2023-08-01 14:05:00
In 1753, Captain Joseph Polloni ran aground with his ship on the Uruguayan north coast. His name was baptized at that time at the end of that area as “Polonio”. Today, the place has a reputation for being an “oasis of disconnection” because it does not have electricity or running water and the houses are dotted among the dunes.
This isolation, as well as its wild nature, is what made the town a place that several celebrities have chosen to spend a few days off the radar, such as Eugenia Tobal, Ines Estevez, Florence Raggi and Eleonora Wexler to spend days with friends, and the singer Jorge Drexler that you have it on your list of favorite destinations.
The destination to take a cell phone, tablet and TV vacation is located in the Department of Rocha. It is a fishing village that settled between the 60s and 80s for the business of exporting sea lion skin, an animal that abounds in the cape. Today the local constructions of that original population remain and according to the last census less than 100 people reside.
The sunset in the cape with its houses dotted in the dunes
Wild and virgin, the ideal place for detox from the urban routine going through a real estate awakening. “In these days there have been purchase and sale movements at very outstanding prices that position the Cape as a top destination at price level per square meter″, highlights Diego Rubio, a neighbor and partner of Gabasol SA, which is the company that owns the houses on the South beach. So far this year, a house has been sold in 91 m² a US$763.725 y otra de 130 m² a US$580.000. “In general, there are between six and seven sales in the year,” adds Medardo Manini Ríos, president of SA Gabasol.
From his point of view, the extravagant prices for such small footage can be explained for three reasons. On the one hand, “the exclusivity of the area and the growing demand”, since it highlights that many times families who are going to have a vacation without Wi-Fi are enchanted by the way of life that the place promotes and seek to buy a property.
On the other hand, the limited supply stands out. In 2009, the 4,815 hectares that make up Polonio entered the national system of protected areas and was declared a National Park. This denomination reaffirmed the will of the settlers not to want to exploit the land but to preserve it. “The colective does not want to urbanize because we want preserve the identity that makes Polonius have its magic”, affirms Manini Ríos.
In the southern zone there are 78 houses and no more can be builtThe properties were built between the 60s and 80s but most were renovated
The urban area of Polonio is concentrated in the same microzone and at the same time is subdivided into north, center and south, although these divisions are a few blocks away. Diego Rubio, for example, is one of the 78 members of the 211 hectares in the southern zone, which go almost to Route 10 where the access to the cape is. It was incorporated as a company in 2003, when the residents who had their homes there bought the land from the landowning family. They agreed that to preserve the place no new houses would be built and that the land would belong to everyoneso the sale of the properties is actually an exchange of shares.
In the operation, a share is purchased that grants the right to inhabit the built property and the buyer becomes a partner, but the common rule is that “the garden belongs to everyone”, there are no property divisions by fences or barbed wire and beyond the houses there is no private property.
It is a highly chosen place to connect with nature and get away from routine pressures
Although the company agreed not to sell more shares and not to develop the land with more houses, the pre-existing ones “were transformed from when we bought to the present and the standard is of medium to medium-high quality”, explains the President of Gabasol SA. He describes that Today the houses range from 50 m², the smallest to 150 m², and have a comfort that they did not have before: solar panels, an ecosystem of pumps to pressurize the water for showers, heating to use the house out of season and good quality enclosures.
The lands in the center where the services are concentrated belong to the State, although there are still private houses of the original settlers there. Some of these buildings were transformed into hostels or commercial premises, since when the sea lion slaughter ceased, the residents had to reconvert. In this part of the cape there is a lighthouse which cannot be accessed and a public school where seven children study.
The lighthouse has its access closed and belongs to the StateBalsa & Asociados
Finally, the northern lands that include the famous La Calavera beach They went through legal conflicts between the heirs of the Tisnés succession (original owners of the property) and its inhabitants for more than three decades. Last year they were finally resolved and the developer Balsa & Asociados bought the 200 northern hectares with 85 pre-existing houses and created the “Arenas del Cabo Program”. This will allow commercialize land worth US$170,000 and up to 55 houses on 2% of the 10 hectares authorized to do so.
The cape is an area with a very low population densityBalsa & Asociados
there are several the conditions for developing new housescriteria that respond to the regulations prepared by the National Directorate of the Environment to balance the needs of development with those of conservation of the place:
The original business was the slaughter of sea lions for the export of their skin, although it is no longer done Balsa & Asociados
The tide of tourists who fell in love with the safety and slow pace of life on the cape but couldn’t find a way to put down roots can buy a plot or a turnkey house, which will have from 40 to 80 m² on two floors and will cost between US$320,000 and US$900,000. From Balsa & Asociados they propose the option of delivering complete houses so that the owner does not have to deal with the difficulties of building in an isolated area without services, and at the same time they make sure that they comply with environmental requirements, such as using sustainable materials. and exercise practices to reduce the carbon footprint.
From the business plan, they estimate that they will sell approximately 10 parcels per year. So far in 2023, they have already sold seven plots to individuals and five houses to a pool made up of 40 investors and they plan to finish the first homes within a year.
The program will allow the construction of up to 55 housesBalsa & AsociadosThe future houses will have between 40 and 80 square metersBalsa & Asociados
The summer season in Polonio usually lasts 50 days in which an average of 50,000 tourists visit it. Of that average of 1,000 people per day, not all of them spend the night, since there are currently only 500 beds available. The neighbors assure that the first two weeks of January is when young people stomp the hardest, while the second fortnight as well as in February and until Easter are dominated by families.
Manini Ríos affirms that 70% of the houses in Gabasol are offered for rent during the season, but that the owners usually manage the rentals directly or through platforms such as Airbnb, not through real estate agents. On Airbnb there are 89 options to stay in the area that cost from $15 in a shared room to $500 a night in a house for eight peoplealthough the average temporary rent per day on the platform is US$122.
Cabo Polonio has very particular characteristics that make it a very unique destination and differentiate its authentic identity in the country.
A postcard of Cabo Polonio south
The preservation of nature does not mean that there are services for tourism. “There are restaurants such as La Perla, which is a good quality hostel and where an international chef cooks, or El Bonito, which opened last year and has vegan options; also there is a warehouse and a bowling alley to go out dancing.
In another order, the town also gained relevance at the end of last year when a movie with its name was finished. Cape Polonioa production by Cimarrón and directed by Nicolás Gil about three women who rediscover the ties that unite them, starring Zoe Hochbaum, Carmen Maura and Sofía Gala.
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