We at Isthmus Realty remain bullish on the Costa Rican market.Kaufman's first project will be 500 senior units in Santa Ana | |
Henry Kaufman's first project in Costa Rica will be a 500-unit senior living complex in Santa Ana not far from the Cruz Roja building and just four blocks from the commercial center. Kaufman, a Wall Street legend, has been in Costa Rica hearing real estate proposals. But the $60 million senior living project is fully permited and ready to go. Associates say the ground breaking on the seven-hectare (17-acre) tract may be as soon as July. Kaufman, 84, is anxious to become a part-time Costa Rica resident, sharing his time between here and Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he has purchased about a third of the downtown area. Kaufman is high on Costa Rica, noting that the climate is perfect, the standard of living is high, the cost of living is low and there are no simmering social protests. But he said he believes the country is not promoting itself to the extent that it should be. Kaufman is an expert at locating hidden value. He made millions in Wall Street by recognizing undervalued bonds. He has such a reputation that the Spanish language newspapers sought him out for his views on the economy. He is pretty blunt. Despite his career as one of nine interdealer bond brokers on the floor of the New York Stock exchange, he is out of stocks and bonds, he told a reporter from El Financiero. He has his reasons. At the current interest rates, the return | on bonds is not worth the risk, and the current economic situation makes it impossible to know the true value of a company, he said. Kaufman said he envisions something like the Del Webb Sun City adult living concept in Santa Ana. One of each unit's occupants will have to be 55 or over and children will just be visitors, an associate noted. Kaufman said in an earlier story that senior retirement communities, assisted living and even nursing care will propel the growth of Costa Rica to double digit gross national product during the next 20 years. But he also said that during his visit here he met with representatives of other projects that he will consider. He left today. Kaufman styles himself as a visionary, but in his conversation Saturday at an Escazú home some nostalgia could be detected and a little anger at the financial managers who have damaged the U.S. economy. They have no discipline and no responsibility, he said. Kaufman noted that when he had his own firm starting in 1958, the owners were partners. There were no corporate shields to hide behind. He is certain that interest rates are headed upwards, in part because of government spending. Kaufman is no stranger to tough times. He grew up in Fall River, Massachusetts, which was hard hit in the Great Depression. He concedes that may be what attracted him to Tulsa where tall office buildings were standing vacant because the oil wealth had moved to Houston, Texas. Now his eye is on Santa Ana where he hopes to duplicate his financial successes. |
| Strange Fishing Follows Pacific Quakes; Tarpon | ||
It's still summer weather throughout Costa Rica, but we are starting to get the occasional showers that signal the beginning of rainy season. Don't let the words “rainy season” scare you from fishing in Costa Rica. Our rainy-season days are usually partly sunny and nice in the mornings with some late afternoon and evening showers, and we still catch fish. The northern Pacific bite continues to be hit-and-miss, with some sailfish and marlin being caught, while the central Pacific action has been average, seeing sailfish, mahimahi and a few marlin. On the southern Pacific, the fishing has been a little strange since last month's earthquakes. The tarpon bite is hot on the Caribbean side, and the fishing at Lake Arenal has been steady. Northern Pacific Capt. Lee Keidel of Kingpin Sportfishing in Tamarindo reports a recent average of five to seven sailfish raised and two or three released each day. Petra Schoep of Tamarindo Sportfishing says Terry Poulin on the OutCast caught a nice wahoo and grouper. Holly and Mack Reese and their children caught a 200-pound striped marlin and a sailfish on the Talking Fish. Capt. Skeet Warren on the Bushwacker reports a scattered bite out of Flamingo, with some red tide in the area and some greenish water offshore. They have been averaging one or two sailfish per day despite the less-than-ideal conditions. Capt. Ralph Solano of Costa Rica Wild Fishing continues to report some good kayak fishing in Potrero for mackerel, jack, pompano, black tuna, barracuda, roosterfish and more. Central Pacific Capt. Brandon Keene on the Fish Whistle took a couple of guys and their sons out for some bottom fishing, and they caught so many fish that they came in early. They hit a couple of local hot spots and caught 20 or more grouper and a half dozen nice snapper, all in the 10- to 40-pound range. Capt. James Smith on the Dragin Fly took out a group from Houston, Texas, and released seven sailfish and kept a big mahimahi for the grill. The Texans were very pleased with the fresh mahimahi fillets. The day before, Smith took out a bachelor party and caught a couple of sailfish, a mahimahi and a 400-pound-plus marlin. The best man caught the big fish, but nobody had a camera on the boat – five guys and no camera. Capt. Dave Motherhead on the Miss Behavin' reports the hot bite is 50-plus miles out from Los Sueños; however, he did catch a marlin and a mahimahi one day last week while fishing a half-day at a local hot spot called “the corner,” about 25 miles offshore. Capt. Walton Smith and the crew of the Sunny One in Los Sueños have had some good fishing, averaging four or five sailfish a day as well as some mahimahi. They've also released a marlin or two a week. Capt. Jorge Fernández on the J-Barrilete in Herradura reports a scattered sailfish and mahimahi bite inside 35 miles and says most of the good fishing has been about 40 miles or more offshore. Bill McMenemy from the Staight Up in Los Sueños had the Gulledge family from the U.S. state of North Carolina in for several days of fishing. They caught some big mahimahi, a handful of sailfish and several blue marlin. The guys from Frenzy Sportfishing have had a couple of groups in the past few weeks and have been catching good numbers of roosterfish, sailfish and mahimahi. They also added a marlin. Charles Rossi fished out of Quepos with the guys on the Ojaran II and raised 11 sailfish and released seven. Capt. Dave Dobbins on the Blue Water II reports a good afternoon bite about 35 miles out in front of Quepos, with most boats releasing a handful of fish each day. Capt. Dale Weir on the Blue Water III fished in front of Los Sueños and caught a couple of nice marlin and a 500-pound-plus blue marlin. Southern Pacific Mike Stiles of the Río Sierpe Lodge had a group from South Africa in for five days. They really wanted to target roosterfish by casting only – no trolling. The group released 24 roosterfish, including a couple of fish over 60 pounds, and caught 16 other species while fishing the Sierpe delta, showing no interest in the good sailfish and marlin bite offshore. Capt. Bob Baker of Golfito Sportfishing reports that earthquakes last month caused some unusual conditions, including toxic bubbles and some fish kill. Before the quakes, they had some great fishing for sailfish and tuna. A couple of women from Nova Scotia, Canada, released a 600-pound marlin in the waters off Matapalo after a good fight. Todd Staley of Crocodile Bay also reports some strange events after the earthquakes. Before the tremors, the fishing was great; the day after, the bite stopped, bubbles appeared and the water temperature went into the 90s Fahrenheit. As things slowly returned to normal, the fishing was still a little strange. The marlin showed up early, the sailfish bite was elusive for a couple of weeks and the reef fish bite has been extra active. Staley added that longtime client Allen Ryals and Steve “Baldy” Ulman released 58 sailfish in five days of fishing on their recent vacation. Northern Region Capt. Ron Saunders from Lake Arenal reports sunny days, light breezes and a good bite. The lake level is down and the water temperature is up, and that improves the topwater bite for guapote. Saunders has been catching three or four guapote per day in the two- to seven-pound range. Caribbean Diana Sánchez of Río Colorado Lodge says the fishing has been great on the Caribbean. A wide variety of fish have been caught, including guapote, mojarra, bluegill, tigerfish, mudfish, tuna, shark, barracuda, jack and, recently, a 300-pound marlin. The tarpon fishing has also been good, with anglers averaging three or four tarpon releases each. Capt. Eddie Brown on the Bullshark reports calm seas and good fishing in the Tortuguero area. He says there are good numbers of tarpon outside the breakers, with anglers averaging three or four releases per day. They've also caught some nice eating-size snook in and around the river mouth. Jim DiBerardinis of Tarponville reports calm seas, light winds and one or two tarpon released per day during their seasonal migration. |
