Mayor Joaquin Huerta has hit the stump to pitch his plan for an extreme makeover of the eastern leg of Chapala’s waterfront Malecon.
Over the past month Huerta has held three meetings with the 300-plus merchants operating in the tourist zone to convince them of the benefits of a massive renewal project that will involve demolishing and completely rebuilding the modules where they do business.
Reminding the merchants that they are sitting on a virtual “gold mine,” Huerta argues that Chapala needs a total facelift to attract upscale tourism for a national and international market. Although it’s a tough sell to win over a group known for resistance to change and internecine bickering, he is confident that most will eventually see the light.Despite the city’s strapped finances, the mayor says his administration has secured most of the needed financing for this public works project, budgeted at around 47 million pesos. The state Congress has earmarked 30 million pesos for Chapala. The Jalisco Tourism Ministry will kick in three million more. And another three million pesos will come from Fondereg, the regional development fund, with the municipality picking up half of that tab as its sole investment in the project.
Details of the project have been revealed during two public meetings and a series of information sessions led by Juan Antonio Duran and Leonardo Cornejo, associates of the architectural firm in charge of drawing up the blueprints.
Key points of the design include a reorientation of commercial modules on a north-south axis to allow a view the lake, the installation of dancing fountains, playground areas and a huge open esplanade with a tented stage area for cultural and civic events.
“The forum will be a powerful magnet for your clientele,” Duran stressed in his initial July 3 presentation to the merchants.
Images of the plan have the stamp of a modern open-air shopping mall, with planters and contemporary furnishings spread throughout and umbrella-covered picnic tables placed in zones set aside for food outlets. Walkways built along the waterfront during renovations completed during the 2007-2009 municipal administration will be left intact. The same policy will apply to all the trees existing in the green area between the pier and that lakefront restaurant zone.
Working under an August through December timeline, Huerta stresses that he will ditch the makeover plan unless he gains approval from more than 50 percent of the merchants. Otherwise, he has a Plan B to renovate Chapala’s Avenida Gonzalez and a Plan C scheme for improvements in Ajijic and San Antonio that are also practically shovel ready.