From January to June 2020, 57 environmental impact studies were presented for the construction of commercial buildings in Central American countries, and most of them are concentrated in Costa Rica and El Salvador.
The interactive platform "Construction in Central America", of the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, includes an updated list of public and private construction projects that present environmental impact studies (EIS) to the respective institutions in each country.
After the Malaga City housing project was acquired by ALD Inmobiliaria in Costa Rica, the construction company has re-started work on the 1,600-unit condominium.
In August, in order to reactivate the project under the name "Residencial Terra Verbena", the acquisition of the residential complex "Malaga City" located in Alajuelita by ALD Inmobiliaria from Rock Constructions was reported.
During the first half of 2018, 203 environmental impact studies were presented in Central American countries to develop condos, apartment buildings and other housing projects.
The interactive platform "Construction in Central America", included in the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData, lists updated public and private construction projects that present environmental impact studies (EIA) to the respective institutions of each country.
In Costa Rica, residential projects aimed at families in the middle socioeconomic segment increasingly tend to be located outside of the greater metropolitan area.
Nacion.com reports that "...Housing options for people and families in the middle-income bracket, a segment also known as the middle class, are increasingly moving to sites farther away from the capital city, according to a survey carried out on Wednesday, August 22 between real estate agents participating in the housing fair Expocasa and Decoration."
In Costa Rica, a real estate developer has announced that it plans to start construction of an office building in Curridabat, San José, this year.
Representatives of construction company Desarrolladores 506, promoter of the project, reported that the building on seven levels will have 289 parking spaces.Its location will be in the northeast part of the Momentum Pinares shopping center and the new office tower will have direct access to the shopping center.
At the end of the first quarter, office space inventory totaled 1.4 million square meters, with an average price of $19 / m2, up 7% compared to the same period in 2016.
Data from the report "Office Real Estate Market up to June 2017" by Colliers Costa Rica shows that at the end of March this year the inventory amounted to 1.4 million square meters, an increase of 2.4% compared to the same period in 2016.
The poor state of road infrastructure is one of the reasons explaining the growing supply of projects that provide residential and office spaces in one single place.
Areas with free coworking options, spaces specially designed to house offices which are a few meters from the entrance to an apartment building are some of the characteristics of mixed real estate projects, whose supply is growing, particularly in the periphery of the greater metropolitan area.
Construction plans for the province include 150 thousand square meters in construction of commercial and residential centers in the coming months.
Of the eight planned projects, four are mixed-use complexes combining residential, commercial and entertainment buildings, and another two are the mega project called Oxigeno and San Francisco square.In the residential segment, the other two projects, Las Flores, and Bambu, amount to 40 thousand m2 and 17,600 m2, respectively.
Between January and March construction designed for private use grew at an annual rate of 3%, driven by nonresidential projects, which grew by 5.8%, while residential projects rose by 1.2%.
From the report "Construction Designed for Private Use" by the Central Bank of Costa Rica:
The interannual behavior of the ITAEC can mostly be explained by the contribution of non-residential buildings which increased by 5.8% while residential buildings grew by 1.2%.
The registration of professional responsibility for construction plans increased by 8% compared to the previous year, though total figures are still below the pre-2008 crisis numbers.
The commercial sector recorded 1.5 million square meters of construction being processed nationwide, with the areas of Escazu, Santa Ana and Belen reporting the highest number of procedures.
Projections are that this year about 149 thousand square meters of commercial spaces will be built in different parts of the country, mainly west of the Greater Metropolitan Area.
Some of the upcoming projects include: City Mall in Alajuela, City Place in Santa Ana, e Center in Heredia, and Bamboo Eco Urbano in San Jose, among others. Specialists say that the commercial success of these complexes is largely determined by location, business strategy and brand recognition among consumers.
Following the rise of the complexes that combine commercial spaces with offices and residences, two new projects are being developed west of the capital.
It is expected that the Escazu Village complex will be ready in late 2016, and Las Terrazas Lindora November 2015, two mini-cities which offer housing, retail stores, offices, parks and entertainment areas in the same place.
A company from Honduras is developing a mall measuring 200 thousand square meters in the city of Alajuela.
Next month the Lady Lee Corporation will begin construction of City Mall in Alajuela, measuring 200 thousand square meters, and having 300 commercial premises and parking for 2,700 vehicles.
Enrique Rodriguez, head of Public Relations and Communication of the new complex, told Crhoy.com that "the earthwork has already been done and now, in March, we will begin building the huge structure, a project which is being managed by the Honduran company Postensa".
Shopping centers and hotels in the city and on the coast are part of the new projects planned for this year and 2015.
Four commercial and mixed-use projects are predicted to boost the sector in 2015. These are City Mall, City Place in Santa Ana, Ocean Mall in Puntarenas and Jacó Beach Walk in in Jaco beach. City Mall and City Place are currently under construction and are projected to start operations in the middle of this year.
There are plans to build a mini-city on the beach in Puntarenas, two mega projects and 6 other smaller works that represent $211 million in investments.
The three largest projects will be developed by local companies in the province of Puntarenas, in the Central and Garabito cantons. "These, together with six other smaller private works, represent investments of over $211 million and the use of more than 164 hectares of land in the next 15 years," noted an article in Elfinancierocr.com.