The next Central American frontier is emerging from the shadows
Of Latin American countries, the economic and cultural bonds between Miami and several nations are well-established: There’s Miami and Argentina, Miami and Brazil, and Miami and Colombia. The usual suspects. But Miami and El Salvador? Not so much.
Developer Pedro Querejeta is trying to change that – even though he’s not from El Salvador, but is a Miamian, the son of Cuban exiles. In 2021, Querejeta – the managing principal of Floridian Builders, and a surf buff – was visiting El Salvador to catch some waves when he discovered El Zonte, home to one of the best surf breaks in the world. “This place was empty, nothing,” he remembers. “I would surf and look around thinking, One day, I want to do something here.” That is precisely what he would do, building the boutique Puro Surf Hotel and Performance Academy for his tribe of wave-riders.
At the time, Querejeta was not new to El Salvador. His parents had become close with Salvadoran exiles in Miami, some who have gone back, so Querejeta had a network in the country. “I’d been going to El Salvador to surf and visit my friends since 1992,” he says. “My wife is Salvadoran.” The couple lived in the country for five years, raising young children there, before returning to South Florida.
Back in Miami, Querejeta hit his stride as a Florida-licensed general contractor, responsible for more than $250 million of projects, managing every aspect of the development process from entitlements, planning, and design to budgeting, financing, marketing, construction, and sales. He has managed the construction and development of dozens of ultra-luxury homes in Florida, as well as commercial projects, including Twenty-One Ten Brickell.
With high-end contracting experience under his belt, Querejeta went full-on luxury in El Zonte, establishing the Wave House brand. It debuted in 2024 with the first Wave House, a condo-hotel featuring 19 residences. Next for his brand is a Wave House on the beach in nearby San Blas, more than twice the size of its predecessor. The 43-unit, 16-floor condo-hotel is set to open in 2027.
Querejeta made all this happen “against everyone’s recommendations,” he says, “but I’m real hard-headed.” He takes seriously his unique position of being one of the few American developers to successfully launch projects in El Salvador. “I go back at least twice a month,” he says, noting that the recent reduction in crime in El Salvador has changed lives at every level, from the nanny and the cleaning lady all the way up to big business.”
Indeed, President Nayib Bukele’s administration has stabilized security by incarcerating thousands of violent gang members, bringing crime rates – especially homicide – to record lows. “Foreign investments are happening,” he notes, “and demand is greater than supply. The last four years represent a complete turnaround. And we’re still 30 to 35 percent less expensive than Costa Rica.”
Buyers for Wave House condos come from all over: a mix of Americans, Europeans, Salvadoran expats, and Bitcoin investors (Bitcoin is an accepted currency in El Salvador). Some have paid entirely in bitcoin, making Wave House one of the first developments outside the U.S. to accept cryptocurrency for real estate transactions.
Among the buyer/investors are Querejeta’s friends from his Key Biscayne childhood, who have followed his lead, dividing their time between Miami and Wave House. They’re not Salvadoran, either. They just know a good thing when they see it.
