Mexico jungle development offers alternative to beach

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TULUM, Mexico — When everyone else was looking to the beach, the Schnurr family set its sights on the jungle.

About five years ago, the Austin, Texas-based developers hit upon a vision of eco-friendly development: a subdivision of solar-powered resort and retirement homes in the lush jungle two hours south of Cancun.

The Schnurrs had a hunch that the magical jungle, filled with rare orchids, mysterious underground rivers, toucans and howler monkeys, would entice buyers willing to live off the power grid in a beautiful, but sometimes unforgiving, environment.

"We had no idea what we were getting into, but we set sail," said Jason Schnurr, director of business development for the project, dubbed Los Arboles Tulum. "We really went out on a limb on this one."

It turns out people were fascinated by the idea. More than 40 lots have been pre-sold, with buyers including lawyers, teachers and movie directors from the U.S. and as far away as England and Africa.

Individual five-acre lots cost $55,000 and buyers then build their own homes following environmental safeguards.

The 1,200-acre project has sparked a host of copycat developers. The once-ignored land near Los Arboles is now the scene of several other jungle living projects.

"They are light-years ahead of the competition," said R.J. Thoman, a Texas native and long-time real estate agent in Tulum. "We're all here because of the beach, but most people can't afford the beach."

Since the onset of the financial crisis, Thoman said the jungle lots have been outselling the much pricier beach lots, which can reach $500,000 for a third of an acre.

Schnurr Ventures, made up of father and founder Greg Schnurr and sons Jason and Matt, was originally drawn to the Yucatan to develop a beachside housing development in Tulum, a free-spirited, eco-conscious town.

After the success of the original project, the group came upon an available parcel of land about eight miles away in the jungle. With help from family friend Cameron Crow, the developers came up with the concept for Los Arboles.

"Tulum has a kind of eco-boutique feel and we said, 'Let's extend that out to a residential community out in the jungle,' " explained Crow, now the company's sales director. "The first day you're out there and a toucan flies by or you see monkeys running through the trees, you realize you have an opportunity, but also a responsibility."

To preserve the jungle, the developers only allow buyers to build on 5 percent of their five-acre lots. Homes cannot be connected to outside electricity or water systems and owners will be encouraged to come up with eco-friendly solutions like solar panels.

But the developers had no idea of the challenges they would face negotiating Mexico's frustrating bureaucracy. Only in the last month have the Schnurrs cleared the last legal hurdles of environmental studies, municipal permits and, most importantly, individual titles for the subdivided lots, something they say had never been attempted in the Mexican jungle.

Spooked by stories of American buyers caught in legal nightmares, the Schnurrs made proper permitting and titling a priority. Crow said the four years spent wrangling with Mexican bureaucrats was worth it because it will give buyers legal security.