Panama Real Estate Losing It's Historic Appeal
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(thepanamareport.com)With the unfortunate demolition of Panama's historic architecture in favor of new dated-looking condominium towers, the nation's capital city is losing not only its historical fabric, but also the essence and personality that drew people there in the first place.
Panama City was once (and many would say still to this day) a crossroads of the New World. Immigrants flocked from all over the world to start new lives on the isthmus, building it up as a cultural think-tank of business, language, and trade. It was in this period for Panama that outside architectural influence was at its height, and ignorance for the past, present and future at an all time low.
So it is with much concern that today's existing French-Caribbean architecture with ornate wood carvings and Spanish-colonial homes with rustic tiled roofs are being torn down regularly in San Fransicso, Marbella, and Bella Vista (among other districts) and being replaced by large, out-of-scale structures: a process which will change the character of the neighborhoods forever.
Avenida Central, as a specific example, which runs through Caledonia and into Bella Vista (before leading into Calle 50) is one that bisects a marginal neighborhood. It is flanked though, by some of the most stunning once-prospering pieces of real estate in Panama City. The current sales office for Tucan Country Club, a white palace of columns and intricate moldings: an absolute gem on the eye. Or Arcos de Bella Vista; a beautiful Mediterranean-style guesthouse/mansion.
Some might argue that the demolition of similar buildings is a direct result of developer greed, considering more money can be made more rapidly in building and selling high-end ocean-view pre-construction condos. But in response, it would be sensible to look at other historic cities and towns in the region to gain not only an appreciation for the restoration and preservation of a culture, but to cash in on the undoubtable gold mine they're so blindly sitting atop.
Cartegena for example, the historic destination known for its pastel colors and delicate European facades, is the most expensive and (arguably) most sustainable real estate market in Columbia.
Examples like Old San Juan (Puerto Rico), Grenada (Nicaragua), and Antigua (Guatemala) are wonderful leaders in the field of historic real estate preservation in Central America. And while that's not to say Panama shows no concern over the subject, there is clearly a lot of room for improvement. Maybe the greatest challenge is revitalizing such old buildings while keeping them competitive in the modern marketplace: meaning efficient for commercial and residential occupation.
As the entire nation has become caught in the whirlwind of Panama real estate, one of glitzy towers and ocean view lots, one of billboards with gringos sipping coffee from their Pottery Barn terraza, there has been a significant (perhaps unconscious) sense of tunnel vision through which smart growth, environmental sustainability and cultural authenticity in the Republic's capital are being overlooked. And it is this generic and monotonous process, of ignoring such safeguards, that threatens seriously the economic and social diversity of Panama as a whole.
Casco Viejo, the UNESCO Herritage site of Panama City is perhaps the only destination in the Republic with strict, in-force historic real estate preservation laws: meaning neighborhoods where foreigners and locals alike are purchasing property in which to live or work. Unarguably, it's the most thriving.
"Protecting historic properties makes a community more beautiful and more salable," points out Chris Leporini of Realtor Magazine Online. "When you preserve historic properties, you're not just saving a building or plot of land, you're protecting part of your community's character and giving buyers a reason to want to live there."
Retaining historical architectural appeal is a proven magnet for tourism throughout the world. Panama has historically made a name for itself by setting the bar and showing foresight into the future. Some might then opt to characterize the new wave of real estate towers as groundbreaking or even visionary.
But in a world of budding technology and global real estate appeal, with condos on the moon perhaps closer than we think, what will truly make this developing city a place everyone wants to live? What will truly make Panama City a unique travel and investment destination? Government officials and City leaders should reconsider their plan for long term authentic and culturally sustainable growth: an effort to protect the very components that drew now-Panamanians here in the first place.
