Mark Birnbaum, the co-founder of Catch Hospitality Group, is able to commerce wild late nights for gloriously lively mornings. He’s able to go from scene eating to family-friendly excursions. He’s able to actually dip his toes within the sand as he heads into his subsequent journey.
Birnbaum continues to be concerned in Catch’s development across the nation, however he’s making an enormous swing as he unveils the following chapter of his profession.
In November, prolific Thor Urbana actual property developer Jaime Fasja’s Life Properties Worldwide will debut Nauka, a 900-plus-acre personal membership neighborhood with beachside residences, cliff estates and golf villas in Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit. Birnbaum, who’s partnered with Fasja on Life Properties, tells Observer that early-stage pricing consists of plots of untouched land that vary from $4.5 million to $15 million. Nauka members could have entry to just about three miles of swimmable seaside, however essentially the most hanging amenity may be the 18-hole Tom Fazio-designed golf course with its mountainside/jungle/estuary setting.
“My favourite baller factor is once you get to the 14th gap, you come out of the jungle and also you pop onto our three holes on the seaside,” Birnbaum says. “There’s a restaurant there, the 14th gap grill. You may have a drink and meals and bounce into the ocean, mid-round, come again, towel off and end.”
For households with kids who wish to tee off, there’s additionally a Fazio-designed par-3 course underneath lights.
Birnbaum, who says that the 85 founding members at Nauka embody CEOs, private-equity bosses, trend moguls, Corridor of Fame quarterbacks, F1 drivers and different assorted A-list athletes and entertainers, is aware of that this neighborhood is about exclusivity. However accessibility can be an enormous motive why Nauka exists. A brand new freeway part connecting Puerto Vallarta to Riviera Nayarit makes getting right here simpler. And the newly expanded Tepic airport’s addition of worldwide service (beginning with flights from Los Angeles) has opened up Riviera Nayarit to a wider viewers.
However going again to exclusivity: “We truly personal the FBO there,” Fasja says of the Tepic airport. “So for lots of company who’re flying of their personal jets, they’ll be capable of land in their very own FBO after which have a really easy transition into the property.”
Birnbaum was interested in Nauka as a result of the seaside setting reminded him extra of Hawaii and Costa Rica than a desert area like Cabo. As Fasja factors out, the latitude and climate in Riviera Nayarit make it a year-round vacation spot as an alternative of a seasonal spot.
Fasja instructed Birnbaum that he liked the concept of membership golf equipment blended with golf and residential growth. What higher place to create this than on Riviera Nayarit’s unspoiled beachfront? Life Properties can be a serious transition for Fasja, who’s branching out from his household actual property enterprise and turning into an operator of extremely elite way of life locations.
Like many actual property moguls, Fasja has constructed luxurious inns (together with the Montage in Cabo, the Ritz-Carlton in Mexico Metropolis and the Thompson in Playa del Carmen). When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, he needed to briefly shut inns and restructure loans. Whereas quarantining in Cabo, he performed golf and began visiting personal communities.
“What I spotted is that 20 years in the past, branded residential was the factor, proper?” Fasja says. “Manufacturers like 4 Seasons and Ritz-Carlton began doing residential merchandise. However then over time, that turned too mainstream. What we noticed is we had a younger clientele that was able to be shopping for their second, third, fourth, fifth dwelling. And what they had been on the lookout for was a family-oriented neighborhood. In addition they actually needed to have a way of place. So in case you’re in Mexico on the Pacific aspect, you wish to…actually really feel such as you’re on the ocean. At Nauka, we now have a number of the finest climate on this planet, as an alternative of being a seasonal place like Cabo. After which for us, wellness turned a really huge factor. We see that folks wish to reside longer. “
Fasja, who earned a level in structure and urbanism earlier than going to enterprise college, is all-in with Life Properties.
“We went from being simply builders to truly working the enterprise,” Fasja says. “We’re doing gross sales. We’re doing operations. We’re doing administration. And we’re additionally doing the event. We’re opening eating places. And we’re arising with the concepts of various ideas for households.”
Fasja observed that kid-friendly facilities at different locations typically contain indoor video arcades and plenty of display time. So at Nauka, kids can go fishing, study sea life, go to an estuary, hit the rope programs and zip-line from a volcano.
Birnbaum is aware of he’s discovered a associate who’s able to make a career-defining wager. Birnbaum, who drastically admires what Michael Meldman has executed with Discovery Land Firm’s personal communities around the globe, additionally is aware of that Life Properties is a brand new method for him to faucet into the clientele he’s cultivated at Catch.
His purpose now’s catering to discerning households and giving them facilities like a seaside membership with a 197-foot oceanfront infinity pool; an journey middle with paddleboards and even an Iguana boat for whale-watching; a deep-water marina and yacht membership; a sports activities park and racquet membership; and rather more. A day at Nauka can imply beginning on the go-kart monitor or batting cages earlier than watching a film on the outside theater.
Nauka can even embody Siari, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, which could have 87 keys, together with a five-bedroom presidential suite. Siari will function a wellness middle and 5 food-and-beverage venues from acclaimed Mexican chef David Castro Hussong. The eating places will serve produce from Nauka’s personal natural farm.
A newly constructed high-speed toll street means the journey to Nauka is about 45 minutes from the Puerto Vallarta airport. Driving from the Tepic airport takes about 35 minutes. Nauka’s on-site helipad and deep-slip marina add to the journey choices.
Completed residences at Nauka vary from $6 million to $12 million, and there’s a rental pool that homeowners can put their properties into once they’re elsewhere. Birnbaum notes that having members pay an initiation charge of greater than $200,000 and yearly dues is extra profitable than operating a high-profile restaurant.
“To me, that’s a a lot better and extra attention-grabbing enterprise,” Birnbaum says. “To not point out, I’m caring for not simply a person however a complete household. And I, now as a household individual, am extraordinarily desirous about how I’m spending my subsequent hopefully 50 years, God keen, with my spouse and youngsters and my buddies with their kids having the best time ever. That is the one enterprise I’ve ever identified, entertaining folks and giving them experiences. And now I’ve, for instance, a 15-acre jungle wellness facility.”
Past Nauka, Fasja, Birnbaum and Life Properties are engaged on two different developments. Caye Chapel in Belize is a members-only personal island with a Greg Norman-designed golf course and a 4 Seasons resort and residences. Bruma in Mexico’s Guadalupe Valley is a wine-focused resort neighborhood the place Hussong operates the extremely regarded Fauna and the place Life Properties will quickly announce a brand new resort.
Birbaum and Life Properties are taking a look at different components of the world, together with U.S. ski locations and worldwide locales, to do fourth and fifth initiatives. “Every one in every of them could have a resort,” Birnbaum says.
At every property, Birnbaum will proceed to do what he does. He’ll contact his clientele of energy gamers and celebrities and inform them about a fantastic expertise he’s providing, like the way it’s doable to play padel, pickleball or tennis on the ocean at Nauka.
For Nauka, Life Properties has discovered high-profile members with none promoting or brokers.
“This solely got here from myself and the companions, after which the members themselves have introduced this neighborhood collectively,” Birnbaum says. “It’s a full insider, like-minded neighborhood of individuals which are family-focused, within the open air, ocean, wellness, sports activities and luxurious journey. On the finish of the day, we’re simply doing it with individuals who wish to have personal time with their household and buddies.”
