Gary Hoopes, Land Planner

Gary received his BA in Biology at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois and earned his Bachelors of Landscape Architecture at Michigan State University. He is president of Reece, Hoopes and Fincher, one of the Southeast’s premier landscape architectural practices with offices in Atlanta and Birmingham, Alabama.

Gary has served as a visiting professor at the University of Georgia’s School of Environmental Design, and is a past president of the Georgia Chapter, American Society of Landscape Architecture. He is also an active member of the Urban Land Institute. Gary and his firm have designed major projects in the United States, Costa Rica, Japan and Thailand.

Gary is recognized in the industry for developing creative planning solutions that make the best advantage of the natural environment. His ideas have enabled us to preserve the incredible beauty of Montecristo’s landscape while still giving priority to the comfort and security of the residents.

Mike Young, Golf Course Designer

Mike Young was determined to be an architect from a young age. He got his start at age 15, working on a golf course being constructed near his home. After college, he went to work for a turf equipment distributor, using the experience to learn the golf business from the inside. He designed his first course, the Fields Golf Club in LaGrange, Georgia, in 1986.

To date, his work includes nearly 40 golf courses in five different countries around the world. The majority of his designs are in the southeastern United States, including his award-winning design at Cateechee Golf Club, in Hartwell, Georgia, but his current projects include courses in Costa Rica, Panama, Israel and here at Montecristo in Nicaragua.

Mike's design for Montecristo Golf Club ensures that the 7,060-yard, par-71 course takes full advantage of its dramatic natural setting. The front nine winds along the relatively flat land between the river and the Pacific. The back nine rises into the mountains, with more than 300 feet of elevation change. The result is a course of spectacular views and unique challenges that will entice any golfer.

Gabriel Urcuyo, Architect

Gabriel Urcuyo graduated from Tulane University in 1986 and received an MBA in 1990 from INCAE in Costa Rica. He opened an architectural office in Managua the following year. His architectural firm, Urcuyo-Hernandez & Associates, is currently one of the busiest in Nicaragua. The company has been very influential over the last 15 years designing residential and beach developments throughout the Nicaraguan Pacific coast.

On the Montecristo project, Urcuyo-Hernandez & Associates is in charge of developing all schematics and preliminary project and architectural presentations. Also, the firm does all the related engineering in the design field such as the structural, electrical, plumbing, and air conditioning design and final drawings.

Reid Nelson, Golf Publicist

A graduate of the University of North Carolina with a degree in Journalism, Reid is the owner of Reid Nelson Promotions, LLC, a public relations firm specializing in the promotion of golf-oriented properties, manufacturers and tour operators since 1988.

Prior to moving into the public relations business, Reid Nelson worked for 10 years in daily newspapers as a sports writer and editor, covering literally every sport played in the Southeast United States, including local, regional, national and international events.

A winner of two writing awards from the North Carolina Press Association, Nelson has contributed to several regional and national golf publications in the U.S. and Canada, in-flight magazines, travel guides and tournament programs. He is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America, the International Network of Golf and the Golf Travel Writers Association.

Reid will be helping to bring Montecristo Golf Club to the attention of golfers worldwide.

Jerry Spangler of Tunnel-Spangler-Walsh & Associates from Atlanta

Jerry joined our design and land planning team. Jerry will be designing the architectural plans of some of our condominiums sites, clubhouses and town centers. We are excited to have him working with us. Jerry Spangler directs Tunnell-Spangler's Architecture Studio and provides planning leadership to many of TSW's community projects. Drawing from a thirty year background in architecture, he has designed distinctive community buildings. Jerry blends comprehensive site design into all of his clubhouse and amenity architecture projects. These planning skills extend to overall golf community master planning and site design of a community's recreational core. Jerry is currently working on the designs of the community Golf Clubhouse and Golf Club Condominiums.