Celebrities Push Dominican Republic Resort Project

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Oscar de la Renta, Julio Iglesias and Mikhail Baryshnikov are helping to sell property in a sprawling development on the Punta Cana coast of the Dominican Republic.

De La Renta, who was born in the Dominican Republic, reportedly recruited his singing and dancing pals to buy in the Punta Cana Resort and Club, a 15,000-acre beachfront development built around two golf courses.

While luring celebrities with sweetheart deals is a time-honored tradition, the celeb trio is actively lending their names to support the Punta Cana project. De la Renta and Iglesias have been involved since 1997 and they are more than willing to share their involvement to promote sales.

"Julio loves to ride through the course, directly from his property, in his boxer shorts," course pro Jay Overton recently told AOL's Housing Watch. "It is because he is Julio Iglesias that he can do this. And he is the only member who I allow to do this."

The trio own houses in an already completed portion of the project known as Corales, which includes about 159 home sites. A 10,764-square-foot, five-bedroom house in the development is priced at $6.2 million.

Home sites in Corales, where de la Renta hosts the likes of Bill and Hillary Clinton, range from about $1.8 million to $5 million.

Special perks of estate ownership include "VIP service that speeds them through customs upon their arrival at Punta Cana International Airport," in addition to access to the golf courses, spa and resort amenities, according to the project's Web site.

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