Reserva de Mar

Reserva de Mar is the project that has Ocean Park and Chihuahua talking: a gated community planned over some 120 hectares of coastline bounded by the El Potrero stream, the Ruta Interbalnearia and the Río de la Plata. Originally driven by Brazilian businessman Alexandre Grendene Bertelle —who later sold his stake—, it obtained in September 2024 the approval of regulatory exceptions from the Maldonado Departmental Board, a key step to reclassify the rural land plots and enable the development. The process was not free of controversy: neighbors and environmental groups reported earthworks and fencing carried out before the approvals, and took the case to the courts and the Ministry of Environment. Beyond the debate, it is the most significant territorial transformation underway on this stretch of coast, and one worth watching closely.

Reserva de Mar is planned across some 120 hectares of coastline with exceptional landscape value: the untouched stretch bounded by the El Potrero stream, the Ruta Interbalnearia, the Río de la Plata and the Ocean Park resort, bordering Chihuahua. It's one of the last great open stretches of coast between Punta Ballena and Piriápolis, with wild beach, wetlands and coastal woodland. The cadastral parcels involved —31.394, 31.395, 32.165 and 31.896— were classified as rural, and that original classification explains both the project's appeal and the intensity of the debate surrounding it: developing here means permanently transforming a landscape that neighbors and environmental groups consider common heritage. Whatever the outcome, the area is already on investors' map.

The masterplan bears the signature of Gómez Platero, one of Uruguay's largest architecture and urban planning firms, and is driven by the Reserva de Mar Trust, made up of several partners; Brazilian businessman Alexandre Grendene Bertelle was originally involved and later sold his stake. The key administrative milestone came in September 2024, when the Maldonado Departmental Board approved file 332/2024 with regulatory exceptions to enable the development, with votes from the Partido Nacional and the Partido Colorado. The process remains under scrutiny: neighborhood organizations in Ocean Park have reported earthmoving, tree removal and a fence built before authorizations were granted, with complaints filed with the courts and the Ministry of Environment. The project is moving forward, but its final timeline is not yet public.

Reserva de Mar is, today, a story to follow rather than a product to buy: there is no public commercial offering of lots or units, and the urban-planning and environmental definitions are still underway. Even so, its mere existence is already shifting the market: the expectation of a gated community of this scale has driven up land values in Ocean Park, Chihuahua and the entire western corridor of the Interbalnearia, an area that has historically traded below its landscape quality. For the attentive investor, the shift suggests two readings: early opportunities in the neighboring beach towns, which will capture the spillover appreciation, and caution regarding the project itself until the legal and environmental framework is settled. It's worth looking at the area now, before the market finishes pricing it in.

• Mega gated-community project spanning about 120 coastal hectares
• Originally driven by Brazilian businessman Alexandre Grendene Bertelle, who later sold his stake
• The Junta Departamental de Maldonado approved regulatory exceptions in September 2024
• Bordered by the El Potrero stream and the coast of the Río de la Plata
• Project under heavy environmental and legal scrutiny
• Project includes more than 730 lots and 12 apartment blocks of 4 floors
• La Dinacea (Dirección Nacional de Calidad y Evaluación Ambiental) ordered a halt to construction over dune disturbance and tree felling