Place your bets !!

If I were a betting man, this is the access road I would bet the ranchito on. The white line in the photo is the second proposal of access to the Paseo Morelia mall and the rest of Altozano. This will require a "Megapuente", a bridge of some sort, which is shown in the two white arches which will span the Rio Chiquito .

This makes much more sense to me, as the access will be from the McDonald's on Camelinas near the Plaza Morelia. The Megatunnel which I have described in previous posts, although it may be more unique and possibly more asthetic to the eye, is too controversial in this town. Plus its access to Camelinas is at the Sanson Flores intersection, which is only one stoplight away from the present access road at "La Paloma" intersection.

Of course, all of this now is a giant political football. Without getting too political, the players here are very high profile at this moment in Mexico. Felipe Calderon, Morelia's native son, and present President of the Republic, is more than ready to fork over the pesos to make this project a success. Standing in the way, is the newly elected Governor of Michoacan, whom is from the opposition party. Will funds forked over from the Federal Government, be used to buoy the opposition's losing presidential candidate? I understand his real initials are MALO , but somehow Andres became his first name, not Manuel, after he had the epiphany of politics in his blood.

Alas,, politics aside, two access roads to this area will happen this year. Too many interests are at stake for it not to happen. One will be the MegaPuente or MegaTunnel, and the other will be an access out to the Patzcuaro Highway.

Plaza Las Americas, virtual tour

For a virtual tour of how the revamped Plaza Las Americas will look inside, visit this youtube video posted by Manavion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO402M57RcE

Altozano's Master Plan. where they stand.

Above is the master plan for the Altozano project. I took this off of their website, and I have amplified the numbers and put some of the communities in English. Their website is a little frustrating to navigate, regardless of the language. http://www.altozano.com.mx/. Anyway, you can click on the above map, enlarge it, so that the names and numbers are legible. I am going to clarify the specific areas in this and future posts with photos to show their present state of development.



1. Bosque Monarca...see previous posts for photos. I have been told that 9 holes will be open for play this spring. I hope to get there soon to take some updated photos of the golf course construction. In December, there were only a handfull of holes ready for play.












2 . Punta Altozano (anyone else have the tendency to say/type Altazona?) I have insider info on this, as one of my in-laws built a nice 3 BR home here. There are modern townhomes, aimed at both first time home buyers, young families, as well as retirees.











Punto Altozano is the most populated area of the development as of now. It is very close to the entrance to Bosque Monarca, the golf course.




3. Paraiso Altozano. This is just to the right as you head down the hill from the Tec de Monterry traffic circle. At present, there are 2-3 buildings in this gated community. The appear to be well built, large residences.

THE PRICE OF PROGRESS

This field to the right was one of my favorites up here near Altozano. This photo was taken in Sept 2005 when the "Mirasoles" were in full bloom....Almost looks as if it should be hanging in the Musee d'Orsay.

This is how the field looked last fall, after the Government got hold of it. The city decided to use it as a construction area, as they spent months destroying, then rebuilding our main access road into Jesus del Monte. Hopefully the Mirasoles will return, they are almost like weeds up here.

 

Our road to Jesus Del Monte before the construction began. A little cluttered with pedestrian traffic, but overall, not in too bad a state.

 

 

 

 

For weeks, this is how they left the access road to my home, and no, I do not own a range rover.

 

 

 

For many a day, this is how the road looked , or worse, with machines standing idly by while Government officials looked for the money that was "misplaced".

 

 

 

One year later, here is the new road, pretty much like the old road, although the septic, drainage, and water pipes below are in much better repair.

Paseo Morelia

Construction on the new "Paseo Morelia" mall keeps going, day and night. It still boggles my mind to think I will have one of the largest malls in Latin America (reported to be between 90-120,ooo square meters of construction), near my backyard. The success or failure of this depends on the access routes to be approved and built by the government. Below is a bird's eye view of where the "megatunnel" is slated to be built.

The white area in the photo to the right is where the mall is being constructed, the white curvy line cutting through the trees is where the megatunnel will be built underground. The golf course on the lower left is the Club Campestre, to give you an idea of locale.

This shot was taken from the Pope's traffic circle in January, it is hard to appreciate the immensity of this mall from afar. I guess they know their market, and I will not quarrel with Grupo GICSA's success, but with the new look "Plazas Las Americas" and the redone " Antigua Centro Caminero" (see below), I have my doubts that all this retail space can be successful.

The "old" bus station as it looks today, it is behind the " Mercado de Dulces" in Morelia center. It sits abandoned as we speak, but my memories of first arriving on an ETN bus to Morelia here live on.

The proposed new look mall at the same site (right). Supposedly, funding for its construction is due to kick in this year (2008)

The 1st stage of the "Plaza Las Americas" facelift is nearing its completion. The new half of the present plaza that includes Sears and Fabricas de F

rancia is due to open within the next month or two...or 3 or 4 :)