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Five office centers, eight shopping malls, two supermarkets, three franchise restaurants, two residential compounds, two gas stations, a major hotel, an auto mall and several factories and industrial complexes, these are the landmarks of the 3.7-kilometer strip between the Red Cross of Santa Ana and the bridge over the Virilla River.

One of the main factors that has driven and motivated this construction boom is Lindora’s strategic location as it communicates with other major highways in the country (Prospero Fernandez highway with San Jose via Escazu and General Canas highway with the province of Alajuela via San Antonio de Belen).

"Eight years ago there were few projects that were located in this area," says Alejandra Davila, the person in charge of the Department of Urban Planning of the City of Santa Ana.

The first companies that established their operations in the area were Condominium Bosques de Lindora and Condominium Hacienda Lindora, followed by businesses Empaques Santa Ana and ITT Technologies. These were followed by Matra, Forum Santa Ana, the hotel Quality Real San José, the Pizza Hut and Rosti Pollos restaurants and Grupo Q – the exclusive dealership of Hyundai, Isuzu and Chevrolet vehicles in Costa Rica.

Since 2003, the Vistana Este and Vistana Oeste shopping centers were built in the area as well as an AutoMercado and more than 30 additional buildings.

Permits. Although it appears as if the Santa Ana – Belen corridor could not handle any more construction, a new hotel and two shopping centers (which will house four restaurants and a bank) are under construction at this time, and three new commercial centers are at their permitting stage. There is also an existing business complex, which is currently adding two more office towers and another business complex is entering into its third phase adding three more office towers.

"There is no regulation or law that dictates that construction should be prohibited in what one would consider an already saturated area," said engineer Jefrey Zumbado, Director of Land Management from the city council. He added that while there is space and while permits continue to be granted, construction will continue in the area.

Ultimately, it is the Municipality of Santa Ana that has the mandate to give a green light to new construction in the area, but along the way a whole set of other government entities, such as Water and Sewerage Systems (AyA) and SETENA, is involved in determining the feasibility of any given development and granting or not of additional permits. In the case of the Santa Ana – Belen corridor, it is the Ministry of Public Transportation (MOPT), which determines the impact of new commercial centers in the area on public transportation and circulation.

Other government institutions involved in the construction permitting process are INVU, Ministry of Health and the Civil Aviation Authority, which monitors the height of the buildings due to the proximity of the international airport in Alajuela.

Zumbado said that the Santa Ana Development Plan issued by the Municipality of Santa Ana is the key regulatory document concerning construction in the area and that it explicitly states the emphasis on the promotion of principally commercial and industrial development in the Santa Ana – Belen corridor.

Expansion. Forum Santa Ana, built in 1991, is one of the projects that are significantly expanding their facilities. This suburban business park is building two more buildings in addition to the 15 office towers and the two existing parking platforms.

One of these new buildings is already used by Citigroup, which opened its headquarters there in September.

According to Gabriela Tijerino, Marketing Manager of Genesis Developers, there are approximately 6,000 people currently employed by corporations renting office spaces in Forum I, excluding the staff of the two new towers under construction.

The same developer is responsible for the project Forum Lindora, a complex that will have a total of 15 office towers and two parking platforms. At this time the project has six buildings completed, but is entering the third phase that includes three additional towers.

The business park, said Tijerino, will be completed in 2011, and according to projections, will provide new jobs for over 5,000 people.

The imminent expansion of the Santa Ana – Belen corridor to seven lanes (one spin) (from the current two lanes (one spin)) as part of the expansion of the San Jose-San Ramon highway, has encouraged the developer (and many others) to consider investing in construction in the area. (See page 5: Radial Santa Ana-Belen will be expanded to seven lanes)

New projects. At this time, three major buildings are under construction along the Santa Ana – Belen corridor. It is the Platinum Mile shopping center that will house a restaurant of the franchise Quiznos, Teriyaki and KFC (this will be the largest restaurant in the country), with an investment of approximately $ 2.5 million.

The other buildings will include Banco Nacional, a Mac Donald’s restaurant and a third one of Holiday Express Inn. According Zumbado, three other commercial projects are in the process of applying for building permits.

The construction boom in the area has brought about development, but also an increase in vehicular circulation, which has turned the Santa Ana – Belen corridor into a virtually impassable road, receiving approximately 35,000 vehicles per day, according to studies of MOPT.

Zumbado commented that the residents of Condominio Bosques de Lindora and Condominio Hacienda Lindora have expressed a serious concern about the commercial developments springing up all over the place. What used to be a tranquil countryside location is now the center of commercial development.

In this regard Gabriela Tijerino says that Forum II Lindora has taken steps to counteract the situation: the business park contemplates three entrances to the complex, one with exit to the streets of Pozos de Santa Ana.

Momentum Lindora, a shopping center opened in November of 2007, also experienced the consequences of the traffic congestion.

Alejandra Rivera, the project’s Marketing and Sales Manager, said that they felt the impact: "Due to the traffic congestion many people choose not to enter the mall in order not to have to deal with the traffic upon exiting the commercial center. 

Alexandra H. Valverde | avalverde@nacion.com