A sealed envelope holds the answer regarding the future of Estrella del Mar Golf and Beach Resort, an 896-acre, master-planned and gated hotel and residential oceanfront resort development 17 miles south of Mazatlan.
Bids currently are being taken on the beachfront acreage.
Sheldon Good & Co., a New York-based real estate auctioneer, is conducting an international auction and will sell the lifestyle resort site via sealed bid. Bids must be submitted by Jan. 31.
The property is owned by an institutional investment fund and was part of a 10-year portfolio that is coming to the end of its investment life, according to Mark Troen, COO of Sheldon Good.
Phase I, the southern half, includes the recently reflagged, 68-suite Wyndham Las Villas Hotel & Spa; 2,100 condominiums and luxury home sites; an 18-hole Robert Trent Jones Jr. golf course; and a sea turtle habitat.
Phase II, the remaining northern section of 431 acres, remains undeveloped, for now.
Plans for the undeveloped section call for an additional hotel, other golf courses, a tennis club, equestrian facilities, private homes, shops and restaurants, according to Troen.
“The development possibilities are endless because the infrastructure is in place,” he said. “There’s a lot of buzz from hotel chains.
“This is a great opportunity for an investor or developer in the global hospitality community to establish or expand their presence within the growing Mexican market,” he said.
Troen described Mazatlan as a dream location.
“It’s got air access, a colonial history, beaches, a great climate, entertainment venues and growth potential in terms of tourism numbers and opportunities for second-home buyers,” he said.
The property is a 10-minute drive from the international airport on the Isla de la Piedra peninsula, stretched along three miles of Mexico’s coast where the Pacific and the Sea of Cortes meet.
Estrella de Mar has its own water purification facility, drainage, a waste treatment plant and electrical and communications systems.
The golf course already has hosted the Mexican PGA Championship and the Sinaloa Governor’s Golf Tournament.
At the on-site sea turtle habitat, guests can work with the resident biologist to help preserve the species.
Follow Gay Nagle Myers on Twitter @gnmtravelweekly.