The Development Team

AltaVida de Nosara is a Costa Rican land development corporation based on two primary values; to develop environmentally and community conscientious properties. We actively partner with the local community by providing opportunities for local, qualified residents to participate in the development projects.

Steve Jacobus - General Manager
Marco Avila Alverado - Operations Manager
Mario Alberto Vargas Arias - Legal & RE Advisor
James P Read - Site Design Planner

Steve Jacobus

Mr. Steve Jacobus is the general manager of the development team.

Steve Jacobus maintains his ownership and board position of the logistics company he founded in the States, The Olson Company. Mr. Jacobus has started several successful companies in his career and has bought and sold numerous real estate properties including residential, commercial and industrial. Mr. Jacobus obtained his real estate sales license in Illinois in 1987, and began his real estate career in Chicago buying and renovating turn of the century brown stone multi resident apartment buildings.

Mr. Jacobus is a full-time resident of Nosara, Costa Rica. He and his family relocated to this area in September 2005. Mr. & Mrs. Jacobus and their three boys came to the Nosara community to learn Spanish, experience and participate in a Latin American culture, and to create business opportunities that would share the authentic richness and beauty of Costa Rica with others. AltaVida was created with this goal in mind.

The Jacobus family (Steve, Maggie, Ryan, Michael and William) own and operate Tierra Magnifica, a tranquil mountain top, ocean view B&B. The services and accommodations of Tierra Magnifica are available to AltaVida investors and prospective lot buyers.
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Marco Avila Alverado

Marco Avila is the operations manager for the AltaVida Estate Lot development team. He lives in the Nosara communities with his wife, Alicia and their two daughters along with his extended family of twelve brothers & sisters and many cousins.

Mr. Avila is the owner and manager of Vero de Nosara, the largest nursery and landscape management company in the area. His vast experience in construction management and landscape development is a valuable asset to the team, as is his familiarity of the local contractors and tradesmen. He manages the contractors for the water and drainage system, the electrical and the road / building platform construction, and works closely with the civil and environmental engineers. Marco also oversees the landscaping of the lots to preserve and enhance the natural beauty.
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Mario Alberto Vargas Arias

Attorney at Law and Public Notary
www.mvrealestatelaw.com
Mr. Vargas oversees all legal documenting and registration for AltaVida. Nearly fourteen years of practicing law combined with six years of living in the United States, provides Costa Rican Attorney Mario Vargas with an international perspective of Business and Law that few local lawyers can claim.

In his youth, Mr. Vargas pursued dual degrees in Law and Economy from the Autonomous University of Central America and the University of Costa Rica. Realizing the importance of attaining a well-rounded perspective, Mario Vargas left his studies to move to Long Island, New York. During his time in the States, Mr. Vargas developed a keen understanding of construction and real estate industries, as well as augmenting his English. After six years of absorbing American customs and culture, Mr. Vargas was ready to complete his studies.

He returned to the Autonomous University of Central America where, in 1991, he earned a Law degree with a specialty in contracts. Since then, Mr. Vargas has been in private practice, specializing in Costa Rican Real Estate Law, as well as working as an external lawyer for several government offices, such as the Costa Rican Supreme Court, the National Bank, the Costa Rican Tax Department, and the Costa Rican National Insurance Company. His firm boasts over 250 clients from the United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe, all for whom Mr. Vargas personally oversees their activities.
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James P Read

The Kubala Washatko Architects Inc.
www.tkwa.com
As a property owner in Costa Rica, Jim is familiar with eco-sensitive design and development focus in CR. He has a keen sense of design and knowledge of the tropical environment. Jim is heading up the design and planning of the Phase 2 Villa Condominium project. Jim is a Design Architect at The Kubala Washatko Architects, Inc. in Cedarburg Wisconsin, USA. where he managed the creative aspects of many projects. He effectively synthesizes solutions from initial broad design discussions, through the blending of materials in detail. With a B.S. in Architectural Studies from The University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Jim's skills in master planning, concept design and design development help in several aspects of the AltaVida plan including preservation and adaptive reuse. He and The Kubala Washatko team are available to the Estate Lot buyers for site planning and design.

The Kubala Washatko Architects Inc. firm has heralded international acclaim for many of its eco-sustainable projects. Notable are Milwaukee's Urban Ecology Center, the Schlitz Audubon Center, the Kohler Art Center and the Harley-Davidson Museum.

Estate Lots now available for purchase.
Sneak a peak at the Villa Condominiums scheduled for 2010