San Vicente
Real Estate in San Vicente, Costa Rica.
Drive down Calle Don Pedro and you have seen most of San Vicente in one street: a bilingual private school, family houses on generous lots, and beside the road a stream channel that the municipality had to line with concrete and gabion walls after it flooded the street and ate into its edges. This is the second district of Santo Domingo canton in Heredia, Costa Rica, a residential area of under three square kilometres on the north-east side of the canton’s town centre. On one side it meets San Pablo canton, and the Quizarco name turns up on both sides of that line. What you find here is detached family homes, large houses in residenciales such as Quizarco and Durango, flat building lots and a steady run of houses to rent. Anyone searching for San Vicente de Santo Domingo real estate is looking at the residential belt right behind the basilica.
About San Vicente:
San Vicente covers 2.88 square kilometres at 1,180 metres, on the north-east side of Santo Domingo town. Inside the canton it borders the central district of Santo Domingo, Santo Tomás, Tures and Santa Rosa; beyond its edges lie San Pablo and Rincón de Sabanilla in San Pablo canton and San Francisco in Heredia canton. Santo Domingo town is three kilometres from the city of Heredia and seven and a half from San José, so both are an easy daily trip. Buses on the Heredia–Santo Domingo routes and the San José–Santo Domingo line stop beside Residencial Quizarco, and the nearest stop on the Heredia–San José train is Santa Rosa station, in the next district.
Ask a neighbour where they live and you will get a barrio or a street rather than the district: Quizarco, Barro de Olla, Calle Don Pedro, Quintana, Yurustí, La Colonia, Calle del Rey or Soto. The growth came fast. In 1950 the district had 461 residents, in 1963 just under a thousand, and by 1984 more than 3,300, as the town spread out into it. The 2011 census counted 6,427 people, which works out at more than 2,200 per square kilometre. That density is the reason free land is scarce and why a large lot here is worth noticing.
The ground slopes gently down from the foothills of the Cerro Zurquí toward the Río Virilla, and water decides a lot here. A small natural channel runs beside Calle Don Pedro and Calle Alfonso, and before the works it caused bank erosion and street floods and left debris piled up in Urbanización Quizarco. The Municipalidad de Santo Domingo covered 113.6 metres of it in a closed concrete box by the entrance to the Colegio Yurustí, built about 250 metres of gabion walls along Calle Don Pedro, and lined some 600 metres on Calle Alfonso as an open concrete channel, with the last stage finished in the first half of 2012. Along one stretch, houses were built right beside and facing the channel, reached by concrete slabs laid over it.
Daily needs are close by. The Auto Mercado Santo Domingo stands inside the district on the road toward Santo Tomás, and a Más x Menos two blocks from the basilica. For schooling, the public Escuela San Vicente sits on Avenida 22, the private bilingual Colegio Yurustí is on Calle Don Pedro, and the Colegio Santa María de Guadalupe, founded in 1959 and now teaching the International Baccalaureate, stands 250 metres north of the basilica. With that much schooling within walking distance, San Vicente draws families who want a house and garden a short trip from both San José and Heredia.
Houses in San Vicente:
Residencial Quizarco is the largest single source of family homes. You will find two-storey houses of around 210 square metres with three bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms and a two-car garage, and four-bedroom homes of 270 to 330 square metres come up as well. The larger houses for sale in San Vicente go well beyond that: an independent house of 450 square metres on a 572-square-metre lot, a 600-square-metre residence on 804 square metres close to the Auto Mercado and the Colegio Yurustí, and a home of 500 square metres on an 800-square-metre lot on Calle Don Pedro. Residencial Durango adds single-level houses on lots of around 650 square metres. If the house fronts Calle Don Pedro or Calle Alfonso, walk the channel in front of it and look at the state of the gabions before you make an offer.
Rentals in San Vicente:
Rentals run from small to very large. A new two-bedroom house of 132 square metres, with two full bathrooms, a guest toilet and parking for two cars, has come up ready to move into. Inside Residencial Quizarco, private apartments are let with internet, cable and water included in the rent. At the top end there are four-bedroom, two-storey houses of 600 square metres with a pool and children’s play area, a Mediterranean-style house of 626 square metres with large gardens inside a condominium, and single-level houses in Residencial Durango. If you need houses for rent in San Vicente near a particular school, time the school run at seven in the morning before you sign.
Land and Lots in San Vicente:
Lots are few and they are mostly flat. Residencial Durango sells plots of 650 to 658 square metres with 15 metres of frontage, 41 metres of depth and 75 per cent building coverage, enough for a large single-family house. In Residencial Quizarco a lot has been offered for either a house or a small apartment building. The rare large parcel does appear: a lot of 6,235 square metres on a paved public road inside an established residential area. On any lot, ask how many water connections come with it, because each home needs its own paja de agua, and the number of connections decides how many units the lot can really take.
FAQ:
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Is San Vicente de Santo Domingo the same as San Vicente de Moravia?
No. San Vicente is also the head district of Moravia, in San José province, which has its own municipality, rules and market. This San Vicente belongs to Santo Domingo canton in Heredia and uses postal code 40302. When a property is advertised simply as “San Vicente”, check that the cadastral plan reads Heredia, Santo Domingo, San Vicente.
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Does the stream along Calle Don Pedro still flood?
The street flooding came from a small natural channel that was too narrow for heavy rain. The open concrete channel on Calle Alfonso, finished in 2012, has kept the water off that street, and the gabions on Calle Don Pedro hold the banks. Gabions age, though, so for a property on either street ask the seller what happened in the last few rainy seasons and look at the walls yourself.
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What should I check before buying in Quizarco?
Start with the canton. Quizarco sits on the line with San Pablo, and the same name is used on both sides of it, so the cadastral plan has to show which canton and district the lot is in. Pull the property at the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario) to confirm the owner, any liens and that the area matches the plan. Then ask the municipality the plan names for a land-use certificate, plus any setback that applies if the lot runs along the channel.
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Which schools are in San Vicente?
The public primary is the Escuela San Vicente on Avenida 22. The private bilingual Colegio Yurustí is on Calle Don Pedro, and the Colegio Santa María de Guadalupe, founded in 1959, offers secondary school including the International Baccalaureate, 250 metres north of the basilica.
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How do I get to San José or Heredia without a car?
Buses on the Heredia–Santo Domingo routes and the San José–Santo Domingo line stop beside Residencial Quizarco. Heredia city is three kilometres from Santo Domingo town and San José seven and a half. For a train, walk or ride to Santa Rosa station in the next district, on the Heredia–San José line.