According to the projects with amounts published on its website, the company has completed at least RD$734 million in works
SANTO DOMINGO. – Grupo Paceo, the company whose representative Joan Fernando González Contreras was arrested by the Public Prosecutor's Office last weekend, as the prosecuting body links him to alleged real estate malpractice related to the West Side Residences project, is a company with a broad portfolio of civil works, infrastructure,residentialand industrial in the country.
Based on the information contained on its website, it is possible to reconstruct the profile of a company with more than 20 years of activity in the Dominican Republic, a presence in housing, participation in public works and a recent foray into larger-scale tourist developments.
The earliest records the company itself has published date back to 2003, a year that not only marks the completion of its first documented residential projects, but also its involvement in infrastructure related to the Pan American Games held in Santo Domingo, such as the racquetball pavilion and the Basque pelota complex. Since then, the company has maintained a steady level of activity, at least according to its publicly disclosed portfolio.
The core of their business has been residential construction, with projects like Amelia Cristina, developed in multiple phases, and Ana Julia, reflecting a line of medium-scale buildings, in addition to taller towers like Alexandra, with 16 levels, and other residential complexes concentrated mainly in Greater Santo Domingo.
Added to this is La Ensenada, a 128-unit project that introduces a tourist-residential component to its portfolio.
But it is in the eastern part of the country where the most significant leap in scale is observed. There, Grupo Paceo reports two developments that account for the largest published figures: West Side, with 331 villas and an estimated investment of US$38.5 million, and The Beach, comprised of 42 buildings, with a declared investment of US$144.3 million. These two projects alone total more than US$182 million, according to data provided by the company itself.
The rest of the portfolio, although of smaller individual volume, shows constant activity in Dominican pesos: RD$16 million, RD$18 million, RD$22 million, RD$35 million, RD$48 million, RD$65 million, RD$85 million, RD$106 million, RD$339 million, figures associated with residential, educational centers and institutional buildings distributed in different areas of the country, including Boca Chica, Bávaro, La Vega and Barahona.
In total, these amounts, converted to dollars, exceed 195 million, a conservative estimate, built exclusively from the projects with amounts published on their website, so the real total could be significantly higher.
This data allows us to draw a rough estimate of the volume of work managed, although with obvious limitations, since the company does not publish financial statements, annual billing or a historical consolidated list of projects, so the available sum should be read as an incomplete photograph: the reflection of what it has decided to make public, not necessarily of all of its activity.
The website provides no details about its shareholding structure, number of employees, or main private clients. It also doesn't specify the relative importance of public works within its business, although its involvement in state-run schools, high schools, and facilities suggests a recurring relationship with this sector.
Based on the available data, Grupo Paceo appears to be a construction company with sustained activity, focused on the residential market and evolving towards larger-scale tourism projects, although its exact size is difficult to determine, as the company is visible through its works, but its key figures are not public.
Why the submission?
The Fugitive, Rebel and Convicted Capture Unit of the Ministry (Ucaprec), headed by prosecutor Andry De Los Santos, executed the Judicial Arrest Order No. 2025-AJ0007854, issued by Judge Rigoberto Sena Ferreras, of the Eighth Court of Instruction of the National District and through which the construction businessman was arrested.
According to the statement from the Attorney General's Office, the Public Ministry was entrusted with the investigation of a complaint, filed on July 3, 2024, by Holger Ariosto León Rivas, against the Paceo LLC Group and its representative González Contreras, for the alleged commission of the criminal offense provided for in article 405 of the Dominican Penal Code, which defines and punishes fraud.
"During the process it has been established that Mr. León Rivas made negotiations with the construction company for the acquisition of one of the villas that were being built in the project called West Side Residences Punta Cana," the press document of the judicial body highlights.
A far-reaching complex
The official website states that West Side Residences is a residential complex currently under construction with plans to build 331 villas in Bávaro, Punta Cana, at a cost of USD$ 38,537,991.24.
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