Another U.S. developer, Baja Properties, LLC, is seeking to bank on the throngs of Americans buying property in Mexico for retirement and vacation purposes in Baja California with a new project near La Paz.  According to the project website, the company and its Mexican subsidiary, Mesa Verde Corp, S. de R.L. de C.V., have entered into an agreement to acquire and develop 500 acres of land and the subsidiary has closed its acquisition of 125 of those 500 acres.  The developer is also active in the virtual real estate market: it bought the bajavillas.com website to help market the Mesa Verde project.  Property sales are expected to began in Q1 2009.

La Paz is just over 100 miles south of another relatively new and impressive Baja California development called Loreto Bay, located on around 8,000 acres adjacent to the hamlet of Loreto on the east coast of the Baja peninsula.  Loreto Bay bills itself as the “largest sustainable resort community under development in North America” and even has a Director and Vice President of Sustainability.  There are plans for a golf course, desalination plant, a wind farm, and solar powered buildings.  Sustainability may not be an option: Loreto is in the middle of the desert.  The project appears to be well-financed; investors include Citigroup Property Investors (CPI).  Homes and condominiums range from US$350,000-$900,000+.