The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is seen from the Washington Monument, Friday, July 31, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-07-31T22:14:17Z<\/p>\n
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) \u2014 Puerto Rico\u2019s government has authorized construction of a $2 billion luxury development in the island\u2019s southwest region that environmentalists have decried, warning it would strain the U.S. territory\u2019s resources and threaten wildlife.<\/p>\n
The project known as Esencia would be built on 2,000 acres in the coastal town of Cabo Rojo. It would include 500 luxury hotel rooms, 1,200 private residences, two golf courses, an equestrian center, a school from kindergarten to 12th grade and a 24\/7 medical center, among other things.<\/p>\n
Global investment firm Reuben Brothers and real estate development company Three Rules Capital said in a statement Friday that more than 75% of the project would be dedicated to conservation and green space, including restoring roughly 33 acres of wetlands and rehabilitating coastal dunes and mangrove ecosystems.<\/p>\n
They also said the development would be entirely powered by renewable energy and would have its own water and energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Hotel brands joining the project so far are Mandarin Oriental and Rosewood Hotels & Resorts.<\/p>\n
Environmentalists decried the approval, which Puerto Rico\u2019s Adjunct Board of the Permit Management Office issued late Thursday. The approval was shared with The Associated Press on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to fight this in every forum possible,\u201d said Braulio Quintero, executive director of the Puerto Rico-based Institute for Socio-Ecological Research. He is among those opposing the project.<\/p>\n
Quintero criticized officials for approving construction \u201cwithout a public hearing, without governmental transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n