Jesús

About Jesús:

Jesús covers a little over eleven square kilometres in Santa Bárbara, the fourth canton of Heredia. The canton seat lies seven kilometres north-west of Heredia city and five from the centre of Alajuela, and Jesús fills the ground between Santa Bárbara town and Barva. Three national roads cross it. Ruta 128 links the district with Santa Bárbara and with the Barva districts of San Pedro, San Pablo and San Roque, while Ruta 126 climbs through Birrí toward Vara Blanca and, with Ruta 120, is the road most people from Heredia take to Poás volcano. Juan Santamaría international airport is less than ten kilometres away in a straight line.

People have farmed here since a settler set up a cattle ranch in 1663, and coffee has long been the backbone of the local economy, with sugarcane alongside it. It still matters. Café Britt runs a distribution centre on Ruta 128 west of central Jesús, and Finca Rosa Blanca, a boutique inn of thirteen suites, sits in the middle of its own organic coffee plantation 800 metres north of it. Hotel Monte Campana in Birrí has pools and ranchos for weekend visitors, and La Máquina has its roadside fruit stands. For daily needs there are supermarkets, restaurants, corner shops and an EBAIS health post.

The district sits at around 1,160 metres and rises toward Birrí. Río Porrosatí and the Birrí, Burros and La Cruz streams cut ravines through it, and the national emergency commission rates Jesús as high-risk for landslides and flooding because of that broken ground. The slopes also explain the asking prices on many lots: the better ones look toward the city on one side and the mountains on the other. Higher up, around Birrí, sellers lean on the fresher climate as much as on the view.

Jesús had 3,717 residents in 1984 and 9,603 at the 2011 census, and it has kept growing since. The district is a patchwork of named sectors: Central Jesús, Calle Solís, Calle Trapiche, Urbanización Cifuentes, Rosa Blanca, La Teófila and La Máquina near the middle, with Birrí, La Catalina, Cuesta Colorada and San José de Altagracia to the north-west, plus Guachipelines, Guaracha and Ulises. Calle Quirós and Común are split with neighbouring Purabá. Children go to one of three primary schools, Escuela Jesús in the centre, Alfredo González Flores on Ruta 126 and Alfredo Volio Jiménez in Birrí, and then on to the high school in Santa Bárbara or to schools in Barva and Heredia.

Houses in Jesús:

The range is wide for a district this size. At the entry end there are compact one-storey houses on lots of around 150 square metres, with a back patio and room to add a floor. A step up, you find family houses of about 210 square metres built on 300-square-metre lots. Larger homes, some with five or six bedrooms, 300 to 500 square metres of construction, fine wood finishes and views over the valley, sit on bigger plots on the slopes. Near Birrí, rustic houses on lots of more than 1,700 square metres come with mezzanines, terraces and separate ranchos with their own bedroom and bathroom. Among houses for sale in Barrio Jesús you will also come across rent-to-own offers.

Apartments for Rent in Jesús:

Rentals here are small and close to the ground. The usual unit is a one- or two-bedroom apartment with its own entrance, built on the lot of a family house, often with a carport and with water and electricity included in the monthly rent. Some are a short walk from the Café Britt centre, and a few small apartment blocks with units of different sizes are coming onto the rental market. Whole three-bedroom houses also come up for rent. They suit a family that wants a season in the district before deciding where to buy.

Land and Lots in Jesús:

Lots in Jesús come in three sizes. Small urban lots of 280 to 290 square metres, many with a Central Valley view, are sold ready for a single house. Flat lots of 500 square metres, about 13 metres wide and 35 deep, some of them facing a national road, carry a residential land-use rating for one home of up to two floors with 75 percent site coverage. Beyond those come parcels of more than 6,000 square metres with 40 metres of street frontage, and the occasional farm of around 15 hectares. For anyone shopping lots for sale in Jesús de Santa Bárbara, the land-use rating, not the size of the lot, decides if you can build a second unit to rent out.

Commercial Property in Jesús:

Ruta 128 has made Jesús a place for storage and distribution as well as for homes. The Café Britt distribution centre is the best-known example. Warehouse space of around 2,000 square metres also comes up for sale or lease in Barrio Jesús. Before you sign, check that the land-use rating covers what you plan to do there, and how heavy trucks will reach the gate.

FAQ:

• Is Jesús the same place as Barrio Jesús and Birrí?

  Barrio Jesús is simply the name everyone uses for the district, and Birrí is one of its sectors, in the north-west near Ruta 126. Calle Quirós and Común are shared with Purabá, so check which district appears on the cadastral plan before you rely on an address. The postal code for Jesús is 40404.

• What should I check before buying a lot in Jesús?

  Start with the land-use certificate from the Municipalidad de Santa Bárbara. On the flat 500-square-metre lots near the national road, for example, it allows one house of up to two floors and caps coverage at 75 percent, which can rule out a duplex or a rental annex. If the land drops toward the Porrosatí or one of the quebradas, find out where the protected riverbank strip begins and ask for a soil study, since the district is rated high-risk for landslides. Then pull the cadastral plan and the property record at the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario) and make sure the measurements match what you walked.

• How well connected is Jesús?

  Very well for a district with this much green. Santa Bárbara town is next door, Heredia is about seven kilometres away and Alajuela about five, and Juan Santamaría airport is less than ten kilometres in a straight line. Ruta 126 takes you north through Birrí to Vara Blanca and Poás. It also serves as the back road to the Caribbean side when Ruta 32 through Braulio Carrillo is closed.

• Which schools and health services does the district have?

  There are three public primary schools: Escuela Jesús in the centre, Alfredo González Flores on Ruta 126 and Alfredo Volio Jiménez in Birrí. Most teenagers go on to the high school in Santa Bárbara, and some travel to Barva or Heredia. Basic medical care is at the EBAIS in Jesús, with the larger hospitals in Heredia.

• Is coffee still grown in Jesús?

  Yes. Coffee plantations still separate many of the district’s sectors, and Finca Rosa Blanca runs an organic coffee farm and inn here. Café Britt also keeps its distribution centre on Ruta 128. If a lot borders a working plantation, ask the neighbours about harvest-season traffic before you buy.