MG Developments

Rendering of the Encántame Towers under construction outside Rocky Point

There is a new, $1 billion condominium development being built in Rocky Point, or Puerto Peñasco, the beach town about a 3-and-a-half hour drive south of Phoenix that’s been a magnet for tourists for decades. 

The development consists of five, 24-story towers, and as The Phoenix Business Journal reports, the first two towers have been nearly sold out — with 90% of the buyers coming from Arizona. 

But tourism to the vacation spot has long been subject to the whims of the U.S. economy, border politics and cartel violence. And during the pandemic, Rocky Point really suffered as the border was essentially shut down. 

Hector Vazquez says border violence doesn’t concern him nearly as much as what’s happening in the U.S. economy when it comes to attracting Arizonans to Rocky Point. Vazquez runs Las Palomas Resort, currently the largest in the city —  and he’s done it for almost 20 years. 

The Show spoke with him more about it, beginning with just how much they have relied upon tourists from Arizona over the years.