LGBTQ Business Spotlight Chris and Fernando of ContractorPV

We met a little over a year ago during a Rooftop concert hosted by Lofts on Basilio. I believe Luiz Villanueva was performing. Then the lockdowns came. A friend was generous enough to lend us his beach house in Boca de Tomatlan to hideout from the virus. The two of us definitely had it made there – the days melted away as we hiked, explored, and paddle boarded an area that we pretty much had to ourselves – it was surreal.

It wasn’t all play in the south bay, Fernando was busy renovating the now Joint Hotel, Co-Work space, & Bonito kitchen. Talk about good timing, redoing a hotel in a time where the travel industry is reeling. Thankfully, people are vibing to the concept and it enjoys high occupancy rates. Originally, his intent was to complete that project and return home to Mexico City and oversee his automotive repair shops. However, the beauty and way of life here in Vallarta was too alluring to leave.

After fully committing to making Vallarta a permanent home, and finishing the project on Insurgentes (Joint Hotel), we focused on working remotely here. At the time Christopher was working in Finance for a company based out of D.C., and Fernando was running Doctor Auto and training his executives to perform more duties in his absence.

It was in that space of time when ContractorPV started to grow legs. Many locals had seen the transformation of Joint and we’re reaching out with construction requests of their own. As these inquiries continued to mount and lead to projects it just made sense for Christopher to transition away from working in Finance to help with the ever-growing tasks of ContractorPV.

First and foremost, we are business partners. We both check the single box when mingling, not that there’s too much time for that (and there’s the whole covid19 thing) Although, at times, it feels like we’re in a relationship, as we live and work together – something I’m sure most people think is crazy. Fortunately, we were able to find a mixed-use property in the Marina District of PV that not only serves as a home but as a great office, too. It was definitely an adjustment moving this far north of the Romantic Zone, but logistically the proximity to our main distributers and clients in Nuevo Vallarta makes it the most logical location to use as a basecamp.

Fernando Garcia holds a degree in Architecture from Universidad Anahuac with a Masters’ certifications in: Lighting, Rendering, & 3D Modeling. Apart from his educational accomplishments, Fernando is the majority owner of a national chain of automotive repair shops; Doctor Auto, which employs more than 100 people and is celebrating 15 years in business in 2021. When he’s not assisting client’s bringing their dream spaces into fruition you can usually find him on some type of racetrack, from horses to cars – he has an insatiable appetite for speed.

Christopher Hance has a B.A in Political Science from the College of Charleston. Upon graduation, Christopher went on to build the PR and Digital Media divisions of Best Chefs America, the only Peer reviewed guide to the top five per cent chefs across the USA. Currently he serves as the Business Director for ContractorPV. When not keeping the administrative and marketing parts of the business running you can usually find him on the tennis court or out paddle boarding.

Our company is ContractorPV. Its mission is to modernize the construction, design, and implementation of new development in Puerto Vallarta. Whether you want to start from the ground up, or renovate an existing space, we are here to help you accomplish your goals (no matter the size). We know how stressful it can be for a foreigner, or national for that matter, to navigate a construction project here and we strive to alleviate that burden for our clients.

Fernando met Puerto Vallarta realtor/broker Ryan Donner several years ago when Ryan was showing him properties around the bay. There relationship grew from realtor/client to a friendship and ultimately multiple business collaborations. Ryan is very forward thinking in terms of the future for Vallarta real estate and Fernando’s talent for design and renderings aids Ryan in showing his vison to prospective investors.

We find the LGBTQ community in Puerto Vallarta incredibly supportive to entrepreneurs. A main reason we created ContractorPV is to bring accountability and professionalism into this market and be reliable resource to the community. While we’ll never be the most inexpensive construction company, we feel that the peace of mind we provide to our clients is worth the difference.

Lately, we’ve been hanging out at One Six One bar – the music and ambience are totally our speed. On the other hand, we can never say no to a good drag show, whether it be Miss Butterfly or Aunt Pearl at drag bingo! As a whole we love to support the theatre and art scene here – it’s a huge reason PV is what it is to us.

There’s no denying that PV is experiencing explosive growth and with so many people discovering the pros of remote working – the home construction/renovation market is hot. As for new developments, we are working diligently to bring something magical into fruition – it’s too soon to divulge more details but stay tuned. To us, the future developments must be more respectful to the natural geography that we a fortunate enough to live in. Our vision is to construct Ecological Buildings that deliver a visual wow factor and allow for an ergonomic lifestyle.

Staffing our sites with local talent is a priority. However, often we find when hiring locally you have difficulties getting people to show up, show up on time, and be ready to work. Thankfully from our experience hiring many workers for Joint hotel we have a solid list of superstars to get the job done. When working on larger, more sophisticated projects, we bring talent in from Mexico City. Since those individuals came here with a purpose to get the job completed and return home, we find they work more diligently.

For us, the future of growth is on the West Coast of Mexico. Undoubtedly, Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta are getting all of the attention these days. Where Puerto Vallarta stands out is with the substantial LGBT community that live and Vacation here. We see the development as bifurcated; you have those wanting to purchase here for mixture of use and rental income and then you have those that have realized they don’t have to live in the USA or elsewhere. Whether you’re in camp A, or B, we feel believe the demand and opportunity is building multifunctional spaces that mesh leisure at times with the ability to enhance one’s productivity.