Welcome to The Team Ricovida BlogTuesday, January 08, 2008
RICOVIDA RIO GRANDE
QUICK FACTS
300 acres
104 lots up to 1.5 acres each
Two- and three-bedroom stand-alone villas with optional guest house
Initial pre-construction pricing:
Two bedrooms: $250,000 - $280,000
Three bedrooms: $300,000 - $350,000
Casita (guest house option for both): $35,000 - $40,000
Phase 1: All public buildings and 4–6 model villas. Scheduled completion date: Spring 2008
Phase 2: All remaining units completed after 2008
Green design and construction including universal design principles
Located in Costa Rica’s Central Valley 25 miles west of San Jose, 25 miles northeast of the Pacific
Nearest village: Balsa, 1.5 miles. Population: 500
Nearest major village: Atenas, 6 miles. Population: 21,000
QUICK FACTS
300 acres
104 lots up to 1.5 acres each
Two- and three-bedroom stand-alone villas with optional guest house
Initial pre-construction pricing:
Two bedrooms: $250,000 - $280,000
Three bedrooms: $300,000 - $350,000
Casita (guest house option for both): $35,000 - $40,000
Phase 1: All public buildings and 4–6 model villas. Scheduled completion date: Spring 2008
Phase 2: All remaining units completed after 2008
Green design and construction including universal design principles
Located in Costa Rica’s Central Valley 25 miles west of San Jose, 25 miles northeast of the Pacific
Nearest village: Balsa, 1.5 miles. Population: 500
Nearest major village: Atenas, 6 miles. Population: 21,000
# posted by Ricovida - Retire in luxury in Costa Rica @ 2:39 PM
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Baby Boomers – Retirement – Real Estate - What to do?
We all know by now that if you were born between 1946 and 1964, that you’re a Baby Boomer – a member of that generation named for the worldwide population explosion after World War II. You may have also noticed that the first wave of that generation is beginning to turn 60 and for many, that means retirement. For the many that do retire, the big question is: “Where will we live?” And you thought you were finished with real estate…
If you’re not already living in the home you expect to retire in, then you have some questions to ask and some decisions to make – lots of them!
• Where do I want to live?
• Do I want a second home?
• Can I afford a second home?
• Will I still want to work?
• Will I still need to work?
• Will I be able to find a job?
• My house is paid for – do I need to/want to borrow money for my retirement home?
• Will it be easy and affordable for family to visit?
• Is there reliable health care nearby?
• What about assisted living when the time comes? Is it available and affordable?
Those are just a few, but certainly enough. We’ll be addressing all those questions and more individually and in depth in future blogs. Once you have all the information you can get your hands on, you’ll want to answer many of those questions with family and friends, others you need help from financial and real estate experts. But most you need to figure out for yourself.
As we told you in an earlier blog, we think Costa Rica can be the answer to a lot of your questions and your dreams, at least your dream home. As we noted, depending where you’re looking, you can live in relative luxury at relative bargain prices if you explore offshore possibilities. Once you make the decision to look offshore, consider Costa Rica, then join us at Ricovida. We’d love to have you in our neighborhood.
Many of your questions can be answered when you visit our website at www.ricovidainc.com. Lots of info on Costa Rica and links to a variety of informative sources on weather, retirement, real estate, hotels…check us out. For detailed answers to your specific questions regarding real estate in Costa Rica, visit www.godutchrealty.com, our Costa Rica real estate consultant. Go Dutch can answer financial real estate questions, give you insight on legal and cultural issues, everything you need to know about moving to Costa Rica and more.
Remember the three most important rules of real estate - Ubicación! Ubicación! Ubicación! And if that Location! is Costa Rica, consider the rich life at Ricovida.
You’ll be hearing again from us soon. In the meantime, wherever you are, we hope you’re having a great season.
Ardon Schambers
President
Ricovida Rio Grande
We all know by now that if you were born between 1946 and 1964, that you’re a Baby Boomer – a member of that generation named for the worldwide population explosion after World War II. You may have also noticed that the first wave of that generation is beginning to turn 60 and for many, that means retirement. For the many that do retire, the big question is: “Where will we live?” And you thought you were finished with real estate…
If you’re not already living in the home you expect to retire in, then you have some questions to ask and some decisions to make – lots of them!
• Where do I want to live?
• Do I want a second home?
• Can I afford a second home?
• Will I still want to work?
• Will I still need to work?
• Will I be able to find a job?
• My house is paid for – do I need to/want to borrow money for my retirement home?
• Will it be easy and affordable for family to visit?
• Is there reliable health care nearby?
• What about assisted living when the time comes? Is it available and affordable?
Those are just a few, but certainly enough. We’ll be addressing all those questions and more individually and in depth in future blogs. Once you have all the information you can get your hands on, you’ll want to answer many of those questions with family and friends, others you need help from financial and real estate experts. But most you need to figure out for yourself.
As we told you in an earlier blog, we think Costa Rica can be the answer to a lot of your questions and your dreams, at least your dream home. As we noted, depending where you’re looking, you can live in relative luxury at relative bargain prices if you explore offshore possibilities. Once you make the decision to look offshore, consider Costa Rica, then join us at Ricovida. We’d love to have you in our neighborhood.
Many of your questions can be answered when you visit our website at www.ricovidainc.com. Lots of info on Costa Rica and links to a variety of informative sources on weather, retirement, real estate, hotels…check us out. For detailed answers to your specific questions regarding real estate in Costa Rica, visit www.godutchrealty.com, our Costa Rica real estate consultant. Go Dutch can answer financial real estate questions, give you insight on legal and cultural issues, everything you need to know about moving to Costa Rica and more.
Remember the three most important rules of real estate - Ubicación! Ubicación! Ubicación! And if that Location! is Costa Rica, consider the rich life at Ricovida.
You’ll be hearing again from us soon. In the meantime, wherever you are, we hope you’re having a great season.
Ardon Schambers
President
Ricovida Rio Grande
# posted by Ricovida - Retire in luxury in Costa Rica @ 9:13 AM
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Just Off the Drawing Board – Villas & Bungalows
We wanted to share our latest exciting news with you. Our initial architectural plans for Ricovida living have just been presented to us by San Jose-based Arkemos Arquitectos and we want you to be among the first to see them.
What am I looking at?
Take a look at the images we’ve shown above. Here’s what you’re seeing…
• Plan view – one of the many floor plans that Arkemos is developing for us
• Elevation – a rendered view of the floor plan above. Things are beginning to take on a real shape
• Materials – Some of the environmentally friendly design considerations and building materials that will be used in construction…
o Shingles
o Stucco siding
o Landscaping pavers
o Retaining walls
Is that all there is? What if we have design ideas of our own?
All of the architectural ideas that we’ve developed and that we are continuing to develop are the first to be included in the Ricovida Pattern Book – a set of rules and guidelines applied to architectural designs to ensure that all construction projects at Ricovida are within prescribed design and environmental parameters.
So, if you submit plans that fall within the framework that we establish for Ricovida, you’re good to go. We’ll give formal guidance later, but for now, rough guidelines that your plan would need to conform to would include…
• Size of floor plan/lot ratio
• Angle that villa is situated on lot
• Universal Design Concept (international version of ADA – Americans with Disabilities Act)
• Building height
• Building materials
. Colors
Those are the essential guidelines. All conceived to allow you some design latitude yet remain compatible with the neighborhoods that we’ll be creating.
Want to see more?
We’ll be adding more visuals in the near future. So, keep your eye on this blog.
As always, stay tuned for more exciting news from Ricovida!
Ardon Schambers
President
Ricovida Rio Grande
# posted by Ricovida - Retire in luxury in Costa Rica @ 1:27 PM
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Latest Trip to Costa Rica – Just Returned, Lots to Report!
Plenty of exciting developments as a result of our most recent trip to Costa Rica. Lots of meetings with lots of people, lots to talk about. Let’s get started!
Meeting on horseback
Not your typical business meeting by a long shot (no horserace pun intended). There we were with our newly revised and fine-tuned site plan provided by our engineering team. We, being – in addition to our engineering team - some of our marketing team, architect team, our general manager, our development director, and yes, the horses. This was no leisurely ride through the hills and forests. We were actually following the roads that they had laid out to make sure our building sites were able to meet our specifications for future homeowners.
Roads, streets and bridle paths
The new plan from our engineers ensures our compliance and conformity with sound engineering principles regarding road width, proper grades and curves. But from a far less technical perspective, I thought the proposed road plans were absolutely wonderful and far superior in grade and safety compared to roads I that I have driven in other new mountain developments nearby. It was easy to envision the delightful walking and riding paths residents would follow to and from the villas, the village square and various activities on property.
Guy gives green light
Following the half day review, Guy Bazzani, our Development Director announced that he was confident that the new site plan provided for all the necessary infrastructure to support our new community and that he was ready to move ahead with the next steps on the development path.
This formal endorsement of the engineered site plan allows us to replace the concept development plan initially provided on the web site. The engineered plan reflects all the research, thinking, investigation and work we have put into this project over the last two years. The new plan allows us to easily and economically incorporate our village town center concept that supports bringing people together for companionship and services while providing all the safety and security required for our residents.
Furthermore, this community layout between the river and the entry road allows us to take full advantage of the natural beauty of the site, as well as the water flow of the creeks and river, and still allow our major attractions and services to be in harmony with the native environment.
New addition to villa mix – Bungalows!
Meetings with San Jose-based Arkema Architects this past week have also led to the development of architectural renderings of the villa models and the addition of the bungalow concept. While we have been stressing the Universal Design Concept for our villas, we have also been considering how we meet some of the social needs of those people who prefer a more close knit neighborhood over the more spacious suburban home sites we have planned on the hill slopes. The bungalow plan will provide conventional-sized internal space plans for individual homes on lots that ensure appropriate lot size. The combination will allow distinct choices for our residents and lend a back-home neighborhood atmosphere to enhance our village plan that includes the typical Costa Rican Central Square.
All these developments are fitting very nicely into the schedule being worked out with a local real-estate firm that will be sponsoring tours focused on the needs of baby-boomers interested in retiring in Costa Rica. The tours are expected to start at the beginning of the next dry season in December of this year.
Those are just the highlights. As you can see, we had another worthwhile trip. Got a lot accomplished and we’ll get back there soon for more pre-construction preparation. It’s going to be a busy summer.
Stay tuned! We're getting close - in our next blog, we plan to show you some of the villa and bungalow designs that we're developing for Ricovida.
Happy Springtime,
Ardon Schambers
President
Ricovida Rio Grande
Plenty of exciting developments as a result of our most recent trip to Costa Rica. Lots of meetings with lots of people, lots to talk about. Let’s get started!
Meeting on horseback
Not your typical business meeting by a long shot (no horserace pun intended). There we were with our newly revised and fine-tuned site plan provided by our engineering team. We, being – in addition to our engineering team - some of our marketing team, architect team, our general manager, our development director, and yes, the horses. This was no leisurely ride through the hills and forests. We were actually following the roads that they had laid out to make sure our building sites were able to meet our specifications for future homeowners.
Roads, streets and bridle paths
The new plan from our engineers ensures our compliance and conformity with sound engineering principles regarding road width, proper grades and curves. But from a far less technical perspective, I thought the proposed road plans were absolutely wonderful and far superior in grade and safety compared to roads I that I have driven in other new mountain developments nearby. It was easy to envision the delightful walking and riding paths residents would follow to and from the villas, the village square and various activities on property.
Guy gives green light
Following the half day review, Guy Bazzani, our Development Director announced that he was confident that the new site plan provided for all the necessary infrastructure to support our new community and that he was ready to move ahead with the next steps on the development path.
This formal endorsement of the engineered site plan allows us to replace the concept development plan initially provided on the web site. The engineered plan reflects all the research, thinking, investigation and work we have put into this project over the last two years. The new plan allows us to easily and economically incorporate our village town center concept that supports bringing people together for companionship and services while providing all the safety and security required for our residents.
Furthermore, this community layout between the river and the entry road allows us to take full advantage of the natural beauty of the site, as well as the water flow of the creeks and river, and still allow our major attractions and services to be in harmony with the native environment.
New addition to villa mix – Bungalows!
Meetings with San Jose-based Arkema Architects this past week have also led to the development of architectural renderings of the villa models and the addition of the bungalow concept. While we have been stressing the Universal Design Concept for our villas, we have also been considering how we meet some of the social needs of those people who prefer a more close knit neighborhood over the more spacious suburban home sites we have planned on the hill slopes. The bungalow plan will provide conventional-sized internal space plans for individual homes on lots that ensure appropriate lot size. The combination will allow distinct choices for our residents and lend a back-home neighborhood atmosphere to enhance our village plan that includes the typical Costa Rican Central Square.
All these developments are fitting very nicely into the schedule being worked out with a local real-estate firm that will be sponsoring tours focused on the needs of baby-boomers interested in retiring in Costa Rica. The tours are expected to start at the beginning of the next dry season in December of this year.
Those are just the highlights. As you can see, we had another worthwhile trip. Got a lot accomplished and we’ll get back there soon for more pre-construction preparation. It’s going to be a busy summer.
Stay tuned! We're getting close - in our next blog, we plan to show you some of the villa and bungalow designs that we're developing for Ricovida.
Happy Springtime,
Ardon Schambers
President
Ricovida Rio Grande
# posted by Ricovida - Retire in luxury in Costa Rica @ 7:08 AM
Friday, April 06, 2007
Ricovida presentation team reviews site plan with Minister of Tourism and other government officials
A warm Ricovida welcome from our new billboard
Minister of Tourism Pays Us a Visit
We’re all reading about Costa Rica real estate and what hot property it is, especially for those preparing to retire in Costa Rica. Last week, Costa Rican Minister of Tourism, Carlos Benavides, visited the Ricovida site to find out for himself what’s going on in the Central Valley. And we showed him.
Actually, this was part of a formal tour originally planned for February that had to be rescheduled, and it was well worth the wait. Along with Minister Benavides, was Gilberto Monges, Mayor of the Mora District (Wilberth Aguilar, District Mayor of Atenas, had a schedule conflict and was unable to attend) , as well as numerous members of the District Council. They spent the better part of a day touring new development sites in the area surrounding Ricovida with the tour culminating with a brief formal presentation and informal discussion at our site.
The Minister and other officials were there to demonstrate their support for development in the Central Valley and to encourage the combination of private and public cooperation for the mutual benefit of native Costa Ricans, expatriates and local business. They received an update on the progress of our project and heard some of our challenges with navigating government bureaucracy regarding infrastructure improvement, various permits and how they can help.
Our resident Ricovida general manager Rodrigo Atmetlla led our presentation with help from our chief engineer Carlos Brenes (GCI Engineering, San Jose), site planner Randolph Watpool (Greenplan, San Jose) and architect Elias Marin (Arkema Architects, San Jose). Just some of the great team we’ve been able to assemble in Costa Rica.
Our guests have been aware of our project for some time, were impressed with our progress and pledged their help. Specific next steps will be determined, but it was clear that they are there to help support our efforts to make the necessary infrastructure improvements – such as roads – and to help clear the way and expedite any hurdles that could delay our project.
But it wasn’t all business. Once our formal presentation and Q&A concluded, we had some social time together and had the opportunity to give our guests a small taste of the “Rich Life”: a mid-afternoon snack of soft drinks and chicharrones (a local pork delicacy) prepared by our own Kathya Fernando Arias, wife of Ricovida site manager Luis.
All in all a very successful day for Ricovida. It was rewarding to see our progress recognized by the government of Costa Rica and knowing that they are working very hard to help us toward the Rich Life at Ricovida.
Until next time,
Ardon Schambers
President
Ricovida Rio Grande
# posted by Ricovida - Retire in luxury in Costa Rica @ 9:29 AM
Friday, March 02, 2007
Thinking of Offshore Retirement?
Obviously, we have. And we had been thinking about offshore retirement for some time. Every trip we’ve taken for the last ten years, we’d ask ourselves, “Could we retire here?” Some places were OK, some weren’t, we just never found the place that we could seriously call our retirement home. That is until two years ago when we took our first trip to Costa Rica. The very first day we looked at each other and asked our favorite question, “Could we retire here?” Could we indeed even consider offshore retirement? The answer was “Yes! We could retire offshore in Costa Rica!” Why? Read on.
We thought of all the big questions: What about health care? Are we going to be too far away from our family? Will any of our friends and family visit? Will we have enough money? What about the weather? The list goes on and every question we asked, we liked the answer that Costa Rica came back with.
The health care system is one of the best. Many of the physicians and other medical professionals are educated and trained in the U.S. San Jose is only a 3-hour flight from Miami. So many things to see and do in Costa Rica (it’s the #1 ecotourism destination in the world) making it a great vacation spot for friends and family. Cost of living compared to the U.S. makes things you thought were out of your league at home suddenly affordable. And the weather? Well, in the Central Valley where we’re building Ricovida, it’s the best in the world…in the 70s for most of the year.
But don’t take our word for it. When you get a chance, search “offshore retirement” or “offshore living” and you’ll find Costa Rica near the top of the list of choices. And to learn more, visit these sites: Association of Residents of Costa Rica at www.arcr.net and the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency at www.cinde.org.
So, if you’re thinking of retiring, consider retiring offshore. And if you’re considering retiring offshore, think Costa Rica. And of course, if you retire in Costa Rica., come to the Rich Life at Ricovida. It’s going to be wonderful!
Until next time,
Barbara Schambers
Director of Administration
Ricovida Rio Grande
Obviously, we have. And we had been thinking about offshore retirement for some time. Every trip we’ve taken for the last ten years, we’d ask ourselves, “Could we retire here?” Some places were OK, some weren’t, we just never found the place that we could seriously call our retirement home. That is until two years ago when we took our first trip to Costa Rica. The very first day we looked at each other and asked our favorite question, “Could we retire here?” Could we indeed even consider offshore retirement? The answer was “Yes! We could retire offshore in Costa Rica!” Why? Read on.
We thought of all the big questions: What about health care? Are we going to be too far away from our family? Will any of our friends and family visit? Will we have enough money? What about the weather? The list goes on and every question we asked, we liked the answer that Costa Rica came back with.
The health care system is one of the best. Many of the physicians and other medical professionals are educated and trained in the U.S. San Jose is only a 3-hour flight from Miami. So many things to see and do in Costa Rica (it’s the #1 ecotourism destination in the world) making it a great vacation spot for friends and family. Cost of living compared to the U.S. makes things you thought were out of your league at home suddenly affordable. And the weather? Well, in the Central Valley where we’re building Ricovida, it’s the best in the world…in the 70s for most of the year.
But don’t take our word for it. When you get a chance, search “offshore retirement” or “offshore living” and you’ll find Costa Rica near the top of the list of choices. And to learn more, visit these sites: Association of Residents of Costa Rica at www.arcr.net and the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency at www.cinde.org.
So, if you’re thinking of retiring, consider retiring offshore. And if you’re considering retiring offshore, think Costa Rica. And of course, if you retire in Costa Rica., come to the Rich Life at Ricovida. It’s going to be wonderful!
Until next time,
Barbara Schambers
Director of Administration
Ricovida Rio Grande
# posted by Ricovida - Retire in luxury in Costa Rica @ 12:57 PM
Friday, February 23, 2007
First trip to Costa Rica in 2007
We’ve just returned from our first trip of the year to the Ricovida site, soon to be home to what we think will be the utmost place to retire in Costa Rica.
But no retirement for us just yet. What a trip…no vacation, no tan, all work. But we made a lot of progress. Lots of meetings with our architect and general manager. Things are definitely taking shape and we’ll share plans with you both here and on our website as soon as they’re finalized.
While in Costa Rica this last trip, we took the opportunity to make a few changes to our original plans. We think they’re great improvements…
First, we’ve decided not to build a hotel, but rather to provide accommodations for visitors and tourists with a small cluster of guesthouses next to what, for the time being, we’re calling Ricovida Plaza. It will feature a postal center, a deli/bakery, a travel center, gift shop, art gallery and even a clothing boutique. A regular little village not only for our residents, but also for tourists and local citizens to enjoy.
Second, we’re delaying our official groundbreaking originally scheduled for this spring. Instead we plan to have several groundbreakings…one for our villas, one for our facilities and then for individual businesses as they develop. The good news is we still plan on opening in 2008, so keep reading this blog and checking our website, www.ricovidainc.com.
Those are the highlights, but there will be lots more to report after our next trip which is coming up very quickly in March.
Until then,
Barbara Schambers
Director of Administration
Ricovida Rio Grande
We’ve just returned from our first trip of the year to the Ricovida site, soon to be home to what we think will be the utmost place to retire in Costa Rica.
But no retirement for us just yet. What a trip…no vacation, no tan, all work. But we made a lot of progress. Lots of meetings with our architect and general manager. Things are definitely taking shape and we’ll share plans with you both here and on our website as soon as they’re finalized.
While in Costa Rica this last trip, we took the opportunity to make a few changes to our original plans. We think they’re great improvements…
First, we’ve decided not to build a hotel, but rather to provide accommodations for visitors and tourists with a small cluster of guesthouses next to what, for the time being, we’re calling Ricovida Plaza. It will feature a postal center, a deli/bakery, a travel center, gift shop, art gallery and even a clothing boutique. A regular little village not only for our residents, but also for tourists and local citizens to enjoy.
Second, we’re delaying our official groundbreaking originally scheduled for this spring. Instead we plan to have several groundbreakings…one for our villas, one for our facilities and then for individual businesses as they develop. The good news is we still plan on opening in 2008, so keep reading this blog and checking our website, www.ricovidainc.com.
Those are the highlights, but there will be lots more to report after our next trip which is coming up very quickly in March.
Until then,
Barbara Schambers
Director of Administration
Ricovida Rio Grande
# posted by Ricovida - Retire in luxury in Costa Rica @ 12:16 PM
