In our continuing series featuring the unique homes and neighborhoods of Mérida, Yucatán, we are proud to present Colonia Alemán neighborhood. Our host is Keith Heitke, a senior sales agent for Mexico International Real Estate.
Each video episode on our website features a different residential neighborhood of this interesting and beautiful city, focusing on a home which exemplifies the best of that neighborhood. We’ll give you lots of great footage and design ideas.
If you would like to savor the details about the neighborhood of Colonia Alemán, and the house itself, scroll down for a written summary. And if you would like to post a comment, you can do so at the end of the article.
Now, let’s have a look!
Many visitors to Merida are here just for a few days, so naturally think that we all live in the cluster of beautiful buildings in the historic center, in various states of gorgeousness or disrepair. But for those in the know, there is much more to Merida than just its famous “centro historico.”
One good example is the neighborhood of Colonia Aleman, where we will visit today. Colonia Aleman is located just under 2 miles from the Plaza Principal of Merida but feels a world away. It was laid out and planned in the 1950s and was considered quite far away from the city. This “master planning” allowed the houses to be set on larger lots than what is available in Centro, and also to be much more modern than the buildings in which most people had grown up.
Colonia Aleman contains wide tree-lined streets, orderly smaller streets, and the largest municipal square in the city. Of course it still vaguely follows the Spanish model of having a central main square with a church dominating, with all the needs of daily life centered around the main square. The church in this case is also quite modern, through the lens of the 1950s. For those who enjoy Mexican markets, this would be a fantastic “starter market” for them to visit! It is smaller than most, and yet includes most of the items found in the larger markets… and it is quiet and tranquil, well attended but not a cacophony of noises and smells and throngs of humanity as is often found.
The house we visit today was originally built in the 1960s. As per the design of the times, it included many small rooms all very separate from each other. Families tended to be quite large and most families also had other relatives living with them, as well as maids and cooks who lived on the property. The rooms were not large, but there were a lot of them! This house is located on a corner, giving more light and air to the whole property. Because the neighborhood was so quiet and serene, houses opened right up to the street, but as we see with this one, a nice modern wall was placed around the whole property, giving privacy and adding to the quietness of the house.
Inside, all the walls were opened up, walls of glass bring tropical light and air through the entire home. Everything was re-thought, the living spaces all flow into each other and out to the large swimming pool and deck, and the tiny dark kitchen that only the staff would have entered has been done away with, replaced by a gorgeous indoor/outdoor kitchen with all the modern amenities. A garage and ample storage are located off the kitchen.
The second floor contains just three large luxurious suites, each with their own bathroom and beautiful built-ins. All have plenty of light and air. The master suite is largest, and contains a huge roof deck filled with containers of tropical plants.
Also surrounded by tropical plants is the lovely swimming pool and deck area. A trellised alfresco dining area completes the scene.
