Friday, August 10, 2007
Huacas, at the Crossroads to the Future
Juan Gutiérrez Gutiérrez remembers early mornings, more than seventy years ago, when he and his mother set out on foot for the 12-hour journey from Huacas to Santa Cruz.
In those days, he says, it was the only place to shop, buy medicine, or see a doctor.
“There weren’t cars or stores — there was nothing,” says the 86-year-old, a lifelong Huacas resident. “People walked from here to Santa Cruz.”
“There was no electricity, no water, only a well,” adds 61-year-old Froilana Rosales. “We bathed in the river…we made food with wood.”
Yet today the town brims with activity – dentists, lawyers, veterinarians, an emergency room, car wash, car dealer, government-run electricity office, community center, furniture store, sports store, and a handful of tourist shops.
A major supermarket chain was recently installed, as well as a nightclub, various restaurants, and plans are underway for a pool-tennis club, two major commercial complexes, and a possible gas station.
Some see the development — much of which has only sprung up in the 12 months — as a hint of the vital role Huacas may play in coming years.
“It’s a hub, a commercial hub,” says Larry Albright of Pacific Coast Realty in nearby Flamingo. “(It’s) a crossroads to Tamarindo, Flamingo, Playa Grande.”
Mr Albright, who sold a 2.5-hectare commercial lot to developers just one year ago for about $26 per meter, says the same type of land now starts around $50 per meter. He notes, too, the land is half a mile from the crossroad.
At the main intersection, Jürgen Gerner of ABC Realty says he has land with an asking price of $150 per meter.
“Huacas is in the middle of everything,” says Francesca Facio Crespo, commercial manager for Paseo del Mar, a $15 million, five-phase commercial center scheduled to open at the end of the month.
“Why be on one beach when you can be on all of them?”
“It’s the crossroads point for all the beach towns on the map,” says Benjamin Hadary, co-owner of Galería Conchal, another commercial center slated to open near September 2008.
 “They have to go through it to get out to Belén and then Liberia. When you’re trying to sell commercial space, what you want is people driving by.”
Mr Hadary’s 19-unit commercial complex is earmarked to have a large supermarket chain, high-end boutiques, and is currently in talks with an international restaurant chain. Paseo del Mar’s 45-unit project is also negotiating a large supermarket chain, as well as the idea of a gas station.
Jeffry Aguilar, marketing director for SuperCompro, says his chain’s decision to open the Huacas outlet was based on proximity to beaches and a growing demand in the region, which made it a “strategic point.”
Santa Cruz residents Rudi Requene and Manuel Sánchez, who come to Huacas every couple of weeks to sell furniture on the side of the road, say their spot at the Playa Grande-Playa Flamingo intersection is “one of the best locations.”
Yet Ms Facio says it is not just commercial appeal that is booming in Huacas. A growing need for mid-range housing has made the region a Mecca for affordable rental space, as well as mid-range buying opportunities.
“Tamarindo is so crowded, so uncomfortable, and so expensive that people are looking for other choices,” she says. “Beaches concentrate on high class. They have forgotten about the middle class, which is one of the basic success stories of Liberia.”
“I think in five years Huacas is going to be incredible.”
Larry Albright says the buying appeal lies in the hills surrounding Huacas, particularly on the road towards Belén where some higher lots have ocean views — although he notes most of it is already sold.
Several gated communities are being built nearby and Mr Gerner says spaces are available on the road towards Matapalo. Although prices have shot up dramatically in the last year, he says they are still cheaper than on the coast.
Ms Facio says people who have money, but not enough to live near the beach, can find a niche in Huacas. Recent demand for a “middle class” has been reflected, she says, in things like a new, cheaper private school.
Julio Cesar Jr, owner of Soho nightclub, which opened in Huacas recently, says people who work for the larger hotels especially want this kind of opportunity.
He says although rent in Huacas has climbed the last year — going from about $140 to $500 for a 2-bedroom house — it stills significantly beats coastal rentals.
His club, he says, demonstrated the power of the region’s pull last month when 500 people turned out for the grand opening, even with other events going on. Although business has steadied since then, the owner remains confidant of its success.
“People came from everywhere,” he says. “It was like the new choice”.
According to Santa Cruz historian Jorge Pizarro, Huacas has a long history of drawing in crowds from outside.
For years the small farming and cattle town was the only place with a cemetery. People from Santa Rosa all the way to Playa Potrero would make the trek in to say their final goodbyes.
In the late 1800s, the historian says, Chinese immigrants arrived and set up unofficial banks out of their homes, loaning money to farmers. In the 1930s and 40s they opened a successful pulpería where locals bought smaller items. Not long after, a super opened which drew in people from many neighboring towns.
According to Mr Gerner, as recently as 12 years ago people came in from Tamarindo to buy groceries. He says development in recent years has been good for the local population because it has brought long overdue services, jobs and money.
Ginette López Rosales from nearby Matapalo agrees.
“It’s better than before,” she says. “There is more money, more opportunity.”
Ms Rosales and her daughter Belquis say they got tired of long commutes for basic things and save money now. Huacas resident Victor Duarte says he is most impressed by the improved roads, noting how he used to ride his horse to Santa Cruz for errands.
Even at 86 years, Mr Gutiérrez says he, too, likes the convenience, although he points out that, like with anything good, it has its downsides.
“In one sense it is better now, but in another sense it was better before,” he says. “Now there are a lot of drugs, thieves. They come with the tourists.”
Jorge Pizarro adds that in addition to the layout of the land, the people and the culture have changed. He says one can watch the “skin” of the land turning colors.
“In a moment, Huacas is going to be a huge commercial center,” says the historian, with seeming nostalgia.
“I remember when it was just us.”
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