Progress Report

September 10-15, 2007 // CONSTRUCTION LOG #153

Contact phone numbers

Internet Phone:
New York: 315-279-6711
Toronto: 416-907-5758 // 416-461-2203

Costa Rica:
Cell: 506-305-3965
Land: 506-282-4142 Ext. 101

NOTE: the New York and Toronto numbers are "local calls" for people in the area codes; calls from outside the area code will be billed at the normal rate from the caller's area code to either the "315" or the "416" area code.

NOTE: WHEN I STARTED RESIDENCIAS LOS JARDINES, I STARTED WRITING A WEEKLY NEWS LETTER—DEETERMINED TO TELL ALL THE GOOD, BAD, AND THE UGLY. I KNEW SOME READERS WERE INTERESTED IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS. OTHERS WERE INTERESTED IN HAVING INSIGHT TO THE LIFESTYLE OF TWO PEOPLE WHO HAD DECIDED TO LIVE OUTSIDE THE BOX. FOR OTHERS, THE ADVENTURES OF LITA, THE PARROT AND THE CAT TOOK ON AN ENTERTAINMENT SAGA ALL ITS OWN.

RESIDENCIAS LOR JARDINES IS FINISHED. WE PERIODICALLY HAVE RESALES AND RENTAL AVAILABILTY. SOME READERS MAY BE INTERESTED IN THIS INFORMATION.

MORE AND MORE, THE CONTENT WILL BE DOMINATED BY EVENTS OF OUR NEW PROJECT, “EL DORADO” FOR SHORT. WHILE THE FUTURE IS ALWAYS UNCERTAIN, I AGAIN AIM TO TELL IT LIKE IT HAPPENS—THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY, AND THAT IS WHAT FOLLOWS:

EL DORADO

The STORY: moving slowly along

Pictures: land grading and future location of the Mayan tower.

Architect: We now have two styles of houses finished —renderings and floor plans. I’m waiting for the third set to be finished. Since this is similar to another set we’ve finished, it should be available soon. I’ve worked with the marketing manager to identify and link the optional built-in furniture and features to a spreadsheet so that purchasers can see the options and know the price.

Structural Engineer: this meeting didn’t happen until Wednesday. He’ll pick up the conversation with the architect and give us a solution as to how to structure it.

Electro-mechanical engineer: I’ve encouraged him to move along on the pricing.

Well Application: we continue to wait

Quebrada: We’ve continued to move surplus soil from selected areas into the quebrada. We didn’t have a lot of rain this week so the bulldozer and backhoes worked most of the week. A lot of dirt was moved; more needs to be done but if the weather holds, it will be finished this week. And then we will move to some large scale landscaping—ie. planting some decorative flowering trees

Pre-Approval: We have a meeting set for 11:30 Monday morning. We’ve met with the lawyer, architect to identify the material we need and what and how to present and to clarify what we want from the City.

Fence: this work continues. I’ve found a source for bamboo plants —I calculate that I need about 1000— $0.67 each.

Web site: the artwork is nearly ready to send to the people in Argentina. The marketing manager and I have worked on this throughout the week. I keep thinking of additional material which we should include. I draft what the content should be; he polishes it. We have the website outlined; we have lots of missing information yet to create and the people in Argentina will have to make it all work —bit by bit.

Marketing: We have reviewed some billboard advertisements and have spoken with an architectural renderer. We’re still thinking about both. We hired a professional photographer to take pictures of the land including the stream and points of interest around Santa Ana. I’ll get the results Monday. Many of these will go on the website and perhaps into various marketing material.

Legal counsel: We have decided on legal counsel. We are going with a husband and wife team with Nuria being the lead person. She is an expert in condo law and registration. She is not part of a large fancy big name law firm but she has given us the clearest answers on the spot to questions we’ve asked and it is that reason we have selected her. She has several high profile clients in Escazu and in Guanacaste. She also offered the best price for our clients.

Missing information: Paul and I have a number of things to decide.

Marketing Manger: The kid is bright, very bright. He’s bringing us solutions and working with us towards decisions. He doesn’t watch the clock —we’ve worked well into the evenings on several nights. He has contacts and puts us in touch with them to explore possibilities. I’m glad I’m not competing with him. Paul brought back a super computer for him and we now have him set up in a home office with all the office equipment he will need. We have yet to get his VOIP phone up and running but that will be early next week.

He is about the only person I’ve found who’s writing is equal to or better than mine. I usually produce the draft and let him polish it. Together we do the editing and there often times isn’t much needed.

RESIDENCIAS LOS JARDINES

For Sale: nothing available at the moment

For Lease:
Unit 121 for the month of October — $ 1,550.
Unit 106A immediate through November 30 — $ 950.

New gardener: the replacement person we hired is working out fine —I’m very pleased.

Street Chaos: the developer beyond us has been putting in a rainwater culvert and a sewer pipe for the past three weeks. To do this, the street has been continuously torn up. I don’t think I would have done it as they have —seems very inefficient and expensive. I would have used an entirely different strategy. There may be a rationale to their method but I’m still trying to understand it. However, it is not my call; I just have to live with the process.

OUR LIVES

Weather: mostly beautiful, clear mornings with little rain this week.

I’ve been working so much that I don’t remember having one.

Paul did return with a bag full of Stilton cheese—I love it—and it is one of the few things I haven’t yet found in CR. Now I can have a cigar, 23 yr. old Guatamalan rum—best rum I’ve ever had—and a relaxing lay in the hammock.

Paul and Esther are going fishing at a trout farm. Catch your own and they cook it. It’s one of a few places east of Cartago up in the hills where it’s cooler so the fish ought to be great.

Saturday is an national holiday —the liberation from Spanish rule. It is a date celebrated in many parts of Central American. Although Spain never seemed to have too much interest in what is now CR –mainly because there were few people here so not much slave labor and no substantial civilization or wealth to plunder, it is a date still celebrated. Snare drums banging away all week and today there will be many parades and fireworks.

Brian, Lita, Hairless Hugo, irreverent Vicka, the pigeon toed parrot, and the newbies— Chico and Chica.

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