Paseo Caribe Case
Problem Definition
In 1991 the government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, acquired from the U.S. federal government a piece of land at the entrance of the San Juan Islet. The approximately six-acre property was located in the Golden Triangle of San Juan, one of the most touristic and high-priced real estate areas, the Condado, and the Colonial Zone of the island. In 1993 the government developed a Special Land Use Plan and zoning regulation for the territory, this plan could not be altered unless an amendment was made. In 1999, the government through the department of Tourism sold the land to Hilton International, in a plan that they had to develop that territory into a tourism-oriented zone. But, in the year 2000, Hilton International sold the land to a private developed named Arturo Madero. The new project was named Paseo Caribe, and was organized as a partnership between the government of Puerto Rico and the Private sector.
When the project was presented, the government and its departments approved the project and they started to build it right away with financing from the First Bank of Puerto Rico. The complex was going to have 930 hotel rooms, a shopping center, movie theater, and most importantly, it was going to provide 2,000 jobs during its construction, and 2,200 direct and indirect jobs upon opening.
Opposition started to grow upon the initiation of the construction of the project. The local residents of the area were opposed to it because the zone was going to change from residential to a tourist zone. In addition, the visitor density was going to increase, the building was going to block their building view, and the parking was going to increase the traffic flow, hence increasing air pollution. Moreover, brokers of the area were accusing Madero because they said that he had obtained that territory at a value substantially below its market value at the time. Finally, several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) protested alleging that
In 1991 the government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, acquired from the U.S. federal government a piece of land at the entrance of the San Juan Islet. The approximately six-acre property was located in the Golden Triangle of San Juan, one of the most touristic and high-priced real estate areas, the Condado, and the Colonial Zone of the island. In 1993 the government developed a Special Land Use Plan and zoning regulation for the territory, this plan could not be altered unless an amendment was made. In 1999, the government through the department of Tourism sold the land to Hilton International, in a plan that they had to develop that territory into a tourism-oriented zone. But, in the year 2000, Hilton International sold the land to a private developed named Arturo Madero. The new project was named Paseo Caribe, and was organized as a partnership between the government of Puerto Rico and the Private sector.
When the project was presented, the government and its departments approved the project and they started to build it right away with financing from the First Bank of Puerto Rico. The complex was going to have 930 hotel rooms, a shopping center, movie theater, and most importantly, it was going to provide 2,000 jobs during its construction, and 2,200 direct and indirect jobs upon opening.
Opposition started to grow upon the initiation of the construction of the project. The local residents of the area were opposed to it because the zone was going to change from residential to a tourist zone. In addition, the visitor density was going to increase, the building was going to block their building view, and the parking was going to increase the traffic flow, hence increasing air pollution. Moreover, brokers of the area were accusing Madero because they said that he had obtained that territory at a value substantially below its market value at the time. Finally, several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) protested alleging that