Puerto Rico authorizes $2 billion coastal luxury development that activists oppose

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s government has authorized construction of a $2 billion luxury development in the island’s southwest region that environmentalists have decried, warning it would strain the U.S. territory’s resources and threaten wildlife.

The project known as Esencia would be built on 2,000 acres in the coastal town of Cabo Rojo. It would include 500 luxury hotel rooms, 1,200 private residences, two golf courses, an equestrian center, a school from kindergarten to 12th grade and a 24/7 medical center, among other things.

Global investment firm Reuben Brothers and real estate development company Three Rules Capital said in a statement Friday that more than 75% of the project would be dedicated to conservation and green space, including restoring roughly 33 acres of wetlands and rehabilitating coastal dunes and mangrove ecosystems.

They also said the development would be entirely powered by renewable energy and would have its own water and energy infrastructure.

Hotel brands joining the project so far are Mandarin Oriental and Rosewood Hotels & Resorts.

Environmentalists decried the approval, which Puerto Rico’s Adjunct Board of the Permit Management Office issued late Thursday. The approval was shared with The Associated Press on Friday.

“We are going to fight this in every forum possible,” said Braulio Quintero, executive director of the Puerto Rico-based Institute for Socio-Ecological Research. He is among those opposing the project.

Quintero criticized officials for approving construction “without a public hearing, without governmental transparency.”

Quintero also called on the developers to face Puerto Ricans.

“These individuals must be subjected to public scrutiny,” he said. “These are serious threats to our sustainability as a people.”

The developers have stressed that they will protect the environment and uphold public access to the beach. They noted that the project is expected to generate more than 17,000 jobs and asserted it would set a benchmark for “environmentally conscious luxury development.”

Developers said sales would start later this year and anticipated welcoming the first residents and guests in late 2029.