San Gabriel

About San Gabriel:

San Gabriel covers 11.73 square kilometres of hill country in the south of Aserrí canton. Tarbaca lies to the north, Vuelta de Jorco to the west, Monterrey to the south, and the canton of Desamparados runs along its whole eastern side. Aserrí town is about nine kilometres to the north and San Ignacio de Acosta six to the west, both as the crow flies. Transportes San Gabriel runs the bus from its terminal on Calle 7 in San José through Desamparados, Aserrí, Tarbaca and La Fila; buses start at Los Mangos, stop in the centre, and take around an hour each way. By car, Route 222 passes Tranquerillas and La Fila and links the district with the southern edge of Desamparados and with Corralillo and El Guarco in Cartago, while Route 313 heads south through Trinidad and Monterrey toward León Cortés.

San Gabriel was one of the five original districts when Aserrí became a canton in 1882. It had under 3,000 residents in 1984 and just over 5,000 by 2000; most of the growth came between those two counts, and it has slowed since, to about 6,300 now. Around the centre sit Buenavista, Pueblo Nuevo, Santa Eduviges, Barrio Nuevo, Barrio Alto and Kamaquiri, which it shares with Tarbaca. Further out are Tranquerillas, Salitral, Limonal, Los Solano, Calle Los Ángeles, Rancho Grande, Villanueva and parts of La Fila and Trinidad. Children can go all the way through school without leaving the district: there are three primary schools, one of them in Tranquerillas, and the Liceo de San Gabriel for secondary.

Water is run by the community, not the municipality. The ASADA San Gabriel, formed in 2001 to take over from a municipal pipe first laid in 1945, treats water drawn from the Quebrada Tarbaca, the Río Tigre and two springs, and sends it by gravity from four tanks to some 2,180 connections across the centre, Tranquerillas, La Fila, La Trinidad, Salitral and Calle Los Ángeles. Salitral also has its own small community aqueduct. Older residents remember when springs ran everywhere on these hills; longer dry seasons and cleared slopes ended that, which is why a water availability letter matters more here than the finish of the kitchen. Coffee is still grown on the slopes around town, and some family farms roast and sell their own.

Buyers here are mostly families from Aserrí and the south of San José who want a house of their own within a bus ride of work. The newest homes are small and practical, built on lots of around 150 square metres and sold with bank financing that covers nearly the whole price, which puts them within reach of first-time buyers. People with more to spend look for a bigger lot with a view over the hills and room for a garden. The ground here is steep, so many houses sit on cut terraces held by retaining walls, and the condition of that wall is part of what you are buying.

Houses in San Gabriel:

Expect single-family homes on their own lots: older two- and three-bedroom houses near the centre, some needing work, and larger four- and five-bedroom houses on bigger plots. Among the houses for sale in San Gabriel de Aserrí, the newest are compact builds of around 70 square metres with three bedrooms, a laundry room and parking for two cars. Ask whether a house is on the ASADA network or a smaller aqueduct, and look closely at the retaining wall behind or below it.

Land and Lots in San Gabriel:

Building plots run from about 150 square metres up to around 650, often with water and power already available at the road. Further out you find parcels of several thousand square metres, and occasionally a farm of well over a hectare. On sloping lots for sale in San Gabriel, the flat area you can actually build on matters more than the figure on the plan. Get the water availability letter before you pay a deposit, because no permit moves without it.

Rentals in San Gabriel:

Rentals are mostly whole houses let by local owners, some of them two-storey family homes, and services are often not included in the rent. Apartments are scarce. If you are commuting, check how far the house is from a stop on the San José line and what time the last bus comes back.

FAQ:

• Tranquerillas, Rancho Grande, Villanueva and La Fila also appear in Desamparados. How do I know which side a property is on?

  Check the cadastral plan and the property record at the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario). The canton line runs right through this area: La Fila and Trinidad are split with Rosario de Desamparados, and several hamlet names are used on both sides. The answer decides whether the Municipalidad de Aserrí or Desamparados issues your land-use certificate and building permit and collects the property tax, so settle it before you sign.

• How do I get from San Gabriel to San José without a car?

  Transportes San Gabriel runs the line from Los Mangos and San Gabriel centre through La Fila, Tarbaca, Aserrí and Desamparados to its terminal on Calle 7, between avenidas 10 and 12. The trip takes about an hour, with departures from early morning until late evening on weekdays and fewer at weekends.

• Who supplies water, and how do I confirm a property has it?

  Most of the district is served by the ASADA San Gabriel; Salitral has its own community aqueduct. Ask the aqueduct that serves the property for a written water availability letter. The ASADA San Gabriel has a standard request form for this, and the municipality will ask for the letter before it approves any building.

• Is it hard to build on a hillside lot here?

  It costs more than building on flat ground. Most lots need cutting and a retaining wall, and the drainage of the slope has to be thought through before the foundations go in. Ask for a land-use certificate first, then get an engineer to look at the slope before you settle on a price.

• What is there to see in San Gabriel itself?

  The wooden parish church of San Gabriel Arcángel, built in 1910, and the paved streets around it are the heart of town. The surrounding hills are coffee country, and a few cafés and restaurants in town cater to people who come up for the day.