A Boardwalk is in Store for Costa Rica’s Jaco Beach.

It’s become apparent that the ever so popular pacific beach town of Jaco is diligently doing its best to try and relinquish the title of Costa Rica’s best party surf town. Not only have many real estate projects begun to call Jaco their home, other major developments such as a new and improved Jaco water plant, and plans for a sewage system are helping to shape up the town’s image. The Central Pacific Chamber of Commerce and other major local investors are doing their part to improve the rapidly growing beach town as well.

In February of this year, Pat Hundley, the founder of the Central Pacific Chamber of Commerce, announced even more improvement plans for Jaco at the semi-monthly town hall community meeting. Last year alone, both the municipality and the Chamber of Commerce worked on importing and operating two new beach cleaning machines that were purchased by Daystar, a Costa Rica Real Estate company that has completed several condominium projects in and around Jaco. The team also worked together to organize various cultural events including the Jaco Special Olympics as well as repairing most of Jaco’s local streets.

The chambers budget for 2008 will total $277,860 in all. About $100,000 of that money will be dedicated to improving the town’s safety and security while another $50,000 will be dedicated to regional marketing, and public sewer and water projects in the area. The chamber plans to devote such a large portion of the budget to safety and security since, thanks to help from the Municipality, the majority of the roads have been paved in the past year.

Most of the $100,000 set aside for safety and security will go towards helping the new Municipal Police force of Jaco get up and running. The police force is currently operating from a few desks placed outside on the municipality’s third floor balcony. Juan Gabriel Hidalgo, the interim commissioner for the force, is currently working on purchasing a more permanent indoor office as well as other necessities such as vehicles and weapons. The new Police force will answer directly to the municipality and will enforce municipal regulations as well as regularly maintaining routine police functions. The new Police force isn’t the only improvement planned for Jaco this year.

Hundley, who is also the owner of Daystar Properties, has announced plans to build a $3 million boardwalk and promenade along the length of Jaco’s beach. Hundley says that “the promenade will be a private gift to the city from Daystar and a couple of investors from the area”. This means that the promenade and boardwalk will be privately funded separate from the work and plans of the Chamber of Commerce.

Some of the preliminary designs have already made it to Jaco’s mayor’s office and Mayor Elizondo calls the project “excellent” and he believes that “it would be unique in Latin America”. Elizondo also reports that the municipal council has also seen the plans and supports the project as well, however, there are still other approvals that need to be made.

The boardwalk’s plans show that it will enter the 50 meter zone that is inland from the ocean’s mid-tide line called the “zona publica”. This means that the project will need permits form both the Environmental Ministry and the Port Authority.

The first step towards getting the project built would be a $25,000 topographical study of the beach, however, Hundley announced that the beachfront streets that already exist would have to be improved and widened to make a boulevard. Then the boulevard will be connected to a pedestrian promenade that will follow along the beach. The promenade is estimated to be anywhere from 8 to 14 feet wide. It will be paved with brick or other decorative material and will be beach side along the palm trees that already currently line Jaco’s beach. Hundley wants the bored walk “to be well lit and very well landscaped” he later added that he thinks “this project will change the face of Jaco”.

The pedestrian walkway will have four public bathrooms with their own wastewater treatment plants and the points where the beach access roads reach the beach will also be cleaned up and included in the plans for the boulevard-promenade.

“I have seen more done in the last six months than since the fall of 2002,” Hundley said. “And when I say things done I mean positive things done for the whole town”. It is no doubt that the boardwalk will soon become one of them.