Luxury Villas
Project Mariposa
t takes more than a hurricane, and a sticky world economy to keep Italian born developer Leonardo Zucchi from realizing his dream in his latest re-development “Mariposa” located just before the entrance to Quarantine Point and overlooking stunning Morne Rouge Beach. Zucchi was first attracted to Grenada in the early 80’s because of the revolution. “I was interested in how a little country like Grenada could get mixed up in such big politics” He came to Grenada from Jamaica where, sponsored by Phillip Morris Inc. he brought reggae to the world in 1980, during a weekly televised show from the Jamaica Broadcast Company and Bob Marley’s music label ‘Tuff Gong International.’ “When I came to Grenada in 1983, I discovered business was really hard, because the country was in a bad state following the invasion and the fighting and bombing that occured, the locals assumed if you were white you were CIA - I said “I’m Italian- oh then you’re mafia.” His first endeavor in Grenada was farming in the north of the island. Leonardo and wife Luisa, bought 56 beautiful acres and had the best production of bananas and nutmeg with over 1500 nutmeg trees and active support from the Farm Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome. “It was a lovely experience, but I sold it 4 days before the hurricane,” says Zucchi, who then turned his attention to Developing. After looking at many available properties, he was attracted by the beauty of the Morne Rouge Beach, to get to the beach at that time, a single unpaved road. On the beach there was only a basic wooden facility known as the “Blanco Beach Club” (BBC). To this day, Morne Rouge Beach is still known as “BBC”. After seeing a most spectacular sunset the Zucchi’s fell in love with the location. There
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were two structures on the hill over looking the beach with fantastic views. The first was a wooden structure owned by The Radix family. Zuchi acquired the property & the first luxury condominuim project, ‘Mahogany Run’ featuring 15 beautiful condos were built & completed in 2003. After Hurricane Ivan it www.businessgrenada.com
was rebuilt again in 2005. Featuring spacious luxury apartments, with the largest being 3000 square feet & boasting a terrace of over 1000 square feet. “You can play soccer on them” Zucchi added. All units were sold by 2009. The prices ranged from $145,000 up to $500,000 USD.
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