Looking at Gated Communities

It’s becoming an ever-more-common scene in the Costa Rican lifestyle: before arriving at your house, you check in at a guarded entrance before entering the protected confines of your gated neighborhood.

It’s a different paradigm form the old ideal of having an independent detached home where each person fends for him or her self.

“Gated communities have been in Costa Rica for decades, but mainly during the past ten years have we seen the large-scale development of (gated communities),”said Danny Henderson of Carico Real Estate. “We recommend gated communities to our buyers for the security of guarded entrance, which limits access to the community’s residents and guests. Additionally, a private security force sees to the neighborhood’s safety, as well,” he added.

Apart from in-house security, some buyers prefer alarm systems, like ADT, or live-in maids, which many real estate agents recommend for part-time residents.

Karyna Pérez, a resident of Villa Adobe in Santo Domingo de Heredia, north of San José, believes community living does provide safer living.

“If you leave your house, you know there are guards and community members who are looking after your house,” she said. “In Costa Rica, it’s not that safe to own a house and if you leave you get the feeling that no one is looking out for you. But if you’re in a condo or a gated community, you know that you’ll be protected.”

Phil Hemion, an agent with Emerald Forest Properties, concurs. “Especially if you’re only going to live (in Costa Rica) for eight or nine months out of the year, you need to seriously consider a gated community.”

Other amenities included in gated living depend on the development, but many include common areas, parks, and even swimming pools and gymnasiums. Community members pay monthly dues, which contribute to maintenance, security and other community activities. Resident fees can be $40 to $300 per month, and sometimes more depending on the class of development.

In Villa Adobe, which consists of more than 400 individual lots, households pay about 15,000 colones ($30) in dues.

“Most gated communities charge between $40 and $200 a month in dues, and others are even more expensive, depending on the number of homes in the development,” Kartman said.

The costs of buying a home in a gated community versus purchasing an independent home vary. “Building costs are going to be the same, around $600 per square meter [$54 per square foot] for top-quality construction,” Henderson said. Land prices in enclosed communities, however, can reach double those of independent lots.

“You’re paying for the infrastructure,” Henderson said, adding that roads, underground electricity and community areas have a cost. Currently in Costa Rica, home prices in gated communities range from around $80,000 to more than $1 million.

Disadvantages of gated community living, according to real estate agents and residents, include a close proximity to neighbors. “There isn’t as much privacy,” Hemion said, “but it’s not too bad. Valle del Sol in Escazú (southwest of San José) is quite spacious, and everyone has their space.”

Social geographer Joseph Sequoia feels that the shortcomings of gated living are deeper. “Gated communities perpetuate social stratification,” he said. “It sends a clear message to anyone walking past who doesn’t have an address within the community that there is a marked difference between the denizens behind the walls and those who amble through the streets. The people inside don’t want anyone else inside and that message is sent quite clearly. It’s like trying to keep the barbarians out.

“Gated communities are designed to do away with the vibrant street life that characterized Latin cities and living in years past, and instead of sharing with your fellow people you place a strong division between us and them,” he added. “This type of living is for the person who prefers to be isolated from the rest. [These communities] are designed to do away with the outside culture, instead focusing on individualism.

“In the United States,” Sequoia continued, “gated communities prey on a trumped-up fear of intruders and crime that doesn’t really exist. The security needs that arise with living in Costa Rica, however, are real, and therefore the gated communities’ security measures have a valid function.”

Courtesy of Costa Rica Traveler. Published with permission.