A section of the layout of the commercial city showing the placement of two of the international hotels, office buildings, showrooms, and the parking lot designed for 5000 cars. Photo by Seeta T. Shaw Roath

The design of this commercial city flows into a butterfly form. “The PIMM ‘Butterfly’ will be famous, just like the ‘Dubai Palm’ already is,” said Reynald Henry Katz.

Butterflies have always fascinated Reynald Henry Katz, even as a boy in France. His crayon drawings of butterflies still adorn his family home.

“PIMM being developed in the form of a butterfly is appropriate, for Panama is the home of a large number of species of butterflies,” said Katz. The name Panama is a Carib Indian word meaning “abundance of butterflies.”

The PIMM commercial city will be built on 530 hectares (1302 acres) of land bordered with tropical rainforest. “PIMM will boast a 10, 000- seat convention center and an open-air exhibition center, 34 buildings, a parking lot designed to hold 5,000 cars, four top class hotels and more,” said Katz. It will have 10-meter wide streets with separate entry and exit roads.

The PIMM commercial city will be constructed in the form of a butterfly.

The layout of the PIMM site creates the shape of a butterfly. The four hotels form the antennae, while the buildings housing the showrooms spaced at 50-meters (55 yards) apart will form the outline of the wings. Wide roads divide and link all sections. Lakes, the convention center and the open-air exhibition center form the “beauty spots” on the wings. The local and international restaurants will form the body with the control center at the tip of the butterfly’s tail.

Keeping the shape of the butterfly throughout the construction will be a challenge. Katz is already thinking about expanding the number of showrooms to meet increasing demands. “The price for each showroom starts at $125,000 and every day there are five to seven new clients wishing to purchase showrooms in PIMM,” said Katz.

When asked if the lakes will survive the demand for showrooms as construction adapts to increasing needs. Katz gave the assurance that sustainable development is the hallmark of construction and real estate development in Panama that his company intends to respect.

Reynald Henry Katz shares a wax crayon drawing of a butterfly which he drew as a child in france.

“We believe in letting nature and businesses co-exist. We will maintain most of our design in an effort to offer our customers the natural atmosphere of trees and water. We may reduce the size of the lakes to include more buildings or to increase the size of buildings, but the lakes will remain on the wings of the butterfly, lending their natural beauty to the surroundings.”

Mr. Katz indicated that all buildings would be constructed with “the safety regulated distances” between them. The fire stations and police force will also be fully equipped with state of the art technology. The same is true for the medical center. “There will also be a helipad for easy access to the best hospitals in Panama City and the international airport. Miami is only two- and-a-half hours away with daily international flights. We have identified the possible needs of our clients and are putting systems in place to meet those needs,” reiterated Katz.