A lot on the marina in Puerto Aventuras is worth four times as much as one on the golf course. The development's founder, Román Rivera Torres, said so in an interview with Oveja Negra published in April 2026: a lot on the marina he sells for 800 per meter; one on the golf course, for 200. He doesn't tell it as an anecdote, but as one of the lessons the project taught him: waterfront is what adds the most value to a development like this one.
The difference isn't aesthetic. It's structural. And understanding it requires knowing something worth reviewing before signing: in a gated development with a marina, the trust and the homeowners association are two different entities, with interests that may or may not align.
Puerto Aventuras, the development located between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, has that dynamic documented in local press and in its own homeowners association's financial statements. What happened there between 2017 and 2024 is exactly the kind of thing worth understanding before buying in any gated development in the region.
How property ownership works in a gated development
When someone buys a property in a development like Puerto Aventuras or Playacar, they acquire ownership of their lot or unit. But they don't necessarily acquire control of what makes that development function: the access points, the water, the amenities, the marina or the golf course.
In many Riviera Maya developments, those elements are held by two parallel structures.
The first is the development trust. It's the legal entity that administers the strategic assets: the infrastructure, the concessions and in some cases the common areas. The trustee (fiduciario), which administers the trust's assets, is usually a bank; the settlor (fideicomitente), who contributes the assets, is the developer; and the beneficiaries (fideicomisarios) are those who receive the benefits. The trust, or companies that depend on it, may hold concessions for water, the marina or access points, which are independent of each individual resident's property ownership.
The second is the homeowners association. It's the organization that represents property owners, collects maintenance fees and administers day-to-day services. Its powers depend on its bylaws and on what the trust has or has not delegated to it.
When the two entities are aligned, the development functions well. When they aren't, the buyer ends up in the middle.
The documented case of Puerto Aventuras
Construction of Puerto Aventuras began in late 1985, and its first phase opened in mid-1988, on approximately 320 hectares north of the Chakalal cove. The marina wasn't part of the original plan: Rivera Torres told journalist Fernando Martí that his former father-in-law suggested the idea. According to the same book, excavation of the canals began in October 1987 under permits for a materials quarry, and the complex has around 450 berths.
The marina operates under federal concession titles held by Operadora de Hoteles La Costa, S.A. de C.V., a company that Mexico's Diario Oficial de la Federación describes as 96% owned by the development trust. Water is supplied by Aguas del Caribe, the service concessionaire. According to local press, the trust has held control of the development's entry checkpoint.
The Puerto Aventuras Homeowners Association A.C. represents the property owners. At its March 2025 assembly, 8,500 possible votes, or "keys," were counted, according to Puerto Aventuras Living.
Tensions between the trust and the association began in 2017, over control of the entry checkpoint, according to La Pancarta de Quintana Roo.
On May 17, 2018, according to Quinta Fuerza, a group took the checkpoint by force. The association described it as a "violent dispossession" and filed a criminal complaint in March 2019. In November of that year, according to Noticaribe, the association denounced that the developer intended to charge a "passport" fee to more than 4,000 workers to enter the complex. In 2020 the checkpoint remained under the trust's control by court order, according to Quinta Fuerza.
The conflict was real, prolonged and documented in local press for several years. It was not a minor dispute: it was about who controlled access to the residents' own properties.
On June 24, 2022, the association, the trust and PA Covenant A.C., the civil association that controlled the checkpoint at the time, signed a settlement. The homeowners association's financial statements record a transfer of 5,982,344 pesos from Covenant. According to Puerto Aventuras Living, PA Covenant closed in December 2024.
Grupo Frisa, founded in 1957, whose board includes Gaspar Rivera Torres Prado according to its 2017 prospectus on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV), appears as the controlling shareholder of the trust, according to Inmobiliare. The investment plan announced in October 2025 was 4.3 billion pesos according to Newsday Caribe and 4.6 billion according to Inmobiliare.
The questions worth asking before signing
The Puerto Aventuras case serves as an example, but the questions apply to any gated development with a trust and a homeowners association. They're worth resolving with documents in hand, not with verbal promises.
Who administers the development? Is it the trust, the homeowners association or an operating company? What powers does each hold and where are those powers delineated?
Who holds the concessions? Water, the marina, access points and common areas may be concessions held by private companies independent of the homeowners association. If the developer is the concessionaire, it's worth understanding what happens to that concession if the developer changes hands or enters into conflict with residents.
What do the association's bylaws say? Not all developments have updated, accessible bylaws. It's worth reviewing what the owners assembly can decide, how fees are voted on and what mechanisms exist for resolving conflicts with the trust.
What is the developer's track record with residents? A developer with a documented history of conflict with their own homeowners association is a signal worth evaluating before buying, not after.
Are there pending debts or litigation between the trust and the association? A recent settlement may mean the conflict was resolved, or it may mean it's in a pause.
What assets are inside the trust and which belong to each resident? The marina, the golf course and the access may have different owners than the lots or units. Understanding that structure before buying avoids surprises afterward.
Why the marina is worth more than the golf course
When Rivera Torres says a lot on the marina sells for 800 per meter and one on the golf course for 200, he's describing something beyond aesthetic preference.
Waterfront in a development like Puerto Aventuras is directly tied to the most valuable and most controlled asset in the development: the marina. Whoever has marina frontage has direct access to the element that gives the development its identity and its scarcity. That scarcity cannot be replicated: there is no more marina than what exists.
Golf frontage has value, but the golf course can change administrator, quality or conditions. The marina, as long as it exists and functions, maintains its character as a unique asset.
That also explains why understanding who controls the marina is so relevant before buying a lot facing it. If control of that asset is in dispute or can change, the value backing the investment can change with it.
How we review this at Reference
At Reference we incorporate this type of verification as part of the standard process before recommending any property in a gated development.
It's not bureaucracy. It's understanding what's actually being purchased: not just the lot or unit, but the legal structure surrounding the development, who controls it and what track record it has.
If you're evaluating a property in Puerto Aventuras or any other gated development on the Riviera Maya and want to review these elements before deciding, we'd be glad to help.
Sources: Oveja Negra, interview with Román Rivera Torres, April 2026; Martí, Fernando, Fantasía de Banqueros, chapter 28, "La fábrica de las ilusiones," PDF published by the Government of Quintana Roo; SIPSE, July 26, 2014; Diario Oficial de la Federación, concession title for the Puerto Aventuras II marina (2016); La Pancarta de Quintana Roo, August 7, 2021; Quinta Fuerza, September 9, 2020; Noticaribe, November 1, 2019; Puerto Aventuras Homeowners Association, financial statements as of December 31, 2024; Puerto Aventuras Living, April 6, 2025; Inmobiliare, November 2025; Newsday Caribe, October 20, 2025; Grupo Frisa, BMV prospectus, 2017; grupofrisa.com.
This article documents publicly known facts with identified sources. It does not constitute legal advice or an opinion on the current state of the development.
Reference Real Estate Team
📍 Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo
referencerealestate.mx
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