Florida

About Florida:

Florida covers 82.76 km² on the west side of Siquirres canton, between the town and the hills that rise toward Turrialba. The district was created in 1911 and was home to 2,184 people in 2011, spread between the head village and poblados such as Pascua, Altos de Pascua, Bonilla Abajo, Casorla, Lomas, San Antonio, Río Peje and Roca. To reach Ruta 32 for Limón or San José you drive down to Siquirres, which is also where Ruta 10, the old road to Turrialba and Cartago, ends. When Ruta 32 is closed, Ruta 10 is the way round. It has landslide closures of its own.

The Reventazón plant is the fact that shapes the district. ICE built it between 2010 and 2016 on land in the Florida and Siquirres districts, bought some 1,900 hectares, filled a 7 km² reservoir and left 41 community works across the canton. The village has a primary school, the Colegio Florida secondary school, a supermarket and the Catholic church at its centre, while the old church of San Isidro still stands up in Pascua. For anything bigger, people go down to Siquirres. The Zona Franca La Francia industrial and logistics park on Ruta 32 is about ten minutes from the village by car.

The village and its neighbours Lomas, Casorla and Bonilla Abajo sit on ground laid down by rivers, which is why flat parcels turn up near the centre. Higher up, the Pascua, Bonilla and Roca rivers run through deep, sharply cut valleys whose sides show active erosion and unstable slopes. Further up the middle Reventazón valley, mostly on the Turrialba side, lies a semi-active landslide zone with slopes of 30 to 60 percent. Heavy rain is what moves that ground, and it is the same rain that every so often shuts Ruta 10. When you choose where to build, that counts for more than the view.

The pitch you will hear from sellers is a cool, quiet place close to the dam, with the school and the supermarket within reach. Small residential lots of under 400 m² sit alongside parcels of one to two and a half hectares that already have water and power. A small lot costs a fraction of what a large flat parcel in the centre asks. That mix suits two kinds of buyer: someone after a modest house close to Siquirres, and someone who wants farmland with services already on site.

Houses in Florida:

Expect family homes on generous plots: two-storey houses with four bedrooms, or a main house with a separate apartment on a lot of close to 1,000 m². That second unit is worth having if you want rental income or room for relatives. Ask where the water comes from, because some properties run on their own source rather than a public connection, and look at how the yard drains after a downpour. On the slopes toward Pascua and Bonilla, get a builder or engineer to look at the structure before you sign.

Land and Lots in Florida:

Residential plots of 280 to 400 m² near the centre are the cheapest way into the district. Above them come parcels of a hectare or more, some of them flat, with water and electricity in and asphalt to the gate. Before you buy land in Florida, Siquirres, walk the boundary with the plano catastrado in hand and ask the municipality for the land-use certificate. Parcels near the reservoir or the river may border ICE land or fall inside river protection strips where nothing can be built.

Farms in Florida:

Farm-sized parcels range from flat blocks of two and a half hectares near the centre to a single hectare with a house and its own water. The flat ground by the village is the easiest to work and to build on, while the cut hills toward Pascua and Bonilla are better left in forest than cleared for crops or houses. A farm near Siquirres like these sits ten minutes from the logistics park on Ruta 32, which matters if you plan to pack or store what you grow. Ask what the land was last used for, and whether any of it is protected forest, before you price it as farmland.

FAQ:

• How far is Florida from Siquirres and Ruta 32?

  The head village is seven kilometres west of Siquirres town, a short drive from Ruta 32 and the town’s bus station. From Siquirres you head east for Limón or west for San José, and Ruta 10 to Turrialba starts there too.

• What does the Reventazón dam mean for a buyer?

  ICE holds some 1,900 hectares around the plant and reservoir, so a parcel near it can share a boundary with state land. Ask where the reservoir edge and its protected margin lie. The plant has run since 2016, so the landscape you see is the finished one, not a building site.

• How do I check title and land use on a parcel around Pascua or Bonilla?

  On those slopes the bigger risk is the ground itself, so start with a geologist or engineer before you get attached to a view. Then pull the record from the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario), match the plano catastrado to the fences on site and ask the municipality in Siquirres for the land-use certificate.

• Is the land in Florida flat or hilly?

  Both. The village, Lomas, Casorla and Bonilla Abajo sit on gentler ground built up by rivers, while the valleys of the Pascua, Bonilla and Roca rivers above them are steep, deep and unstable along their sides.

• What services does the village have?

  A primary school, the Colegio Florida, a supermarket and the Catholic church are all in the village. Banking, larger shops and most paperwork mean a trip down to Siquirres.