6 Dec, 2023 @ 15:03
1 min read

Barack Obama’s ambassador to Spain faces local bureaucracy headache after his ambitious renovation plans for a famous finca in Mallorca are blocked

Actualidad
James Costos (left) and his husband

BARACK Obama’s former ambassador to Spain has purchased a sprawling finca in Mallorca.

But he will have to brush off his diplomacy skills if he wants to go ahead with his planned extensions.

James Costos, 60, has already spent €400,000 renovating part of the property, which is situated in the exclusive area of Llubi and on an old estate named Vinagrella.

The works, already complete, were carried out with the help of his husband, the noted interior designer Michael S. Smith.

Actualidad
James Costos (left) and his husband

However it is their plans to turn a second building on the land into three new chalets that is facing pushback from the local authorities.

The Llubi City Council has already issued a decree against so-called ‘segregation’, i.e. turning one building into multiple properties.

The decree has been sent to the Consell de Mallorca, which governs the whole island, for a ruling on the issue.

Mayor of Llubi Magdalena Perello told Ultima Hora: “They want to segregate and to do so they have provided a ruling that says property can be segregated, however our technical experts say that that ruling refers to buildings with agricutlural purposes, not for the construction of chalets.

“We have made a report and have sent it to the Consell de Mallorca for a decision.”

The estate sits on the outskirts of Llubi on the road to sa Pobla.

One of the two large buildings was previously owned by the prestigious Gomez-Acebo family, which has close ties to former King Juan Carlos and his wife Doña Sofia.

The former reining monarchs are said to have visited the property on several occassions.

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Previous Story

These two towns in Malaga province have been added to Spain’s ‘Magical Pueblos’ list

Next Story

Israel WILL take part in Eurovision 2024: Fans in Spain call for BOYCOTT of song contest following deaths of 15,000 Palestinians in the ongoing war against Hamas

Latest from Lead

Go toTop

More From The Olive Press