We work throughout Costa Rica, and Hacienda Pinilla and Avellanas are areas where we already have built work. A house here costs 1,500 to 2,500 USD per m². In Hacienda Pinilla the design committee reviews first, at 1,000 USD per review; in Avellanas the ASADA is not giving new water availability.
| Cost per m² | 1,500 to 2,500 USD |
|---|---|
| Municipality and time | Santa Cruz. CFIA about 30 days, Ministry of Health about 3 weeks above 300 m², municipal permit 2 to 4 weeks |
| Water | Hacienda Pinilla: ASADA Malinches de Pinilla, after committee approval · Avellanas: ASADA in technical non-feasibility |
| Condominium committees | Hacienda Pinilla 1,000 USD per review · Casa Vida took about a month, two rounds |
| Special rules | Maritime terrestrial zone, checked lot by lot in Avellanas |
| Our projects here | Casa Vida, Currie Residence |
Projects we designed in this area
Building inside a master-planned community means two approvals, not one
This is the part of building at Hacienda Pinilla that catches foreign buyers by surprise. A municipal permit is not enough. The community runs its own architectural regulation and its own design review committee, and that review is a parallel process with its own submittal requirements, its own fee schedule, its own meeting calendar and its own power to ask for changes. A design that satisfies the national building code can still be sent back because of a roof pitch, a wall colour, a setback from a neighbouring lot, a boundary wall height, a landscape species list or where the parking sits.
What the committee typically wants to see is a complete, coherent package rather than a partial one: site plan with the house located against the lot survey, floor plans and elevations, roof plan, materials and colour palette with samples or references, landscape plan, exterior lighting, and the position of tanks, condensers, cisterns and service yards, the things owners forget and committees always ask about. The practical consequence is scheduling. If the community review is treated as something that happens after design, it adds months at the worst possible moment. Run in parallel with the municipal file, it costs weeks, not months.
We have taken three houses through this: Casa Vida, Currie Residence and Casa Jacalito, so we know the format the submittal has to arrive in and the questions that come back. That is the difference between an architect who is learning the committee on your project and one who has already been in front of it. Outside the gates, Avellanas is a different condition: no committee, but a surf-beach sector with its own access, water and setback questions.
What has to be approved, and by whom
Hacienda Pinilla and Avellanas are in the canton of Santa Cruz. Inside the community there is a second, parallel approval.
- 01Community water and utility connection within the development. The ASADA Malinches de Pinilla connects the lot once the construction committee has approved the project.
- 02Hacienda Pinilla design review committee: architectural guidelines, submittal and approval. The committee reviews the full set of permit drawings (architecture, electromechanical and structural). The review fee is $1,000, and approval takes 3 weeks to a month.
- 03CFIA registration of drawings and professional responsibility
- 04Ministry of Health, for houses above 300 m² of construction: about 3 weeks, after the CFIA and before the municipality.
- 05Municipalidad de Santa Cruz, construction permit. The CFIA review on the APC platform allows about 30 days, and in practice the permit takes 2 to 4 weeks.
- 06Avellanas: maritime terrestrial zone where applicable. We verify it lot by lot.
What it costs to build here
Inside the gates the community standard sets a floor on the specification, and the review process itself carries a cost in drawings and time. The variables that move the number:
- Community architectural standard, materials and finishes the guidelines require
- Design review: additional drawings, fees and programme time
- Lot slope and orientation within the development
- Landscape scope, the guidelines usually govern planting and boundary treatment
- Distance to the sea for the lots nearest the beach, corrosion specification
- $1,500 to $2,500 per m², within the general range of the coast
- Ranges can include landscape and pool. Earthworks and retaining walls are priced separately for each lot, and design fees are not included.
What we do, end to end
One studio for the whole chain, the same team from the first site visit to the handover. Each service is described in full on the services page.
Questions from owners in this area
“From the conceptual drawings, the attention to detail, their professionalism, kindness and patience, working through the permit process, a straightforward and fair billing process, and everything between the beginning of the job and planting the plants, we couldn’t be happier.”
“After giving her our rough ideas she presented many options and helped us revise the final design to become our dream home. Her attention to detail and constant communication made the entire process fun and easy.”
Tell us where your lot is
Four fields. We reply with what we can tell you about that specific lot: access, water, setbacks and what the municipality will allow.