Puerto Rico is blessed with a warm Caribbean climate, rich cultural traditions, and superb air and sea connections. San Juan's continuous urban growth around its natural harbor has produced a remarkable historic city, with an extraordinary collection of Spanish colonial architecture, unique in North America and the Caribbean. It is an ideal location for tourism as a major element of economic development.

Since the passage of the 1993 Tourism Development Act, numerous developers and investors have taken advantage of tax incentives, flexible development financing, and fast-track permitting processes for project approval. Now, the government's Tourism Company has sponsored the preparation of the “El Triangulo Dorado” Vision Plan for San Juan's waterfront area. This is a direct effort by government to explain to the private sector what its goals and objectives are, and what types of public/private partnerships are desired. The Vision Plan is actually a new commercial real estate growth strategy for the waterfront. It consolidates and strengthens port operations for both cruise ships and cargo, and identifies areas for preservation and areas for development. The development areas offer new sites and locations for private developers, financial institutions, commercial operators, and retail/restaurant use. The Plan forecasts over 11 million square feet of new development with an estimated value of over $1 billion. The El Triangulo Dorado project could produce direct and indirect employment of 49,000 jobs during development, and over 15,000 permanent positions.

The Plan takes advantage of lessons learned from other international waterfront developments and provides for

various densities of residential, commercial and retail uses.  It has a series of pedestrian-scale districts - each sized to the maximum area a person would walk.  Each district has its own distinct boundaries and critical mass to support commercial activities, and each has its own special architectural character.

Puerto Rico's recent development incentives have produced over $700 million worth of new development in the past five years, including projects such as Westin Rio Mar, Ritz Carlton, Embassy Suites and Wyndam Hotels.  Together, the legal structure, the economic development policy and the Vision Plan make a strong package that has attracted the attention of a wide variety of investors and developers.  This has been a successful strategy which has benefited from the experience of many other cities, and which as time goes on, will serve as a guidance for others.

For additional information, see Contact List below.

The Honorable Luis Fortuño is the Secretary of the Department for Economic Development and Commerce, and Chief Executive of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company.  Michael P. Buckley is a Professor at Columbia University in New York City and a Partner in the consulting firm of Ernst & Young.  Paul W.A. Courtnell, Jr., is the Director of the Leisure and Resorts Group of the law firm of Gunster, Yoakley, Valdes-Fauli & Stewart in West Palm Beach, Florida.

This article was reprinted with permission from the International Urban Development Association's Summer, 1996 newsletter.

For more information please contact:
Paul W.A. Courtnell, Jr., Esquire