Carrillos

About Carrillos:

Carrillos is the southernmost of the five districts of Poás, a canton that starts here and climbs north all the way to Poás Volcano National Park. Along the south, the Río Poás separates the canton from Alajuela, and Carrillos, the district nearest the city, lies along that edge. Carrillos Bajo is the district seat, ringed by the barrios of Bajo Barahona, Cuatro Esquinas and Santísima Trinidad, while Carrillos Alto, Rincón and Sonora are the villages around it. National Route 118 and Route 723, the Chilamate road, both cross the district. Without a car, the Alajuela – San Pedro de Poás bus that runs via Carrillos links it to the city below and to the canton seat above.

Coffee and sugar cane built the district, and farmers here have swapped one for the other as prices rose and fell. Between 1986 and 2006, cane vanished from most of Poás, yet in Carrillos it actually spread. Poultry farming took hold at this low end of the canton before moving uphill, and Poás has been at the centre of Costa Rica’s ornamental plant and foliage trade since the late 1980s. All of these compete for the same fields with housing, shops and small industry, because no other part of the canton is as close to Alajuela.

At a little over 800 metres, Carrillos is the low end of Poás, and Rincón marks the lowest point of the whole canton. The first school district was created in 1886, with an adobe schoolhouse at El Descanso, where the roads to El Cacao, Platanillo and Prendas met. The March 1924 earthquakes left it badly damaged, and neighbours replaced it with a board-clad building with electric light and piped water. Today Escuela San Luis stands beside the sports ground in Carrillos Bajo, and the district has had its own secondary school, the Liceo de Carrillos, since 1997.

Fewer than 500 people lived in Carrillos in 1927. In 2011 more than 9,200 lived on its ten square kilometres, over 900 to the square kilometre, which is suburban density rather than village density. For a family that works in Alajuela, that is the appeal: a house on the bus line, with the city just across the river. Land changes hands as well, from house plots to larger farm parcels sold with subdivision in mind, which makes zoning the first question to ask.

Houses in Carrillos:

Most houses for sale are single-family homes with two or three bedrooms, from around 150 square metres built to well over 200, and a few with a pool or a second house on the lot. You will find them in Carrillos Bajo, near the school, the EBAIS clinic and the sports ground, and in Carrillos Alto, where several come with garden or land around them. Some farms have two independent houses and their own ranchos, a layout that suits an extended family. If a house has grown room by room, compare the built area on the permits with what is actually standing before you agree on a price.

Rentals in Carrillos:

Renting here means renting a house. Options run from a 90-square-metre two-bedroom place with a carport in Carrillos Alto to roomier two-storey houses with three bathrooms in Carrillos Bajo. With the Alajuela bus passing through the district, a rental here works for people who have a job in the city but would rather live outside it. Before you sign, ask what the rent covers, whether there is parking for a second car, and who handles repairs.

Land and Lots in Carrillos:

Land is where Carrillos has the widest range: house plots of under 1,000 square metres in Carrillos Alto, parcels of several thousand, and now and then a tract of many hectares on old farmland. Some lots for sale in Carrillos sit inside a residential development, while others front a public street. Poás has a plan regulador, so the first paper to request is the municipal land-use certificate, which says whether the zone allows the house or subdivision you have in mind. On Route 118 or Route 723 you also need the road alignment from the MOPT, recorded on the cadastral plan, before you can build.

FAQ:

• Can I build a house on a former cane field in Carrillos?

  Only if the zoning allows it. Ground that has been farmed for generations is not automatically open to housing, and the Municipalidad de Poás will not issue a building permit without a land-use certificate that fits the plan regulador. Get that certificate before you sign, not after. If the parcel touches a river or stream, ask the municipality to rule on protection zones at the same time.

• What should I check before buying on Route 118 or Route 723?

  The road alignment. On a national route the MOPT sets where the property line and any construction can go, and that line can cut into the front of a lot that looked generous at first sight. Once you know what is left, confirm title, liens and boundaries in the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario) and check that the plano catastrado matches the land on the ground.

• How do I get to Alajuela from Carrillos without a car?

  Take the Alajuela – San Pedro de Poás bus, which runs via Carrillos. The same line goes up to San Pedro, the canton seat, where the Municipalidad de Poás has its offices on the north side of the central park. From Alajuela you can connect to the rest of the Central Valley.

• Are there schools and a clinic in the district?

  Yes. Escuela San Luis, the primary school, is in Carrillos Bajo next to the sports ground, and the Liceo de Carrillos covers secondary school. Carrillos Bajo also has an EBAIS, and Carrillos Alto has a CEN-CINAI childcare centre beside its school and plaza.

• Is Carrillos close to Poás Volcano?

  It is in the same canton but at the opposite end. The national park sits at the northern edge of Poás, past the upper districts, while Carrillos is the canton’s lowest and most southerly district. If you want the volcano on your doorstep, look higher up the canton; if you want Alajuela within reach, Carrillos is the better fit.