Looking to Purchase a State-of-the-Art Commercial Space? Check out Solarium, Guanacaste’s Largest Mixed-Use Real Estate Development
Strategically located across from Liberia’s Guanacaste Airport (LIR) on Rt. 21, Solarium is a mixed-use mega project that includes a free trade zone, a Hilton Garden Inn, a Hampton by Hilton hotel, a PriceSmart, corporate space, a Coca-Cola plant, and some cutting-edge office and warehouse spaces perfect for your business – whatever it may be.
Most of my clients come to Guanacaste searching for a home or condo near one of our incredible world-class beaches. Some are searching for vacation rental properties that they can enjoy part of the year and rent the rest of it for some additional income. Others want to purchase a lot on which they can build their dream home. Some are looking for off-the beaten path bargains where they can live life more simply – maybe even off the grid – and still be near some amenities.
So, when people talk about the real estate market here, they’re usually talking about vacation homes and condominiums and maybe development property. But Guanacaste has much more to offer with respect to real estate than ocean view condos and gated luxury communities.
Commercial real estate is routinely mixed into the urban fabric of our vibrant beach towns, rural farm towns, and bigger cities. But if you’re looking for a standout, one-stop-shop location for your business, Solarium offers small, medium, and large business owners a variety of built and newly planned warehouse and office spaces in a master planned development that has grown over the last 20 years to include: 
- Coco-Cola’s syrup production plant.
- Hilton Garden Inn hotel.
- Hampton by Hilton hotel.
- Pricesmart.
- Commercial and Office spaces.
- Logistics Center and warehousing.
- Free trade zone warehouses.
- Corporate center.
- Gas Station.
- Available parcels for development.
Solarium has come a long way since the Great Recession of 2008. And since the COVID pandemic, it’s been growing in leaps and bounds. Here’s what’s going on and why business owners searching for commercial real estate in which to operate should be paying attention to what’s happening here.
Warehouse space at Solarium is about to increase by 30% - Get in on it now!
Solarium will expand its footprint by 24,000 m2 with 3 developments to be delivered by the end of 2024, including the most modern warehouse project in the province. They’ve already broken ground on 22 brand new warehouses on one of its development parcels outside of its long-completed Logistics Center that are available for pre-sale at ~$1,500/m2. Warehouses will be modular, ranging in size from 410 m2 (4,413 ft2) to 9,088 m2 (97,822 ft2). Light vehicle parking for 61 vehicles will also be included. All totaled, warehouse space at Solarium will increase by 30%.
Each warehouse will have a clear height of 9 m and a maximum height of almost 12 m. The spaces will allow for the flexibility of installing mezzanines, offices, racks, machinery, etc. – whatever you need to run your business. Loading docks, 24/7 security, 15 cm slabs, LED lighting, fire protection systems, and the option of being within or outside of the Free Trade Zone make this new “component” of Solarium’s master plan perfect for light manufacturing, assembly, warehouse and distribution headquarters, showrooms, or just about any combination of them all.
Ventu Plaza and Plaza Vistana: two new commercial retail zones
In addition to expanding its logistics warehousing space, Solarium is also constructing the new Ventu Plaza adjacent to the existing Pricesmart (which is like a Costco in North America). There will be 9,429 m2 of leasable retail and restaurant space for 28 stores and two self-serve restaurants. Parking for 164 cars will round out 13,700 m2 of new construction. Construction on Ventu Plaza is already well under way as I write this.
Costa Rica’s Dream Zones development group out of San José opened the new Hampton by Hilton hotel in November of 2023. It’s been a huge hit! So much so that they have purchased the parcel next door to the hotel and will construct the new Plaza Vistana. The new commercial center will be complimentary to the hotel, adding 2,000 m2 of lease space. Total construction for Plaza Vistana will be around 4,900 m2.
Location, location, location
Solarium is strategically located on Ruta 21 – a high-volume, north/south, transportation corridor that also serves Guanacaste Airport (a.k.a. Daniel O. Oduber Quirós International Airport) and its cargo terminal directly across the highway. It’s 15 minutes to downtown Liberia to the east, and 20 minutes to the beaches of Playas del Coco, Playa Hermosa, Playa Panamá, and Playa Ocotal to the west. Costa Rica’s capital city of San José is 4 hours away by car (219 km / 136 mi). The Pacific port of Caldera is 139 km / 86 mi to the southeast, and the border crossing into Nicaragua at Peñas Blancas is only 88 km / 54 mi to the north.
HA Logix, a logistics service company, has its Costa Rica Customs facility within a 1-minute drive from Solarium on Rt. 21. You can receive large international shipments – concrete, ceramic tile, automobiles, motorcycles, brake pads, plumbing fixtures – and have them processed for import taxes in very close proximity to Solarium. They’ll even warehouse your imports for a certain period of time, allowing you to pay import taxes on them only when you move them out of their warehouse. This allows you to retrieve shipments in groups over time while simultaneously spreading out the cost of the import taxes over the same period.
All of this makes product receiving, sales, and distribution convenient and attractive and is one of the top reasons many businesses call Solarium home. You’ll see furniture, ceramic tile, kitchen/bath, and restaurant supply businesses mixed in with micro-breweries, bakeries, meat, poultry, and seafood distributors. Office spaces host car rental, ice cream, real estate, and tour companies.
Solarium is also located only 40 minutes from the Polo Turístico (Gulf of Papagayo Tourism Development). Brands like The Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica on Peninsula Papagayo, Occidental Papagayo (by the Barceló Hotel Group), One & Only Resorts, El Mangroove Autograph Collection (by Marriott), Secrets Papagayo (by Hyatt), Planet Hollywood Costa Rica, Andaz Costa Rican Resort at Peninsula Papagayo (by Hyatt), Exclusive Resorts, and newcomers NEKAJUI, Ritz Carlton Reserve Peninsula Papagayo, Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique (by Hilton), and Bahías by Antoine Predock (opening in 2025), are located in the Polo Turístico providing a solid market for businesses catering to the tourism and hospitality sectors.
By virtue of its location, Solarium is extremely attractive and convenient to companies doing business both domestically and internationally, giving them added flexibility while at the same time making them more cost efficient.
Tourism is booming in Guanacaste!
More and more flights from around the world continue to arrive at Guanacaste Airport. In 2023 there was a 21% increase in tourism to Costa Rica from the previous year. In fact, in all but 3 years since 2004 (two of them during the COVID pandemic), tourism has increased in Guanacaste over the previous year. Most of our visitors come from North America, but Europeans are coming over in ever increasing numbers via direct flights on Swiss, KLM Royal Dutch, Lufthansa, and Air France airlines.
To handle the increasing numbers of tourists flocking to Guanacaste, a $10.3 million expansion of Guanacaste Airport is underway to increase its capacity to handle an additional 300,000 passengers each year. An additional 4,118 m2 will be added to boarding rooms and 417 m2 in the main hall. New facilities include six airline counters, six retail spaces, and an additional carousel in the baggage claim area. The expansion will also include the addition of a Diplomatic Lounge and the remodeling of the logistics center and the solid waste management area.
The perfect recipe for your business’ success
Solarium is the most advanced warehouse and logistics center in the region offering business owners cutting edge facilities, infrastructure, security, versatility, and free-trade incentives. Add to that Guanacaste’s fringe benefits that include:
- an educated and in-demand workforce – a product of the many technical institutes and colleges in the area,
- an overall high quality of life here in the province – a balance of business, tourism, and overall wellness,
- a climate that means the weather is perfect year-round,
and you have the perfect recipe for your business’ success! ¡Pura vida!