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History of Mar de las Pampas
Translated from Spanish

SEA AND FOREST IN PERFECT HARMONY, THAT IS MAR DE LAS PAMPAS... WITH ITS WIDE BEACHES AND FINE SAND... WITH ITS ABUNDANT VEGETATION. Today it is incredible that towards the middle of the last century this place was nothing more than desert ridges of dunes. It seems that the forest with all its life had always been there; However, this one has an origin and a history.

In April 1957, a firm of auctioneers published a notice that said: "Between Mar del Plata and Pinamar, facing the sea in two large lots, extraordinary offer for businessmen. On Thursday the 11th at 4 p.m. By court order we will finish off."

The lots were acquired by Antonio Vázquez, Manuel Rico and Jacobo Zceltman, who decided to found a tourist place that would differ from the rest of the Argentine Atlantic coast. The first step was the fixation and forestation of dunes, a matter on which there were numerous experiences, some nearby such as that of Gesell in the town that bears his name, that of Guerrero in Cariló and that of Bunge in Pinamar.

For the task, technical background was gathered, under the direction of agronomist engineers Moretti and Takacs, and numerous materials such as seeds, bushes, varieties of grass, tree seedlings, a third or fourth hand jeep, etc.; but the most important thing were the men who fought perseveringly against the sand, regardless of whether it was cold or hot, whether it was raining or whether the sun was blazing. Many times the winds and sand destroyed the weeks' work that was restarted the next day, again and again, until finally the work and the technique won by dominating the dunes, which became a lush forest of poplars, willows. , pines, acacias, eucalyptus, cypresses and other species that provide shelter to numerous birds, insects, vermin and legendary sprites.

At the beginning, the urbanization of the area corresponding to Mar de las Pampas was planned in quadrangular blocks; but around 1969 it was realized that it did not adapt to the irregular landscape of dune ridges and forested valleys. Then the corresponding procedures were initiated before the Government of the province of Buenos Aires, requesting the remodeling of the block.

Finally, around 1971, approval was obtained for the current plan of Mar de las Pampas , where the urbanization respects nature and the privacy of its inhabitants. The commercialization of plots was opened around 1979, after 22 years of intensive work on the nature of the place, carrying out forestation campaigns and fixing dunes, and on the planning of the development of an environmentally friendly tourist city.

The Marpampean roads, established through the mixture of black earth with the original sands, can be traveled in any climatic situation and follow the natural curves of the terrain, joining with the landscape and facilitating the runoff of rainwater. In any case, the circulation network is perfectly organized into three functional levels: a main avenue, Cruz del Sur and its continuation El Lucero, which marks a fan-shaped route equidistant from all the subareas and which at its midpoint approaches the beach; intermediate circulation streets of varied morphology; and restricted circulation streets or culs de sacs (dead-end streets in the middle of blocks), which lead to better use of the blocks and a rare urban privacy.

Mar de las Pampas also has an Urban Planning Code and Building Standards, which govern the growth of the place, preserving nature, tranquility and privacy. Thus, it is divided into subareas according to their use and occupational density (commercial, hotel, residential), as well as the construction of high-rise buildings. At the same time, in order to preserve abundant green areas, the percentage of square meters covered per lot is restricted and semi-public green spaces have been planned, on the edge of private land and streets, for use by the front owner but without the right to occupy it with any type of construction. All of this results in an urban site with unusual characteristics, highlighting the forest and natural landscapes, while foreshadowing attractive future development.

The first shopping center was inaugurated in January 2002, it was called "Paseo Comercial y Cultural Sendas del Encuentro" and included part of what is now called "Paseo Sendas del Encuentro" , "Amphitheater Sendas del Encuentro" and "Pasaje Sureño" . Until then there were only a few gastronomic establishments scattered in the forest and two warehouses

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Houses in Mar de las Pampas