It didn’t look like much…just a concrete arch spanning a shallow inlet…but thanks to this recently built bridge we drove our little golf cart directly over the watery split that divides Ambergris Caye, Belize, into its northern and southern parts.
Behind us to the south was San Pedro, the island’s only town. From the other side of the bridge north stretched the lion’s share of the land that makes up Belize’s most famous caye.
I use the word “land” advisedly…no place on the island is more than a few feet above sea level. Once you cross the little bridge, the lagoons of the island’s western edge and the sandy beaches of its eastern shoreline are only a few hundred yards apart in spots, and much of the unpaved road that runs between them can be a swampy mess on the north side of the split.
But a road it is, and now that the little Boca del Rio Bridge has replaced the old ferry that used to span the split, power lines are following that road north up the island like vines climbing a trellis. And new hotels, resorts, and residential projects are blooming right along side.
My guide, Lori Purdy of ReMax Belize Property Center, has been working the Ambergris real estate market for years and is one of the most knowledgeable agents on the island. She drove me in one of Ambergris Caye’s ubiquitous golf carts on a quick tour of the current activity north of the split.
One of the first things she pointed out was a new theater and concert facility under construction, standing stark and white on what I remember from earlier trips as empty marshland. Some of the new projects on the north side are built on fill land… land reclaimed from the shallow salt flats along the western edge of the island. We passed long blocks of new town homes that seem to be literally floating on lagoons and waterways.
As we drove, Lori explained that the Belizean families who have for years been sitting on the largest parcels of land north of the split are starting to deal with developers now that power is coming up the road. As the lines move north, more and more of this former patrimony is shaking out into developments. Ambergris really is quite a large island north to south, and Lori expects development to eventually reach all the way up to Boca Chico and the Mexican border, 24 miles north of San Pedro town.
Isolated and exclusive resorts have existed for years along this stretch of the island’s northern Caribbean coast, but they’ve been off the grid, independently powered, and reachable only by water taxi. That’s changing fast.
The real estate landscape north of the Boca del Rio Bridge is evolving along with its advancing accessibility and electricity. Some projects will make it, others won’t. And not unusual for an island, the rumor mill is constantly churning out stories about which projects have financial problems, title issues, construction delays, etc.
Ambergris Caye is one of the best bets for living the good life in Belize, but it’s also a real estate market you certainly want to experience personally, shopping on the ground with someone who has the most reliable, current information possible… which is why I was glad I had Lori in the golf cart with me.
Naturally, the most developed projects are still the ones closest to San Pedro, and a few minutes past the split. One development stands out. One-bedroom ocean side units start at $125,000, two-bedrooms at $225,000. Ten units are still available here, and when completed, this will be a full service resort with swimming pools, rental office, bar and grill, and a 160-foot pier. Construction is well advanced, and the location provides the feeling of privacy that most folks are after when they look north of the split.
Also across the split, about a mile from San Pedro, is Grand Caribe. Construction here is also well advanced, with several completed units on this horseshoe-shaped project that encloses a stretch of white-sand beach and will feature its own marina. Eight blocks of condos hold a total of 72 one-, two-, and three-bedroom units ranging in size from 996 to 2,380 square feet. Prices start at $394,000, and some units are fully furnished owner resales.
You can still find low prices in the south end of the island. South of San Pedro is an established development with largely Canadian owners. The villas are in a “U” shape around a central pool and bar area that front the beach. Lori said that the rental income of the units average $6,000 per year after expenses, and one of the units was on the market for $145,000.
If you’re looking at resales elsewhere on this part of the island, one-bedroom beachfront condos are available for $215,000. Property set away from the beach cost less ($110,000 to $195,000).
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