Best Minds: Carlos Hernandez, Chief Executive Officer, Pellas Development

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Find out how Pellas Development is redefining what it means to create a luxury hospitality destination by focusing on exclusive experiential offerings rooted in the culture of Central America.

In this episode, RCLCO’s Chief Executive Officer, Adam Ducker, speaks with Pellas Development’s Chief Executive Officer, Carlos Hernandez, about the beginnings of Carlos’ career in real estate (starting with growing up in Mexico and working as a construction manager), the unique impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic within Central American real estate markets, and the story of the primary housing market performance in the region throughout the most recent real estate cycle.

“There’s no need for waterslides and chandeliers; the essence of true luxury is that it’s experiential at its core, textural, and real.” – Carlos Hernandez

About Carlos Hernandez & Pellas Development

Pellas Development maintains the vision of becoming the leading company in the responsible development of planned communities and resorts. They work with world-class designers and consultants in creating the most desirable, innovative, and unmatched destinations of Central America while establishing a new standard for responsible development and creating places of sustained value for guests, residents, and investors.

Carlos Hernandez is an international real estate professional and developer of unique and awarded projects in luxury hospitality, golf courses, resorts, and master-planned communities in Central America, including the direction of the master-plan and entitlement of the Santa Maria Golf & Country Club 1,000 acre mixed-used neighborhood in Panama, the development of Guacalito de la Isla 1,900 acre resort in Nicaragua (with its celebrated Mukul Hotel), and the development and operations of the Costa Elena master-planned community in Costa Rica. Carlos is a passionate storyteller and creative thinker, expert in leading complex projects and teams in multiple countries and jurisdictions, navigating entitlements and ambitious development processes with multiple stakeholders in a mission to transform remote and many times marginalized communities into thriving sustainable tourism destinations.

About Adam Ducker & RCLCO

Adam Ducker is Chief Executive Officer of RCLCO and oversees the firm’s real estate economics and management consulting services. Adam joined RCLCO in the mid-1990s as an associate directly after graduate school and learned the trade with the firm. He is a recognized expert in strategic planning for real estate companies, investment analysis, market and financial analysis, and marketing of real estate assets. He has a particular depth of expertise in high-density housing, retail/entertainment, and hotel development.

RCLCO is proud to be the “first call” for real estate developers, investors, the public sector, and non-real estate organizations seeking strategic and tactical advice regarding property investment, planning, and development. RCLCO leverages quantitative analytics and a strategic planning framework to provide end-to-end business planning and implementation solutions at an entity, portfolio, or project level.

Topics in this episode include:

• The unique impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic within Central America real estate markets (4:17)
• The major differences between Mexican and Central American real estate fundamentals (6:56)
• The story of the primary housing market performance in Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica throughout the most recent real estate cycle (9:29)
• The rapid evolution of the Central American real estate industry, including the emergence of robust housing and office sectors (15:31)
• Redefining what it means to create a luxury hospitality destination with a focus on exclusive experiential offerings rooted in the culture of its environment (19:44)
• The beginnings of Carlos’ career in real estate, starting with growing up in Mexico and working as a construction manager (22:50)
• The uniquely home-grown character of the Central American real estate sector (30:28)
• How Pellas Development built upon and ultimately reinvented the American master-planned community model in Panama’s Santa Maria development (34:05)

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