San Joaquín

About San Joaquín:

San Joaquín is the first of the three districts of Flores; Barrantes and Llorente are the other two. It sits at about 1,050 metres on the floor of the Central Valley, five kilometres west of Heredia, eight east of Alajuela and fifteen north-west of San José. The canton around it touches Santa Bárbara to the north, Barva to the north-east, Heredia to the south-east, Belén to the south-west and the Alajuela district of Río Segundo to the west. National Route 123 runs through the district, and the radial road between Heredia and Alajuela crosses the canton. The commuter train on the San José–Heredia–Alajuela line stops here on weekdays, and buses run to Alajuela, Heredia and San José, including a line through La Aurora that ends in San Joaquín.

Before it had a saint’s name, the place was Quebrada Seca. The land between that stream and the Río Segundo was sold at public auction in Guatemala in 1777 to Francisco Antonio Pérez, whose heirs later broke it into parcels that settlers from Heredia, Barva and Alajuela were glad to farm. San Joaquín appears by name in a will of 1819. The railway to the Caribbean came through at the end of the nineteenth century and tied the village to the capital. The first stone of the present church went down on 11 September 1865; the granite building was consecrated in December 1888, and the parish followed in 1897. When Flores was carved out of the Heredia canton in 1915, San Joaquín became its seat, and in 1969 a law made it a city.

Coffee once paid the bills here. It faded as the town filled up, and by the 2011 census three in four working people in the canton earned their living in commerce and services. The arrival of the Universidad Nacional in nearby Heredia sped that change, and the free-trade zones and the airport around the canton now supply many of the jobs. Daily life centres on the church, the Escuela Estados Unidos de América, in its present building since 1944, and the Liceo Regional de Flores on Avenida Central. The town is known well beyond Heredia for its helados de sorbetera, for Holy Week processions that more than 300 people help to stage, and for the Christmas lights of La Cruz del Norte, a short walk from the parish church.

The ground is the gently rolling volcanic fill of the valley floor, so most lots are level and easy to build on. Around 7,800 people live in the district, in barrios such as Campanario, Joaquineños, Luisiana, Santa Marta, Trinidad, Villa Lico and Villa María. Flores is entirely urban and keeps growing through new residential projects, which leaves little open land and keeps parcels small. Buyers are mostly Costa Rican families who want to live between Heredia and Alajuela, people who work in the nearby free zones, and investors who buy to let.

Houses in San Joaquín:

The typical house stands on its own lot in a residencial, behind a front garden and a carport. In Residencial Villa Luisiana, one recent three-bedroom home had 220 square metres built on a 298-square-metre lot, and Residencial Villa Flores is another established address. The other option is a house in a gated condominium near the centre: Condominio Montecristo, on the main street, has homes with three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms and covered parking for two cars. When you compare houses for sale in San Joaquín de Flores, look at which street the house faces. A quiet residencial and a frontage on the through road to Heredia or Alajuela are very different places to live.

Rentals in San Joaquín:

Rentals run from compact one- and two-bedroom apartments to whole houses in residenciales and condominiums. Tenants include staff from the free-trade zones, students and lecturers who travel to the universities in Heredia, and families waiting to buy in the canton. A unit within walking distance of the main-road buses or the train stop is the easier one to fill. If you are buying to rent out, check how the unit is registered and whether the lot’s zoning allows a second dwelling.

Land and Lots in San Joaquín:

Open land is scarce, so lots come in small sizes. Residencial Jardín de la Rosa sells residential lots from 241 to 459 square metres to buyers who want to build their own house. Elsewhere, buyers often look for an older house and rebuild on its lot. Ask the Municipalidad de Flores for a certificado de uso de suelo before you look at any lots for sale in San Joaquín, because the same size of lot allows very different buildings in different zones.

New Developments in San Joaquín:

New homes in the district mostly come as small gated condominiums. Condominio Tierra de Flores, 300 metres east and 50 north of the church, is the clearest example: independent houses of three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, each with its own garden, around a pool with a lap lane, a gym, a co-working room, a pet park and walking paths. Pre-sales start with an initial deposit, so ask for the construction permit, the delivery schedule and the draft condominium rules before you sign.

Commercial Property in San Joaquín:

On the main road through the centre, street-front properties of 600 to 750 square metres zoned for mixed commercial and residential use come up for sale, some of them already earning rent from shops. A few larger industrial properties also change hands, with warehouses, truck access and long frontages onto public roads. Check the permitted uses and the parking requirements with the municipality before you plan a change of activity.

FAQ:

• Does “San Joaquín de Flores” mean this district or the whole canton?

  In everyday use and in many ads it means the whole canton, including Barrantes and Llorente. This page covers the district of San Joaquín, postal code 40801: the city centre and barrios such as Santa Marta, Trinidad and Luisiana. Check the district named on the cadastral plan, not just the address on the ad.

• Can I commute by train from San Joaquín?

  Yes, but plan around the timetable. The San José–Heredia–Alajuela train stops in San Joaquín on weekdays, and only some services call here, mostly at peak hours. Buses fill the gaps: the Alajuela–Heredia–San José line by the radial and the Alajuela–La Aurora–San Joaquín route both serve the district.

• What should I check on title and zoning before buying in San Joaquín?

  Zoning comes first. Flores has controlled land use through a plan regulador since 2007, and the municipality has been presenting a new zoning map with different zone names and limits, so an old land-use certificate may no longer describe what you can build. Get a current certificado de uso de suelo from the Municipalidad de Flores, then make sure the cadastral plan and the record at the Registro Nacional describe the same parcel. In a condominium, confirm that the unit is registered as its own finca filial and that the fees are paid up.

• What happens in town at Holy Week and Christmas?

  Both bring crowds. The Holy Week processions, with live re-enactments, fill the streets around the church, and from late November to 25 December the Christmas lights of La Cruz del Norte draw visitors from across the country, especially at weekends. If you are viewing a house on one of those streets, ask the neighbours what traffic and parking look like in season.

• Can I still find a lot to build a house in San Joaquín?

  Yes, but expect a small one. Residential lots such as those in Jardín de la Rosa run from about 240 to 460 square metres. The larger parcels on the main road carry mixed-use zoning and sell as much for business as for housing.