Month: April 2019

As a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, Mark Melancon doesn’t spend much time in the outfield. On a recent Sunday, he made an exception.

 

The stands at San Francisco’s Oracle Park were empty, the hot dog carts were closed and the jumbotron was dark. But Mr. Melancon wasn’t there to play. Rather, he was completing a plan for his Mexican dream home, a 19,000-square-foot villa in a new development in Riviera Nayarit, about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta.

 

A team from the project, including developer Ricardo Santa Cruz, had flown to California to re-create the floor plan for the mansion on the outfield using stakes and rope. The idea: Mr. Melancon would be able to walk through the near-finalized design at its actual scale to see if there was anything he or his wife Mary Catherine wanted to change. Mr. Santa Cruz’s team spent three hours measuring out the dimensions of the space, inserting green metal stakes into the outfield grass and dragging around long yellow ropes to mark the outlines of the rooms.

 

“Imagine you’re about 120 feet up in the air with the ocean below,” the developer said as he stood in what would be the home’s enormous 22-foot-by- 43-foot living room. He pointed out past the left field bleachers to the Coca-Cola fan lot, where a giant Coke bottle with playground slides lights up with every Giants home run. Looking out from the home in that direction, the Melancons would see the Pacific Ocean.

 

Mr. Melancon, who owns a smaller home nearby, vacations frequently in Mexico with his family but found himself too busy preparing for the season to fly back and forth to sign off on the small details of the architectural plans. So, the project came to him—twice. The first time they mapped out the floor plan on the field last fall, he and his wife made changes to the main pool, which they realized was too narrow, and they redesigned the kitchen to make it more closed off from the other living areas.

 

The house, designed by Arizona architect Rick Joy, will be finished in 2020. It will have eight bedrooms, a gym, a casino and game room, two hot tubs and two pools, one for playing with the children and an infinity pool that appears to hang off the edge of the bluff.

 

“It is different to see it on paper than to actually walk it. When you can physically walk through rooms, it gives you a much better idea of the size,” said Mr. Santa Cruz, who is a partner of developer RLH Properties on the project.

 

The process, known as staking, famously made it onto the silver screen in the 2009 film “It’s Complicated,” starring Meryl Streep and Steve Martin as the architect she hires to design an extension to her house. Mr., Martin’s character stakes out the footprint for the addition in the yard and then takes her up on a ladder to show her the view from her new bedroom window. Mr. Santa Cruz said it is relatively uncommon to stake out projects, especially off-site. “I’ve rarely seen it done,” he said.

 

Messrs. Melancon and Santa Cruz needed a massive space. They originally discussed mapping out the floor plan in a nearby parking lot, but they worried they wouldn’t be able to keep cars out for long enough to complete their discussions. To everyone’s delight, Mr. Melancon suggested the baseball field. The Giants allowed them access to the field at no cost. Mr. Santa Cruz didn’t charge to come do the staking.

 

It took months to find a time when the field wasn’t in use—when not being used for games, it is often leased out for private events or commandeered by the grounds crew. During the initial walk-through, members of the grounds crew looked on with curiosity.

 

“They weren’t nosy but they’d come up and say ‘Wow, is that whole thing his house?” Mr. Santa Cruz recalled. “That is one big house.”

 

It feels large to Mr. Melancon too. “It seems huge right now,” he laughed, staring out at the field.

 

A three-time All-Star, Mr. Melancon, 34, has been pitching for the Giants since 2017; he signed a four-year $62 million contract. He was called up to the majors by the New York Yankees in 2009 and has also played for the Washington Nationals, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Red Sox, among others.

 

His house is one of about 120 being built on 640 acres in the Mexican jungle as part of a project called Mandarina. Mr. Santa Cruz spent years negotiating to buy the land. The sough-after site was an Ejido, a land cooperative owned jointly by more than 58 families who all had to agree to the sale. He declined to disclose what he paid for it. The site encompasses a one-mile long stretch of beach and mountains.

 

The houses range in price from about $4.5 million to $12 million, Mr. Santa Cruz said. Buyers purchase only the footprint of their houses, since the developers want to continue to control the landscape surrounding the properties. Mr. Santa Cruz said 14 of the homes are already sold.

 

Mandarina will be anchored by a beach resort operated by hotel brand One&Only. Mr. Melancon said his wife, who helps run the family’s synthetic turf business and operates some rental properties they own, had fallen in love with One&Only on a family trip to the Bahamas as a child. When she had the couple’s bucket list made out in calligraphy as a wedding gift for him, she included a stay at one of their hotels. Owning a home in one of their resorts was even better, he said.

 

For their three children, the resort will also have a BMX mountain biking track, a polo and equestrian center, a kid’s farm, kayaking, surfing and bird-watching. Once Mr. Melancon retires, he and his wife plan to spend several months there each year, he said.

 

They were among the first people to visit the site after it was sold and had their pick of parcels, climbing over jungle trees that had been razed to make way for the homes. They chose one on a private bluff overlooking the ocean, paying around $9 million for the completed home.

 

An inner courtyard is 60 feet and 6 inches, the exact distance between the pitching mound and home plate.

 

“We were like, ‘Mark, if you need to practice, you’ll have the exact same setup,’” Mr. Santa Cruz joked.

 

*Originally posted on The Wall Street Journal

I never thought that I would be ready to buy a home sight unseen, but after touring the only partially developed Mandarina in Mexico, I’m ready. Apparently so are countless others, as the $1 billion luxury residential and hotel resort has already sold several custom villas before having a single one completely built.

 

Found in the coastal jungle in Riviera Nayarit, which is less than an hour’s drive from Puerto Vallarta and only a 15-minute drive from the charming surfing town of Sayulita, Mandarina is a massive endeavor. Taking over two mountains, and the flatlands and one-mile-long beach in between, the 640-acre property will ultimately include two luxury hotels (the One&Only and the Rosewood) and private residences under each brand. Amenities will include a polo and equestrian club (which will have its own on-site veterinary clinic, which is a very big deal when it comes to the health and welfare of the horses), a farm that will provide much of the ingredients used in the property’s many restaurants, an adventure outpost offering a jungle course designed by Costa Rican firm Adventure Playground, a beach club, a preserved estuary, and so much more.

 

Mandarina has been a long time coming. In order to purchase the 640 acres, Ricardo Santa Cruz, president and CEO of RSC and the founding partner of Mandarina, had to strike a deal with each landowner (and each member of their family) one by one. This mission took him all over the world and lasted nearly a decade, but thankfully Santa Cruz is no stranger to the process. As one of the largest real estate developers in Mexico, he has already negotiated thousands of acres that are collectively worth more than $90 million in capital. He is only one of the many reasons why so many people are jumping at the chance to purchase a private home on the site before it has even been built.

 

First of all, if you haven’t visited Riviera Nayarit coastline, you might be surprised that it is an actual jungle befitting Jurassic Park. Exotic and wild, the landscape is cherished by the Mandarina team and their respect and admiration can be seen in the detailed plans for the property. A treasure trove of archeological wonders, there are archeologists on staff who ultimately decide what gets built where and what areas absolutely cannot be touched. Actually, despite how huge the project actually is, the majority of the land will remain preserved, including the aforementioned estuary in the flatlands. In fact, one of the goals is that when the land is viewed from the water, the buildings will blend in so seamlessly that they will be hard to distinguish from the lush greenery.

 

Construction is currently underway on the One&Only half of Mandarina (with the Rosewood to follow), and though there are only a handful of model rooms built to full scale for potential buyers to view, 18 of the 55 villas have already been sold at the time of publication. I was extremely lucky to get an all-access tour of the property to see the site and check out the plans for the residences and resort, and I can confidently say that once complete, Mandarina will be one of the most beautiful travel destinations in the world.

 

Though I can’t publish any photos of the sample rooms that I toured, I can assure you that the overall look and feel match these renderings perfectly. Designed by world-renowned Rick Joy Architects, each one of the 55 villas is built into the green mountainside, disturbing Mother Nature as little as possible in order to maintain the overall look of the mountains. Though each home offers ocean views, you might get a little more than that depending on which home you choose. Those that are higher up will give you the feeling of being suspended over everything, allowing you to see the ocean, the jungle, the flatlands and the mountain range. The villas that are lower tend to feel more engulfed by the tropical plants around it, offering a more remote feeling.

 

The two-story Villas are either four- or five-bedroom homes, each designed to focus on an outdoor living space with large rooms that open onto the pool terrace. The larger Estate Villas feature two homesites with eight bedrooms all together and are designed for multi-generational living and large-scale entertaining. Since the residences are designed to bring the outdoors in, the homes will feature details like infinity pools suspended out into the jungle, sky-high ceilings, indoor/outdoor showers and bathtubs, retractable skylights and all-glass walls. Each one will have a different look and will have different structural design needs depending on the topography of where it sits. They have also been designed to be climate responsive and environmentally responsible.

 

While I learned a lot about what Mandarina has in store for homeowners, I can’t give too much away. However, I can say that there will be an internationally renowned chef taking on what will probably become the area’s best restaurant. Also, the 85,000-square-foot Kids’ Club has been designed by a famed Hollywood set designer whom you will definitely recognize and while I didn’t get to see any renderings, I picked up on some major Peter Pan in Neverland vibes. It will ultimately include spectacular treehouses, an insect hut, water activities, a nature trail, a butterfly sanctuary, and an outdoor amphitheater.

 

Another cool feature is The Jetty, which will have a firepit at the end, meant to symbolize the dormant volcano that originally shaped the land. The Jetty will also have plenty of places to socialize, as well as a dock for small vessels, and will be a great spot to take in all of the Mandarina from the water.

 

The One&Only hotel at Mandarina will be opening in 2020, with the Rosewood following after. One&Only Mandarina Private Homes are currently for sale, ranging between $4.5 million and $12 million. I can only hope that I will be invited back to visit once everything is completed and if I’m lucky, never have to leave.

 

*Originally posted on JustLuxe

One&Only is adding a string of new resorts to its portfolio of beachfront, urban and nature retreats. Alongside two very different openings on the calendar this year, there are also plans for two new European properties in 2020 – the first foray into the continent for One&Only. As with all its properties, One&Only’s new destinations will be smart and wonderfully unstuffy, embracing local cultures and traditions. In addition to the new resorts on the agenda, One&Only has also just launched One&Only Private Homes whereby people can buy a private residential villa within some of its spectacular locations.

Less than an hour north of Puerto Vallarta between the jungle and a one-mile stretch of perfect beach, One&Only Mandarina will sit against the spectacular backdrop of the Sierra del Vallejo mountain range (pictured below). There will be a beach club, kids’ club and spa, as well as new One&Only Private Homes (pictured above) to buy and rent. Nearby will be One&Only Xala, a tented camp of 17 luxury suites set along five miles of amazing beach.

*Originally posted on Conde Nast Traveler

A little over a week ago, SF Giants pitcher Mark Melancon got some rather unusual help visualizing how his new dream home will look like.

 

He set up a meeting with developer Ricardo Santa Cruz and his team — which flew in from Mexico, where they’re busy building his 19,000-square-foot tropical paradise — to consult with the baseball player on plans for his new home.

 

But since Mark Melancon wanted to get a better grasp of the breakdown of the space, he turned to a rather unusual visual aid: he took developer Ricardo Santa Cruz to Oracle Park, where together they re-created the floor plans for the mansion on the outfield using stakes and rope. And they seemed to have had a great time doing it too, with Santa Cruz seemingly giving Mark Melancon a tour of his soon-to-be home. See below for some pictures of the two during their design field trip (pun intended) to Oracle Park, courtesy of The Agency.

 

Mark Melancon’s House at One&Only Mandarina

 

The pro baseball pitcher purchased a soon-to-be-built 19,000-square-foot villa at One&Only Mandarina, set within the upscale Mandarina resort in Mexico.

 

The house, designed by Rick Joy, will be completed in 2020. Perched on a private bluff overlooking the ocean, Mark Melancon’s house will feature 8 bedrooms, a gym, a casino and game room, two hot tubs and two pools (one meant the little ones) and an infinity pool that appears to hang off the edge of the bluff.

 

Part of the upscale Mandarina resort

 

Since the SF Giants pitcher bought one of the 55 ultra private villas at One&Only Mandarina, that places his future home right in the heart of the (rather exclusive) Mandarina resort, touted as “the most significant new resort and residential community to grace the shores of Mexico in decades”.

 

Set about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta, Mandarina runs along the pristine Riviera Nayarit, home of some of the country’s most exclusive resorts, with a nearly 200-mile stretch of coastline in the Western Mexican State of Nayarit, between the forested mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Pacific Ocean.

 

Basically, in addition to the resort amenities of One&Only Mandarina, Mark Melancon gets access to the amenities of the entire Mandarina community, stretching from the tropical Riviera Nayarit jungle to the stunning water edges. Not to mention that, nestled between the mountain peaks of Mandarina lie the Flatlands, a sprawling green landscape that features some of the most outstanding amenities in the community: an equestrian club, beach club, estuary, and more.

 

All these wonders of nature within reach to the man that once swam with great white sharks in New Zealand while serving as a Major League ambassador to the country in 2011.

 

Now, Melacron’s idea of using stakes and ropes to recreate the floorplans of his home was quite ingenious. I wonder what he’ll think of to recreate those views in Oracle Park. That’d be a sight to see.

 

*Originally posted on Fancy Pants Homes