Some people refer to Escazu as the ‘Beverly Hills’ of Costa Rica, but thankfully, the prices would have to be ten times higher to even come close to Beverly Hills prices…

There’s a new project going ahead for “Escazu Avenue” to be located just off the main highway from San Jose to the west and next door to the best hospital in Central America – Hospital CIMA.

Avenida Escazu or Escazu Avenue is a designed to be a mixed use, urban project idea and recently won the first place award for Diseño Urbano de la VIII Bienal de Arquitectura y Desarrollo Urbano.

It is more of a ‘village’ concept where pedestrians will rule the day and cars will have to be parked at the rear of the building, allowing the main avenue to be free of traffic.

Avenida Escazu is a few hundred meters west of the upscale Trejos Montealegre residential area which is probably home to more Ambassadors and diplomats than any other area.

This new luxury development will consist of 9 hectares, 15 buildings, 110 stores, 100 ‘loft’ type apartments (as yet unpriced), corporate offices, two hotels, a gym, spa, dance academies, shops, 20 restaurants, open air coffee shops, seven movie theaters including an IMAX theater and parking for 2,500 cars.

The very first stage is already under construction which is a building that will house 90 medical offices next door to CIMA Hospital and they are expected to complete the entire project in mid-2011.

The objective is to create a suitable, ‘cosmopolitan’ kind of environment, combining urban and economic development so that people can live, work and have fun in the same area.

Escazu is already known as the ‘Beverly Hills’ of Costa Rica and with the addition of this cosmopolitan new development, we anticipate that the value of local real estate will continue to appreciate, especially in the Trejos Montealegre residential area.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.