About 11 years ago, a group of real estate developers from Mexico City were attracted to our area with promises of a booming real estate market that had more qualified clients than inventory to sell.
The group had just started their project in Ensenada and had already received deposits for 5 of their condo units when the reality hit: the subprime mortgage crisis had started.
After that, interest for people wanting to buy their condos or any other property in Baja for that matter fell to almost nothing. The developer decided to return the deposits they had received and to hold on to the land, in hopes that the project could be restarted at a later date.
Fast forward to 10 years later: After doing extensive market research, the company decided that the moment to restart the project was now; however, the project needed some changes to adapt it to the new, solid market that now includes well-educated Mexican nationals in addition to the prospective foreign buyers.
The project is called Viento, which means “wind.” It offers a total of 167 condos in three different towers, all with unobstructed ocean views.
The interesting thing about this development is that it’s more like a complete community than just a typical condo tower system. They have planned for a big public area that will hold an itinerant food court, in which cooks will only be allowed to stay for a maximum of 4 months; this will benefit the cooks by giving them exposure to a large group of people, and it will benefit the community by offering a variety of menu items. The food court will go hand in hand with local gastronomy schools, like Tijuana’s Culinary Art School, which has already leased space there for a medium-sized cooking school offering diverse cooking lessons. It will also feature a coffee shop, farmers market, art cinema movie theater, bar, a saltwater pool, and beach access. People visiting the public areas will be restricted from accessing the condos if they are not owners.
A City Express Hotel is also part of the project, which will include its own 
amenities and access to the comfort and peace of mind of condo owners. Since the condos range from 560 to 4,300 sq/ft, the hotel is especially helpful for those who are looking for the smaller range units and want to have family and/or friends visit occasionally.
The project will focus on sustainability, using in-house treated water for toilets, collecting rainwater for use on green areas and using solar power for public spaces.
Owners will be able to enjoy their exclusive amenities, including a semi-covered swimming pool, lap pool, restaurant and a bar. These amenities will be cared for by the HOA, with monthly fees ranging from USD $85 to $350 per month, depending on the size of the condo.
Grupo Balance, the developer of the project, has more than 40 years of experience developing residential, commercial and industrial projects in Mexico. In Baja, they are also developing the Cuatro Cuatros project, on the Ensenada-Rosarito free road.
With prices ranging from $130K to $485K, the first tower is almost sold out, and they are starting to sell inventory on the second one. The hotel will begin operating in December this year, and the public part of the project in the first months of 2019. The condo towers are planned to be finished in April 2020 for tower A, 2021 for tower B and 2022 for C tower.
Visit the project and see for yourself what it will become. For more information or to arrange a visit call Maureen Woolrich, sales manager, at +52 (646) 174-7207, at her cell phone +52 1 (998) 202-1949 or email maureen@viento.com.mx. You can also just drop by at KM 104 Tijuana-Ensenada road in El Sauzal, or you can check out all their info at www.viento.com.mx.
