Paradise in the clouds
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Orchids bloom in full glory around the patio of Colleen Lals private villa in the tranquil mountain town of Boquete, Panama. The Canadian explains how she came to be the owner-developer of the nearby multi-million-dollar resort community, Cielo Paraiso (Cloud Paradise).
It all started about ten years ago, she says while sipping her breakfast mug of locally grown coffee. My husband Raideep and I came here from Toronto to get away from the fast pace.
The couple left the Lal family business, Metro Label Group, and bought a small hobby farm.
[It] evolved organically. We didnt set out to develop 823 acres of mountain paradise, but when we purchased the property, we could see it unfolding.
With Raideeps unfortunate death by heart attack in 2010, Lal continues the legacy with the assistance of her brother-in-law, Sandeep, and a hand-picked team that oversees the grounds, road development, architectural and landscape integrity and over 100 local employees.
High in the Talamanca Mountains, with views of the Pacific Ocean to the south, Cielo Paraiso is a residential community of estate home sites and duplexes on a private golf course.
With only 65 sites developed in Phase I and buy-in from $150,000 for a ¾-acre lot, investors are welcome to build their dream homes as long as they comply with the aesthetic set out by Lals vision. Indoor/outdoor living spaces and Spanish detailing like high ceilings, archways, tiles and tiled roofing are just some of the features the homes are expected to have.
The resort works with four preferred builders, and building costs average US$90 per square foot. They also recommend a landscaper who uses primarily indigenous plants.
Three hundred of the 823 acres are a natural preserve, and Lal is discussing a partnership with the Smithsonian Institute.
The forest is full of wildlife that is unique, like the Resplendent Quetzals and hundreds of [other] species of birds, capuchin monkeys, coati and jaguarondi, she explains. We want to ensure this mountain magic is preserved for generations and for select, limited use by our investors.
The golf course plays easy to moderate on the first nine holes, but as you come up against the north wind on the final nine, the course and conditions become more complex. The resorts director of golf, Elizabeth Whittington, is another Canadian.
We came from Toronto, built our 5,000-square-foot villa with pool and gardens and I found that I was on the golf course every day, says Whittington. I want to encourage more women to play.
Thirty percent of investors at Cielo Paraiso are Canadian; the rest are American, European and Latin American.
Along with its year-round spring-like temperatures and lack of extreme weather events (no hurricanes, tsunamis or earthquakes), Panama has an attractive investment climate: there are no property taxes for 20 years, and local currency is the U.S. dollar. The country boasts a low crime rate, political stability and a large English-speaking population. Foreigners who can prove a monthly income get a fast-track to residential status.
Perhaps the biggest challenge is the road access to the resort. Fifteen minutes from Boquete, the road is quite rough at the top end; there are plans to resurface it.
Boquete itself (population: 5,000) has all one needs for supplies, with a clutch of good restaurants and hotels. Many dine and stay at the modern Hotel Ladera while shopping for property. There is a hospital in the city of David, 45 minutes by car and accessible by air to Panama City.
Panama City, with its remarkable canal, is a world-class stopover, with direct return flights return for less than $800; Air Transat makes the five-hour flight from Toronto every Monday, November through May.
We all love to visit Panama City, says Lal, but we all come back dripping from high humidity and temperatures, happy to be in the fresh mountain air.
She raises her glass of Chardonnay at a wine tasting on the terrace and wraps her pashima against the cool evening air. This is home for me now, she says, and a home away from home for the many that have joined the Cielo Paraiso community.
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