September Construction Update

Construction at Bala Beach Resort

On 18 September, 2009, I visited the constructin site at Maria Chiquita, Panama for the Bala Beach Resort. As you will see in the pictures, all of the first 3 buildings are under construction. The contractor has excellent security and thanks to the good people at the Bala office, I was able to enter the site to get some good pictures of the construction action.

The employee housing is completed and provides for a good number of workers to live right on site. The substantial excavation rises up just behind the staging area. This is where buildings one, two, and three are taking form.

Building one has the foundation completed, the basement poured and was already going up from level one to level 2. Concrete trucks were frequent visitors, bring loads of concrete for the columns to suppor the next floor. Here are pictures of building one:

Building 2 has the foundation finished. and the basement in and the ground floor in final stages, preparing to move up to the next floor. Men were working on all three buildings at the same time. While concrete was being used only on building one while I was there, forms were being prepared in buildings 2 and three for concrete. The number of people working onsite looked to be around 60.

Here are pictures of building 2, some show buildings 3 and 1 as well:

In the picture to the right, you can see building 2, with the rebar columns ready to go up to the next floor. In the background is building 3.

The foundation is a very slow and laborious process. Building the structure above ground proceeds quickly and it is exciting to see this stage of construction.

Building 3 has the foundation in. The basement is underconstruction and once, the concrete has hardened, preparations will be made to go up from ground level.

This shows building 2, with building 3 in the background. Building 3 is near the property boundary and should afford some excellent views of ships waiting to enter the canal at Colon from upper floors.

More pictures of building 3 below:

I took video as well. If I can figure out how to edit it and post it, I will. The video shows the views from the 1st floor (the floor above ground level) in building 1 as well as considerable footage of the other two buildings. Check back in October to see this video and thanks for looking.

July Construction Update !

Check out the lastest July 2009 construction update from Bala Beach Resort. We can finally see the first building rise above ground level. My experience watching the construction of a highrise tower in Panama City was that the foundation seemed to take forever. Once the building started to climb skyward, construction proceeded rapidly. It seemed to slow again when interior finishing was underway. Of course, weather, crew size, equipment and access to building supplies as well as strikes, holidays etc, all play their part.

This video is encouraging. You can also begin to get an idea of the distance to the beach and views from ground level in a couple of the images:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW9NXxPIU8Q

Panama - Colon Highway

Getting to Bala Beach Resort is much easier now.

Here is a recently posted video on YouTube (in spanish) showing more views of the new link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzdomz9n8Kc

2 NEW CONSTRUCTION VIDEOS - MAY 2009

Two new construction videos show buildings one and two progress. Check out these videos, posted on YouTube. They show the recently completed Panama City to Colon highway as well as construction of the first buildings. Even if you do not speak or understand Hebrew, there is a second video which shows the construction site as well, also taken in May. If this project is like others, the foundation takes time, but once the bulding starts to rise from the ground, construction is more rapid. Then it seems to slow again as interior finishing etc. is accomplished. It will be exciting to see the buildings begin to rise from the ground.

I plan to visit the site later this year and will post images and video here.

Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K78V6H-I94

(hebrew version below)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiK6SYOiWvE

New Progress Video

Check out the lastest construction video from the Bala Beach Resort project site:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R2J5Swmltc

The elevated site for buildings 1,2 and 3 is being excavated. Another video shows the employee area under construction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5E5tXL8VJY
If you visit the site, you will see a large area with a metal privacy fence surrounding it. The employee quarters are insite this fenced area.
Things are changing fast now!

BALA BEACH SAFARI

Since my first visit in 2007 to the Bala Beach Resort site, I have always wanted to explore the waterfront to the west of the construction site. There were no houses as far as the eye could see, only unspoiled tropical coastline.

The Bala Beach Resort is located at the edge of Maria Chiquita. Maria Chiquita is located on a large sandy beach on the caribbean side of Panama in Central Ameerica. The beach forms a gentle "U". At the west end of the beach is the Bala Beach Resort construction site. This is where the homes end and the mostly untouched waterfront continues.

Where the sandy beach ends, a rocky reef begins and extends well out into the water. You will see the waves breaking at the outer edge of the reef. At low tide, some of the reef is exposed but on my visit the tide was in. With good beach sandals or reef shoes you will find this walk to be more safe and more comfortable.

Near the point, you may need to weave your way through some beautiful trees. Although I don't know what they are called in Panama, in the Dominican Republic they are called "Uva de Playa" or Beach Grapes. The fruit, once ripe is delicious.

A couple young men passed me early on the safari. They were from Maria Chiquita and were carrying some swim fins and dive masks and make-shift fishing equipment. I asked them where they were headed and they said they were going to do some diving. They were a little unsure about what they might find but "Pulpo" (octopus) was a possibility according to one of them.

I had decided to walk as far west as I could within the constraints of time and passability. It was easier to walk on land in a couple of places, but mostly wading in shallow water was more comfortable.

At waters edge, some nice flowers were in bloom. Whatever they are, they were beautiful.

During my previous visit to the area, I had noticed a native dugout canoe on the shore, but this time it was missing. So on I went, following the two divers who had passed me and were gaining ground.

Next the mouth of a small creek turned the water cool but was no problem to wade past. The brownish waters of the jungle poured lazily into the bay. Miniscule fish darted about as if testing the fresh water.

The shallow reef continued and around the next corner I could see what looked to be a larger bay and possibly the mouth of a larger river. Looking out to the deep water, I could see a large ship waiting it's turn to enter the Panama Canal. Then, further in, a dugout canue turned broadside to me, fishermen working the sea for a meal. The divers were making ready to wade out on the reef to see what they could find. I caught up with them and wished them good luck. As they waded out onto the reef, they called a greeting to the canoe.

A water taxi was taking people to what looked like the mouth of the river. This was as far as I could make it without climbing through mangroves or dealing with the river or whatever it was. What fun to see these three diverse vessels all in one spot!

I watched as the water taxi made 3 attempts to go into the river. Finally it disappeared from sight.

Only 24 minutes into my walk, it was time to return to Bala Beach as the day was warming up and I was ready to cool down. On the return trip, a short cut over land to avoid some trees which had fallen in the water revealed a native hut, probably the home of the canoe folks. It is hidden back from the beach and you could walk by it easily and not see it.

Back at Maria Chiquita, I went to a local market and bought a nice cold drink. Back at the resort construction site, the breeze was picking up just in time to keep things from getting too warm.

By walking near the west end of the beach I could avoid the surf and go for a nice swim in the bath-tub warm tropical waters of the caribbean. Heaven!

If you visit Bala Beach Resort, take a little time to explore. Panama is such a beautiful country with incredible natural beauty and unspoiled places. You won't regret it.

Bala Beach Resort Construction Update & Photos

SEPTEMBER, 2008 BALA BEACH RESORT SITE VISIT

Bala Beach Resort is beginning to show evidence of progress. I visited the site on Sunday, September 14th.


The drive from my hotel on Via Espana was not difficult, but changes in one way streets in Panama City meant a little research had to be done first.


The route had not changed much, but construction still continues on the Panama - Colon road, so be prepared for delays. It sure will be nice when it is finished!



Finally the MacDonald's on the left and the Rey supermarket on the right marked the place to turn right to Maria Chiquita. I watched for the cemetary on the left that Karen at the Bala office told me to watch for and turned left. A government project sign at the intersection marked the road loactation. These signs only show up after a development has obtained government environmental permits.



The access road had a good quality gravel base and bypassed the center of Maria Chiquita. It passed through the west edge of the village before turning along the beach to cross the small bridge to the project site. The final hill leading through the village had some impressive gutters installed but will need more gravel as some erosion was evident.

Even on Sunday, there was movement on site. A guard kept an eye on the site and an equipment operator was working with the trackhoe to clean and level part of the project site.

After taking a few pictures, I went for a long-planned hike along the beach (see "Bala Beach Safari" Post)

After returning to the project site, having been re-invigorated by a cold drink from the nearby shop downtown and a nice swim I took the remaining pictures and began the drive back to Panama City.

A medium sized trackhoe, a dozer and a roller (used to compact soil) were all present. You will see in the pictures that the level area at the base of the small hills has been cleared and further leveled. A large privacy fence, commonly used in developments in Panama was erected. The previously existing beach facilities looked like they were being used to provide some initial facilities for workers use. All-in-all it was impressive to see the changes in preparation for the beginnings of construction.

It looks like further excavation will be needed to level the grades for the foundations of Buildings 1 to 5. Those of us who have signed on the dotted line to purchase a pre-construction piece of paradise should be pleased to see this progress.

Although I could not see exactly where the bridge had been reinforced, it looked sound and ready for construction traffic.

MORE PICTURES: