new trees on the lots already begun. Lot frontage will vary from eight to 16.7 meters, with lot size varying from 140 to 1000 square meters.
Schnell believes the highway in front, Carretera a Mascota, will become a micro libramiento as the area continues to develop. A mini-commercial area will be part of the development to offer some of the basic needs of the community, such as pharmacy, grocery store, beauty salon and laundry. In addition, he points out the close proximity to Plaza Marina, Sam's Club and WalMart. As Ixtapa itself grows, the area will also be able to meet most of the basic needs without requiring a trip into town.
The basic infrastructure will be completed by December, with the deeds available by April. Pre-construction prices are available for as low as $1,150 pesos per square meter without down payment. Under the payment system, investors can take up to four years to pay. Says Schnell, Our motto is "Everyone can," just to prove how willing we are to work out any payment system that buyers can bring to the table. It's based on the necessities of the clients, some of whom might have changing needs seasonally, so we can do annual balloon payments, regular monthly installments, any level of down payment they can come up with, including none.
