Located on the mountain side of the Transpeninsular behind Home Depot and Costco is El Tezal. This is one of the fastest growing areas on the corridor near Cabo San Lucas. Regularly featured on HGTV shows about Los Cabos, El Tezal has dozens of gated condominium developments. One of the largest new developments is Turquesa (Turquoise). Lafher Developments, based in Sinaloa on mainland Mexico has been in business for 22 years. They currently have 15 projects being built. Unlike many of the real estate projects in Los Cabos, after a buyer makes a down payment, Lafher funds the building of the units until completion. Most other projects require periodic payments either monthly or as milestones in the construction are reached.

Turquesa is a triangular shaped development that will have 41 buildings with eight two-bedroom units in each – 328 total units upon completion. The buildings are considered in the Mountain, Lands End Arch, Sea of Cortez or Club House Zone of the development, based on the views that the condo has. There are two units on each of the four floors of each building. Each unit has two stacked parking spaces in front of the building and each side of the building has access to a special roof deck with amenities – guarantying that everyone can see great mountain, sea and arch views. The complex has two large pools – one for adults only – and palapa outdoor dining and play areas for families.

Lafher Developments made the strategic decision to be extremely competitive with pricing to attract investors interested in renting their units, either short or long term until they decide to occupy them. The prices currently range from $3, 615,000 mx to $4,494,000 mx or about $215,615.00 US to $268,043 US, with today’s exchange rate in the high 16 range. The prices increase from floor to floor as the size of the condos increase slightly. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom floor plans range from 763 square feet to 876 square feet.

I had the opportunity to meet with Christian Gonzalez and his team in their sales office on the second floor at Plaza Novva a few blocks behind Costco. Christian took me through their overall presentation and then took me on a tour of the site and the current state of the construction. We drove through the large triangular property where crews were busy working on the infrastructure – water channels, power and plumbing lines, swimming pools- and the entrance to Turquesa and the first three buildings that will be available. As water and power are major issues throughout Los Cabos, Christian described the strategies that they have development for water capture and storage at both the development and individual building level. Some of this is shown in the photos below.

As a Mexican builder, Lafher like their counterparts on the mainland, do not completely finish the countertops and cabinetry in the kitchen and bedrooms. Rather, as with furniture, they have developed relationships with top local firms to offer alternatives to each buyer (at an additional cost depending on the buildout chosen). For the cabinetry, Lafher selected Carlos Ochoa and Carmat Carpinteria as one of their major suppliers. Carmat did a lot of work for us and our neighbors in Pueblo Campestre, ranging from wall units and islands to all types of furniture. The shop is La Paz focuses on parota as their main wood but will use and wood and finishes desired by a client. I was lucky enough to get copies of the photos of some of the interior options for Turquesa to include in this story.