Panama Pacifico

Panama Pacifico: Golf Community Living Next Door to the Panama Canal

Most master-planned communities start with a golf course and build some houses around it. Panama Pacifico went a different direction. It started with a decommissioned U.S. Air Force base, a 2,500-meter runway, and a 40-year master plan, and then set out to build an entire city. The result sits on the west side of the Panama Canal, about 15 minutes from downtown Panama City, and it is one of the most ambitious real estate projects in Latin America. The vision came from Jaime Gilinski and Ian Livingstone, with backing from the government of Qatar, and the project runs as a public-private partnership between the Panamanian government and master developer London & Regional Panama.

The numbers are big. The full plan calls for about 30,000 homes and apartments across more than eight residential neighborhoods. About 2,500 have been delivered so far. More than 400 companies operate inside the special economic zone, which supports roughly 10,000 jobs. If you are moving here, though, you probably care more about the 1,400 hectares of protected green space and the 25-plus kilometers of trails and bike paths that weave through the neighborhoods. Current listings start around $199,000 for an apartment at Centriqo. Garden-style condos at Parterre and River Valley run up to about $400,000. If you want room for the whole family plus the in-laws who “only visit for a week,” the larger homes at Explora Casas start around $600,000. Bosques del Pacifico and Imaterra fall in between.

Now for the part golfers will want straight: Panama Pacifico does not have its own course yet. A signature course was talked about years ago and never got built. You are not giving up much, though. Tucan Country Club sits right across the highway. It is an 18-hole, par-72 J. Michael Poellot design cut through tropical jungle, and several holes look out over the canal. Watching a container ship the size of a small town drift past while you line up a birdie putt is a pretty good way to forget you just three-putted the hole before. Summit Golf Club is a short drive north. The Club de Golf de Panama, which hosts the Korn Ferry Tour’s Panama Championship every winter, is across the bridge on the other side of the city. With year-round tropical weather, you can schedule your Tuesday round without checking a forecast.

Off the course, the community runs like a small city. Five bilingual and international schools are on site, including the Lycee Francais International and Howard Academy, so the morning school run takes about as long as finding a tee in your bag. Shops, restaurants, and services sit within a 15-minute radius. The Panama Pacifico airport handles private aviation right inside the community, which makes it easy to fly in for a weekend at Buenaventura or Coronado on the Pacific coast. For buyers who want a full-time home or a winter base in Panama, close to the city, the canal, and good golf, Panama Pacifico is a strong option, as long as you are fine with the first tee being across the road.