Patalillo

About Patalillo:

Patalillo was carved out of Dulce Nombre de Jesús by executive decree on 11 January 1968. It covers 1.92 square kilometres at 1,335 metres, and Moravia wraps around it on the north-west, west and south. San Isidro, the canton seat, lies directly east, and Dulce Nombre de Jesús to the north-east. Two national roads cross the district: Route 102, which runs through between San Isidro and Moravia, and Route 220, which heads north-west across La Trinidad de Moravia and into Santo Domingo, in Heredia province.

Route 102 is the road that matters for a commuter. Since November 2020 it has had a bus-only lane between the crossing at the old Mall Don Pancho, on the La Trinidad border, and the Servicentro El Trapiche at the entrance to San Isidro, in force on weekdays from 6:00 to 8:30 in the morning and from 3:00 to 7:00 in the afternoon. The San José–San Isidro de Coronado and San José–Moravia–Dulce Nombre buses both stop at El Trapiche, and a local line connects San Isidro with San Antonio. If you will ride the bus every day, check how far the house is from Route 102 before anything else.

This is a residential district before it is anything else. Its barrios include Centro, Cipreses, Cornelia, González Saborío, Horizontes, Irazú, Jardines, Jerusalén, Labrador, Las Calas, Normandía, Río Alto, Santa Marta, Trapiche, Villa Antigua, Villalinda and Villanova, many of them laid out as urbanizaciones on small lots. Four schools sit inside the boundary: the Escuela Estado de Israel, the Liceo de San Antonio, the Colegio Técnico Profesional de Coronado and the Costa Rica Christian School, a private school founded in 1999. Shops and services string along Route 102, from the McDonald’s opposite the Christian school to the El Trapiche service station, while the parish church of San Antonio de Padua anchors the centre.

The district held 3,511 people in 1973 and 17,731 by 2000, as one urbanización after another filled in; growth has slowed since, to a little over 21,000. At more than 11,000 residents per square kilometre it is one of the most densely populated districts in Costa Rica, and there is very little open ground left. Demand comes from two directions. Households want a house within reach of Moravia, Guadalupe and the city, while owners and small investors look for houses that already carry rental units, which let to couples and single tenants.

Houses in Patalillo:

Most houses are one- or two-storey family homes on lots of around 200 to 300 square metres, with two to four bedrooms and covered parking for one to three cars. Many are sold as a house with an apartment, or with two or three, built at the side, at the back or upstairs, and some come with tenants already in place. When you compare houses for sale in Patalillo, price the main house and the units separately, and ask for the leases and the building permit for each addition. Houses in condominiums such as Nuevo Coronado carry a monthly maintenance fee, so add it to the running cost.

Apartments in Patalillo:

Apartments for sale are mostly small units in condominiums: two bedrooms in 49 to 63 square metres, on a second or third floor, with one or two bathrooms. They are the lowest-cost way into the district and work as a first home or as a unit to let. Before you make an offer on apartments for sale in San Antonio de Coronado, read the condominium rules, confirm the maintenance fee and find out whether the parking space is a registered filial or just a permitted use.

Rentals in Patalillo:

The rental market runs on one- and two-bedroom apartments with a living-dining room and a laundry area, very often a unit attached to the owner’s own house. Some include water in the rent. Landlords here commonly set limits on the number of occupants and on pets, and parking may be for a motorcycle only, so ask about all three before you go to view apartments for rent in Patalillo.

Land and Lots in Patalillo:

With the district almost fully built up, land comes in small pieces. Expect residential lots of a couple of hundred square metres in barrios such as González Saborío, the occasional larger parcel with an older house on it, and lots on the main road with mixed land use, which allows commercial as well as residential building. Before paying for a mixed-use lot near El Trapiche or the old Mall Don Pancho, get the uso de suelo certificate in writing from the municipality. On a national route you will also need the MOPT alignment, which sets how far back from the road you may build.

FAQ:

• Is Patalillo the same place as San Antonio de Coronado?

  Yes. Patalillo is the official district name, taken from the quebrada Patalillo along part of its boundary. San Antonio is the head town and the name most people use, after the parish of San Antonio de Padua, so search under both.

• Which buses serve Patalillo, and how bad is the rush hour?

  The San José–San Isidro de Coronado and San José–Moravia–Dulce Nombre lines stop at El Trapiche, and a local line links San Isidro with San Antonio. Route 102 gets crowded at peak times, which is why it has a bus-only lane between the old Mall Don Pancho and El Trapiche on weekday mornings and afternoons.

• What should I check before buying a house with rental apartments here?

  The units were often added over the years, so confirm at the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario) that the folio real and the plano catastrado match what is actually built. Ask the Municipalidad de Vázquez de Coronado whether each addition had a building permit, and whether each unit has its own water and electricity meter. If the lot backs onto the Patalillo or another quebrada, measure the protected strip along the bank, where you cannot build.

• Which schools are inside the district?

  The Escuela Estado de Israel and the Liceo de San Antonio on the public side, the Colegio Técnico Profesional de Coronado for technical secondary education, and the private Costa Rica Christian School on Route 102. Schools in San Isidro and Moravia are also close.

• Where does Patalillo end and Moravia begin?

  Moravia surrounds the district on three sides, and the crossing at the old Mall Don Pancho marks the line with La Trinidad de Moravia. Addresses near that edge are given as Coronado or Moravia almost interchangeably, so read the district on the plano catastrado. Property tax and building permits go to whichever municipality the land actually sits in.