Tacares

About Tacares:

Tacares covers just under 25 square kilometres in the south of Grecia canton, on the way down from Grecia town toward Alajuela. The district seat stands at 800 metres, lower than Grecia’s centre. The old Grecia–Alajuela road, paved in 1932, runs through it, and national Routes 1, 118, 717 and 722 all cross the district. Tacares Sur is the centre, with its Catholic church; Tacares Norte takes in Bodegas and Pilas on the higher ground toward Los Chorros and has its own church, Inmaculada Concepción. Cataluña, Cerdas, Flores, Planta, Porvenir, Yoses, Barrio Pinto and parts of Delicias and Guayabal make up the rest, all under postal code 20305.

The name goes back to Taccari, one of the Potreros del Púas that families from Alajuela, Heredia and San José came to farm in the nineteenth century. Cane and coffee built Grecia, and the paved road to Alajuela gave both a push in the 1930s. The district school, Escuela Silvestre Rojas Murillo, counts 1912 as its founding year. The newest chapter is Evolution Free Zone, a 124-hectare business park with its own direct access to Route 1, where companies in medical devices, life sciences and advanced manufacturing are setting up. Its developers project 20,000 jobs over fifteen years for Grecia and the neighbouring western cantons. For the hospital, the banks and bigger shopping, people still go up to Grecia.

Four kilometres north of the district centre is the Los Chorros recreational park, seven hectares of forest that Grecia shares with Poás canton. Two waterfalls, Zamora and Prendas, drop 48 metres each, fed by water coming off the Poás massif. The Prendas spring is the one that matters to a buyer. It supplies the ASADA de Tacares Sur, which serves Tacares Sur, Calle Flores, Cataluña and part of Tacares Norte, and since the 1960s it has also fed the pipeline that carries water to Atenas. Requests for new connections keep rising as the district fills in, so a lot’s water letter is worth more than a good photo of the view.

Tacares has grown quickly: 3,902 people at the 1984 census, 7,963 at the 2011 census. Most residents are Costa Rican families, and the newer growth shows along the main road toward Grecia, where residenciales and gated condominiums have filled in. A flat lot with services is far easier to find here than on the slopes higher up the canton. Lots are priced in colones, and dollars appear mainly on some of the larger houses. For anyone who works on Route 1 or in Alajuela, living here shortens the daily drive.

Houses in Tacares:

Most houses on offer are recent builds in residenciales and gated condominiums: two- or three-bedroom homes of 120 to 200 m² on lots of 170 to 400 m², with covered parking and shared amenities such as a pool, play areas and green space. One residencial on the road to Grecia counts 99 homes. Older family houses stand on their own lots along the public streets of Tacares Norte, Tacares Sur and Cataluña, outside any condominium and free of a monthly fee. When you compare houses for sale in Tacares de Grecia, weigh the fee and the condominium rules against the freedom of a house with its own gate onto the street.

Rentals in Tacares:

Long-term rentals here are mostly apartments and small houses. Two-bedroom apartments come in small private complexes of a few units near the Catholic church and in urbanizaciones such as El Trapiche, sometimes with water, electricity and internet included. Three-bedroom houses with a garage and garden come up too, and some landlords accept a pet. Rents are quoted in colones. With Evolution Free Zone inside the district, a rental in Tacares can put you minutes from work while keeping Grecia and Alajuela within easy reach.

Land and Lots in Tacares:

The land market splits in two. Inside gated condominiums, flat lots of 360 to 420 m² come with water and electricity available, and some carry high-density land use that allows up to three units on one lot. Outside them, land comes in large pieces: farms of several hectares, one of them with residential land use already granted, and mixed-use parcels with views over the mountains and the river. Before you settle on one of the lots for sale in Tacares, ask for the ASADA’s water availability letter and the electricity letter, and read the condominium regulations as carefully as the plano.

New Developments in Tacares:

Much of the new supply in the district is condominiums of lots, where you buy a plot and build your own house behind a shared gate. Prado Real sits on the main road to Grecia, 300 metres north of the Catholic church in Tacares Sur; Prados de la Toscana is also in Tacares Sur, beside Condominio Provenza; Oasis offers a pool, an events hall and common green areas. Each has its own monthly fee, building rules and amenities, and lots inside them are sold both by the developer and by private owners. Visit on a weekday and again at the weekend, and count how many houses are already built: a half-built condominium is a different place to live than a finished one.

FAQ:

• How far is Tacares from Grecia, Alajuela and the airport?

  Tacares lies between Grecia and Alajuela on the old road that links them, and Route 1 crosses the district. From the residenciales on the main road, Grecia’s centre is about ten minutes by car and Route 1 is closer still. The Juan Santamaría airport is nearer to Tacares than to Grecia town, which makes the district a practical base if you fly often.

• Is Tacares Norte different from Tacares Sur?

  Yes. Tacares Sur is the district centre, with the Catholic church, several of the gated condominiums and the ASADA de Tacares Sur’s water network. Tacares Norte takes in Bodegas and Pilas on the higher ground toward Los Chorros and has its own church. Listings use both names, so search under each.

• What does Evolution Free Zone mean for someone buying in Tacares?

  It puts a large employer inside the district, on Route 1. The park covers 124 hectares, companies in medical devices, life sciences and advanced manufacturing already operate there, and 20,000 jobs are projected over fifteen years for the western cantons. If you plan to rent out a house or apartment, that is the demand to keep in mind; if you want quiet, check how close the property sits to the park and its access road.

• Who supplies water in Tacares, and how do I check it for a lot?

  Tacares Sur, Calle Flores, Cataluña and part of Tacares Norte get their water from the ASADA de Tacares Sur, fed by the Prendas spring at Los Chorros. Elsewhere in the district, find out which operator serves the property before you make an offer. For an empty lot, get the water availability letter in writing, because a lot without a connection is not yet a building lot.

• What should I check before buying a condominium lot or a large parcel in Tacares?

  For a condominium lot, confirm it is registered as its own finca filial, read the condominium regulations and ask for the current monthly fee and building rules. For a large parcel, start with access, and if it fronts Route 1, ask how the widening of the highway affects that edge of the land. In both cases, check title and the plano catastrado in the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario) and get the land-use certificate from the Municipalidad de Grecia before you sign.