El Banco

By Mike Antonucci, Sue McAllisterand Matt Nauman
Mercury News

Article Launched: 10/26/2007 01:55:24 AM PDT

Former Yahoo Chief Executive Tim Koogle has a new gig: He and his wife, Pam Scott-Koogle, are the developers behind El Banco, a super-luxurious development on Mexico’s Punta de Mita peninsula, north of Puerta Vallarta.

The lovely press kit we got includes evocative watercolor renderings of expansive (and expensive!) villas-to-be equipped with the usual. You know: wine grottoes, roof terraces, water views and hand-painted tile work.

The site is more than 100 acres, and seven homes are slated for phase one. If that’s not the antithesis of high-density housing, we don’t know what is.

So how’d the Koogle-Scott-Koogles stumble on this new venture? They sailed past the site on their honeymoon in 2003, according to El Banco’s marketing material, and later decided to buy it. How many of us tried to buy Maui after our honeymoons and failed? Our hearts still break for the deal that got away. Don’t worry. Here’s a new opportunity: You can buy an El Banco home for $5.5 million to $8.5 million. Check out the new digs at: www.elbancomexico.com