By Ana María Ramos
SANTO DOMINGO – Over time, La Altagracia province and its tourist areas have become splendid havens of real estate development. A number of large, luxurious hotels and numerous residential complexes with diverse and attractive offerings enhance and contribute to this destination in the Dominican Republic, which has been ranked as the fastest-growing, as evidenced by the 10th National Population and Housing Census conducted in the country in 2022.
Complexes of up to 30,000 housing units planned for the next five years will give rise to new cities in the tourist hub that has opened doors to Quisqueya La Bella in distant latitudes, and where growth is experiencing its best moment of splendor.
The 2022 Census by the ONE reported that this province increased at an average annual rate of 4.18%, well above the national growth rate of 1.11%, despite the fact that 35.5% of the homes were omitted, according to data provided by the same agency.
More than 50,000 homes, including those under construction and those planned for the next five years, continue to pose a latent challenge for government authorities in a territory that has not had proper urban planning or sufficient infrastructure, such as roads, aqueducts, and other necessities, required to meet the high demand it is experiencing and that which is yet to come.
The mayor of the Verón-Punta Cana Tourist Municipal District, Ramón Antonio Ramírez (Manolito), assures that the growth of the area will not stop and that the demand for hotel rooms has increased from 45,000 to more than 50,000 rooms, generating jobs in the community, which in turn increases migration.
Ramón Antonio Ramírez (Manolito). (Fidel Pérez/El Inmobiliario).
The municipal official stated that the 10th Census revealed that the province of La Altagracia grew from 43,982 inhabitants to 138,919. "This means we grew by almost 230%," Manolito indicated in a conversation with the specialized newspaper, El Inmobiliario.
Ramírez opined that the current overabundance of real estate developments will stop when the Territorial Planning Plan comes into effect, which is already in its final phase and has been submitted to the various government agencies for them to issue their technical opinions.
“This plan will be implemented in the area for the next 20 or 25 years. It will provide legal guarantees, but at the same time, we will plan to ensure that we don't end up with a street only 2 or 3 meters wide, but rather one that meets the appropriate standards and also includes the green space mandated by law,” the mayor explained.
Tourism diversification
From simple apartments, majestic complexes that evoke the Greco-Roman style, ultra-luxury hotels, colonial villages, water and theme parks, wellness tourism, among other amenities, these are emerging as the new attractions of the eastern Dominican region.
Puntacana Group
Frank Rainieri, founder of Grupo Puntacana. (External source).
Frank Rainieri, the region's tourism business leader and founder of Grupo Puntacana, believes that, to address the region's growth in infrastructure, construction laws must be strengthened to ensure clarity for urban planning purposes, and that processes include treatment plants and potable water systems.
“This has to be a symbiotic collaboration between the government, the municipality, and business support,” he said.
He added that another factor to consider is digital transformation, ensuring adaptability to new technologies and the changes brought about by markets and new trends.
“Sustainability, both socially and environmentally, is an essential element in all our projects. Investing in these aspects in parallel must remain an integral part of our business strategy,” he stated.
One of the Group's main current investments is the ultra-luxury Playa Serena hotel, with 75 suites, five villas, and various amenities, scheduled to open in 2026.
The Puntacana Group also has a solar project underway that will generate more than 50% of the energy consumed in the Punta Cana community; in addition to the expansion of Terminal B at Punta Cana Airport, with an investment of more than USD$90 million.
It is projected that, with this addition, the airport will exceed 11 million passengers annually.
A new city
Of the ambitious developments currently underway, “Larimar City & Resort” stands out. It covers an area of 3,512,795.15 m2 and is projected to include 30,000 homes, six hotels with 2,000 residential units, an artificial beach, a golf course, a hospital, a casino, a school, a university, and more.
According to environmental license # 0565-24, issued by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Ingeniería y Estructuras del Caribe – INERCAR, SRL is the company promoting the project, a subsidiary in the country of Clerhp, a Spanish company.
It will be located on the Verón-La Otra Banda highway and will feature a renewable energy system. Of its six phases, it is currently in the first.
Two destinations, 9,000 homes
Cruise On Land is another megaproject currently in the site preparation phase for construction in the La Otra Banda Municipal District. It is projected to offer 4,500 rooms in a condo-hotel format, along with a theme park featuring over 100 attractions. The development will take place on an 860,000-square-meter plot of land and will be built by Colombian and Dominican investors under the brands ACF, Indusmetal Stainles Steel Industry, ICE Ingenieros Civiles Especialistas, CCS Master, and Palacio Eléctrico.
Gesproin Group is spearheading another massive project. By combining Spanish and Dominican capital, they have launched the Coral Golf Resort real estate development, with lots totaling 650,000 square meters of land, with the prospect of adding 4,500 residential rooms.
This same Group currently has 754 units under construction, is about to start three more projects that will add 501 units, and will soon announce the launch of two more that will add around 410 units.
A look of block and cement
While driving along the main roads of the Bávaro, Verón-Punta Cana area and surrounding towns, large portions of land can be seen, some in the process of preparation, others in various stages of construction.
Sánchez Business & Corp, a Dominican capital group with more than 46 years of operation, is developing 743 units in the East of the country through its Ciudad del Sol brand.
Cap Cana
In the Destination City there are currently 5,556 rooms under construction and 7,595 in operation, according to data presented by its president, Jorge Subero Medina, at the SIMA Fair, in Spain, in May of this year.
Noval Properties, a pioneer
One company that has contributed to the real estate development of the Bávaro and Punta Cana area is Noval Properties, which arrived there in 2003 and has delivered more than 2,000 units to date. It is currently building more than 1,700 residential units in Bávaro, Cana Bay, Cocotal, and Cap Cana, in addition to the approximately 1,300 homes planned for the coming years, including Poseidonia Residences, a massive luxury complex that will feature a 2,892-square-meter swimming pool.
Vistacana
A new community emerging in Bávaro is Vistacana, which currently has 72 projects under construction. A unique feature of this development is "Pueblito Caribeño," a 360-apartment project that aims to recreate and bring the Colonial City to the east. It is managed by the Paseo del Sendero Group.
More investment
Huacachina, a company with over 15 years of experience in the Ica region of Peru, is another major foreign investor that arrived in the east two years ago, acquiring a plot of land exceeding 1.5 million square meters on the highway connecting Verón and Higüey. To date, they have sold 600 units of their “Alta Vista Village” project, with the next phase adding another 500 units.
Ismael Rubio Marcovich, the manager, explained that their expansion plans involved analyzing various countries, seeking the most viable and sustainable option for long-term investment. “When we reviewed the Dominican Republic’s macroeconomic data, we saw that it has a stable economy and, above all, a very competitive economic policy and regulations that help incentivize investment.”.
Cana Bay
Another community with 13 projects in the pipeline according to the official portal is Cana Bay, which has a beach club on an area of 11,000 m2.
Another development in progress is owned by Desarrolladora Morada, a Dominican-owned company that is currently building 1,417 properties, with plans to expand in the coming years with two mini-cities, totaling 3,100 apartments.
The foreign-owned Perassan Group is also building 144 residential units on the Eastern Tourist Boulevard, with a projected investment of US$30 million. Similarly, Desarrollos Mystiq, a Spanish-Dominican company, is constructing 80 apartments within the White Sands complex.
Originally published in the 8th edition of El Inmobiliario print magazine, adapted for the digital portal.
