Opinions expressed by Digital Journal contributors are their own. Dreams may spark success, but hard work sustains achievements. For most, dreams are the guiding light that keeps them moving forward.
Janos Gregus knows about visions and determination because, despite having been through a horrific civil war, he never lost sight of a worthwhile purpose in life. In the 1990s, Yugoslavia was engulfed in a series of civil wars and conflicts, forcing thousands of people to flee in search of safety. Among them was Janos Gregus, a young man who would eventually rebuild his life and find success as a financial professional in Canada.
Gregus immigrated to Canada in 1994 with a plan to wait and see if the battles and atrocities stopped and return if and when peace was achieved. He gave the struggles a decade to resolve, but by then, he was happily married in Kitchener, Ontario, with children and roots in his adopted homeland. Now a successful financial professional in Canada, Gregus works in real estate lending.
But he has his hands firmly on an idyllic project in Mexico, for which he and his partners are in the middle of soliciting investment. Janos was inspired to contribute to the Yucatan Peninsula while scouting out a location for retirement. In 2021, he decided to buy land in the beautiful city of Valladolid in the middle of the jungle but couldn’t figure out what to do with the land.
“I thought about creating something in a treehouse resort,” Gregus says. “Then I met an architect, and we started to talk about it. We visited a couple of boutique hotels.
I just wanted to get an idea of what my vision really was. I also learned that we need to make something bigger if we want to hire a management company to create that.” After the Naab Hotel concept was developed, a meeting with Mario and Patricia, the proprietors of Xieltun Eco Park, made an indelible impression due to their unique project.
The sustainable property fund, the Mexico Eco Park Fund I , is a private investment vehicle designed to preserve investor capital and deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns. The eco-friendly amusement park will be anchored by a gigantic statue of Ixchel, the Mayan goddess of the moon, and is projected to boost Mexican tourism with its sights and accommodations. Inside the Ixchel statue, which is about the size of the Statue of Liberty in New York City, will be observatories, restaurants, and a butterfly sanctuary.
A lotus-flower-shaped hotel will be near Valladolid. The Mexico Eco Park Fund focuses on a diversified portfolio of sustainable real estate assets with an emphasis on cultural preservation. The project has several phases and plans to create heritage-rich destinations to achieve sustainable business models and engage visitors.
“We are working to align our financial goals with the preservation and enhancement of the local Mayan culture and heritage,” Janos explains. “We have a strong commitment to sustainable, low-impact development leveraging clean technologies.” Gregus points out that travelers are showing a growing demand for sustainable developments and hospitality services.
He included two more finance experts in the plan: Juanmari Molina from Mexico and Jose Alfredo Molina from Argentina. Juanmari Molina is the CEO, and Jose Alfredo Molina, sometimes known as Freddie, is the CFO and head of investor relations. Gregus serves as the chief investment officer and chief compliance officer.
Gregus is enthusiastic about this new project. “I concluded that nothing was comparable to these projects, but what’s happening down there now in the Yucatan? Over the past 21 years, I have never seen anything I could compare to this sustainable project from the perspective of potential and returns.” With over two decades of experience in finance and lending, Janos Gregus brings a wealth of knowledge to the Mexico Eco Park Fund I.
With his strategic approach to real estate development and commitment to creating sustainable and profitable projects, the Xieltun Eco-Park looks ready to inspire a Mexico tourism boom in the Yucatan Peninsula. The project is a peaceful dream come true for a man who fled a civil war. Jon Stojan is a professional writer based in Wisconsin.
He guides editorial teams consisting of writers across the US to help them become more skilled and diverse writers. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his wife and children..
