San Pedro

About San Pedro:

San Pedro covers 13.6 square kilometres in the middle of the canton, at 1,148 metres, 15 kilometres north-west of the city of Alajuela and 35 from San José. Four national routes meet in it. Route 107 heads west to San Rafael and on to Grecia, Route 146 climbs north through Sabana Redonda toward Poasito and the volcano, Route 723 runs out through Chilamate, and Route 130 crosses the district as well. Transportes Unidos Poaseños runs the Alajuela bus, about forty minutes each way, and the service through to San Rafael leaves every 15 to 30 minutes for most of the day.

This is where people from all five districts of Poás come to deal with the municipality, see a doctor, shop and catch a bus. The municipal market stands 75 metres north of the central park and opens Monday to Saturday from six in the morning to six in the evening, with sodas, cheese counters, a greengrocer and its own car park. The Área de Salud Poás, the canton’s public clinic, has added evening consultations on weekdays. The land around town still earns a living: Poás grows high-altitude coffee on volcanic soil, strawberries, ferns and cut flowers for export, and it makes queso palmito. Even so, by the 2011 census more than half the canton’s workers were employed in trade and services.

The town is older than the canton. By 1782 the settlement was already being called Púas, and the explanation most often repeated in Poás puts the name down to the thorns of wild blackberry. Poás was split off from Alajuela as a canton on 15 October 1901, and San Pedro was raised to city by law in 1963. The parish church of San Pedro Apóstol looks onto the central park, which the municipality renovated and reopened, and the Escuela Pedro Aguirre Cerda stands on the park’s west side; the school took the Chilean president’s name in 1946. Poás is known as the water canton for the springs on the flanks of the volcano, and that water matters to anyone buying land here, not only to farmers.

San Pedro had 1,296 inhabitants in 1864, 5,060 in 1984 and 7,554 at the 2011 census, more than 550 people per square kilometre. The built-up neighbourhoods are Santa Cecilia, also known as Bajo Piedras, and Rastro; around them lie Cerro, Chilamate, La Hilda, Zamora and part of Sitio. Most buyers here want the town itself: a school, the clinic and the market within walking distance, and a direct bus to work in Alajuela. In 2011, 7.5 percent of the canton’s residents had been born abroad.

Houses in San Pedro:

The range is wide. You will find two-storey houses on lots of a little over 300 square metres, older single-storey homes on flat plots of up to 900 square metres with room to extend or plant a garden, and small one-bedroom houses in Cerro. There is some condominium stock too, and on the outskirts a few large homes on view lots make up a market of their own. If the house is in the centre, check which zone of the cantonal plan regulador it falls in: a commercial or mixed zone allows a shop or workshop next door that a low-density residential zone would not.

Rentals in San Pedro:

Most rentals in town are small: one-bedroom apartments with a sitting area, a breakfast counter and a private bathroom, sized for one person or a couple. Some are let semi-furnished in Barrio Santa Cecilia. Water, electricity and fibre internet are often included in the rent, which makes the monthly budget easy to plan, but parking runs from a covered, gated carport to room for a motorbike only. Pets and children are not always accepted, so ask before you visit. If you need two or three bedrooms, give yourself more time to find the right place.

Land and Lots in San Pedro:

Lots run from urban plots near the centre to larger parcels on the edges of the district. In San Pedro Norte, view lots of around 2,700 square metres have been offered with part of the price financed by the seller. Away from the centre, the plan regulador zoning map puts agricultural land beside low- and medium-density residential zones, so two plots on the same road can carry very different rules. The same map marks wells and water concessions with a 40-metre protection radius, and a separate 2011 regulation protects the canton’s springs. Before you pay a deposit, ask the municipality for a land-use certificate for the exact surveyed plot.

FAQ:

• How long does it take to get from San Pedro de Poás to Alajuela?

  About forty minutes on the Alajuela bus, which runs every 15 to 30 minutes for most of the day. By car it is 15 kilometres, and San José is 35 kilometres away.

• What should I check on a lot near a spring or well in San Pedro?

  Start with the water. The cantonal zoning map draws a 40-metre radius around wells and water concessions, and springs have their own protection zones under a 2011 regulation, so part of a plot may be off limits for building. Ask the Municipalidad de Poás for a land-use certificate, compare the plano catastrado with the boundaries on the ground, and pull the title from the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario) to confirm the owner, the area and any mortgages or easements.

• Can I rent a small apartment in the centre of San Pedro?

  Yes, that is the most common rental here. Units are mostly one-bedroom, some come semi-furnished, and many include water, electricity and internet in the price. Ask about parking and pets before you commit, because both vary from one landlord to the next.

• What can I reach on foot from the central park?

  The municipal market is 75 metres north of the park, the Escuela Pedro Aguirre Cerda is on its west side and the kindergarten is 100 metres north of the church. The Liceo de Poás is 500 metres north of the church and the IPEC Poás community college about a kilometre north of the park. The public clinic and the municipal offices are in town as well.

• How does San Pedro differ from the other districts of Poás?

  San Pedro is the canton’s urban centre, with the services and the bus terminal. San Rafael lies west on Route 107 toward Grecia, Sabana Redonda sits higher up the volcano road, Carrillos is lower down toward Alajuela, and San Juan makes up the five. Choose by what you need within reach every day rather than by the district name.