San Antonio

About San Antonio:

San Antonio covers about two square kilometres at 1,163 metres, on the northern edge of Desamparados canton. To the north it meets the cantons of Curridabat and San José, the central district of Desamparados lies to the west, Gravilias and Damas to the south, and La Unión, in Cartago province, to the east. National routes 207, 210, 212 and 409 all cross it. Route 210 runs four kilometres north-east to Curridabat and Tirrases, past the Más x Menos supermarket, while Route 212 heads south toward Damas and Patarrá. Autotransportes San Antonio, the bus company that shares the district’s name, runs lines from here into San José, among them the route out to Patarrá and Guatuso.

This is one of the oldest settlements in the canton. A few families were living here by 1820, and by 1825 the Bermúdez brothers, Miguel Quesada and the Romero family were among its leading households. The district takes in Acacias, Calle Amador, Calle Trejos, Calle Jamaica, Churruca, Constancia, Huetares, Miravalles, Rotondas, Vinsa, the INVU estate by the río Damas and Plazoleta, which many people call Lourdes. Two barrios straddle a canton line: Pueblo Nuevo is shared with Curridabat and Villa Karen with San José. The patron is Saint Anthony of Padua, whose church stands in the centre, and his feast on 13 June is the biggest date of the year.

The Muñeco is the reference point for almost every address. It is one of four iron figures, a blacksmith, a mason, a carpenter and a farmer, made in Europe to decorate Costa Rica’s stand at an exhibition in Paris and brought to the country in 1892. Around the 1950s the blacksmith was moved from the central park of Desamparados to the southwest side of San Antonio’s church, and for a time people from the centre would carry it off at night until San Antonio fetched it back. It gets a fresh coat of paint for the patron saint fiestas, in neutral colours with no hint of a party or a football club, and a small supermarket and a petrol station carry its name.

San Antonio filled up in the second half of the twentieth century. It had about 1,250 residents in 1950, more than 5,000 by 1973 and close to 10,000 by 2000, and the figure has held steady or dipped since, because there is little left to build on. The green that remains is high ground: the Loma de San Antonio inside the district and, to the south, the Loma de Salitral, which holds one of the last stands of premontane moist forest in the Central Valley. Buyers are mostly families who work in Desamparados, Curridabat or San José and want a house rather than an apartment, plus owners who build an extra unit to let.

Houses in San Antonio:

Houses are the bulk of what is sold. Many cover their whole lot, like a home built over all 162 m² of its plot with a garage for two cars, while larger houses run from about 225 to 440 m² of construction with four bedrooms or more. Several come with one or two independent apartments already built, which suits a buyer who wants rental income from the first month. When you compare houses for sale in San Antonio de Desamparados, ask for approved plans covering every unit on the property.

Residentials and Condominiums in San Antonio:

Part of the stock sits inside closed residentials with a guard barrier at the gate, such as Residencial San Antonio and Lomas de San Antonio. A few are registered condominiums with a monthly maintenance fee; one current example is a 354 m² house laid out as a main home plus two apartments. Three bedrooms on around 150 m² is a common size. If you plan to let part of the house, read the condominium rules first, since they can set conditions on it.

Rentals in San Antonio:

Rentals here are mostly small: studios, rooms and one-bedroom apartments, several of them in buildings put up for the purpose near the KFC. Upper-floor two-bedroom flats with a laundry area and a shared garage come up too, and now and then a furnished unit. Apartments for rent in San Antonio de Desamparados suit people who commute by bus to Curridabat or San José. Before you sign, find out whether water runs through a shared meter and how the bill is split.

Land and Lots in San Antonio:

Free land is scarce and comes in two very different shapes. Inside the residentials you find lots for a single house; on the older streets there are long, narrow plots, such as one of 11.3 by 55 metres on a stone-paved lane. A mixed-use lot of almost 1,000 m² on one of the main roads has also been offered, a parcel that interests a developer more than a family. What you may build depends on the zone in the canton’s regulatory plan, so request the uso de suelo before you make an offer.

Commercial Premises in San Antonio:

Commercial space is mostly street-front units along the main roads, offered both for sale and for rent. One example is a corner commercial building in Plazoleta, available either way. With a unit on the road, look hard at parking and at how easily customers can pull in and out.

FAQ:

• Where is the Muñeco, and why do addresses use it?

  It stands on the southwest side of the parish church of San Antonio de Padua, in the centre of the district. Costa Rican addresses are given from landmarks rather than street numbers, and here the iron blacksmith is the one everybody knows, so many directions are counted in metres from it. For the purchase itself, though, the cadastral plan is what counts, so ask for it early.

• A house is listed in Pueblo Nuevo or Villa Karen. Is it in San Antonio?

  Not necessarily. Pueblo Nuevo is split between San Antonio and Curridabat, and Villa Karen between San Antonio and San José, so two neighbouring houses can answer to different municipalities, with different zoning rules and property tax. Read the canton and district on the cadastral plan, then pull the title from the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario) to confirm the owners and any liens. On the deep lots of the older streets, also make sure the way in is a public street and not a private right of way shared with neighbours.

• How do I get to San José or Curridabat without a car?

  Autotransportes San Antonio runs buses from the district into San José, including the line that carries on to Patarrá and Guatuso. For Curridabat and Tirrases, Route 210 is the direct road, about four kilometres long.

• Can I add an apartment to my house and rent it out?

  Plenty of owners here have, and some houses go on sale with one or two units already finished. Before you count on that income, check that the extra units appear on plans approved by the Municipalidad de Desamparados and that each has its own electricity meter. Inside a registered condominium, the rules have a say as well.

• Is there a primary and a secondary school in the district?

  Yes. The public Escuela República de Panamá and Liceo de San Antonio cover both levels. The district also has the Escuela Misionera Católica Reina de la Paz and the Escuela Bendito Jesús.