The Costa Rican Institute of Technology (TEC) has proposed an immense plan that could change the face of the center of San José. There are a total of 108 blocks including 7th avenue, 10th avenue, 9th street, and Plaza de la Democracia, that would be involved.
All of this would be achieved through three large actions: redesign public areas, boost public use of the city, and raise the habitable use of some buildings that have become nearly inhabitable.
The project would be ready by 2021, said the it’s coordinator, Tomás Martínez, who assured that they have seen good signs from involved institutes who would give the green light on the plan.
“The objective is to address the underlying problems in the center of San José: the shrinking in population, and the need to recover a large quantity of buildings of hereditary value, declared wealthy, and who have justified localization in this zone which has been confirmed as a historic center”, commented Martínez.
The changes would provoke major vehicular flow, create a safer city, as well as opportunities to enjoy the different activities of the city throughout the day.
The goal of repopulation in what’s called San José’s Historic Center is directed to those who would be working in the center of San José and people between the ages of 15-35, after all this was where San José’s creation began in the first place.
The project is also supported by Gerardo Ramírez, director of architecture and urbanism in the TEC. “We also investigated how we could convert to a more attractive site, because it would generate jobs”, he said.
Some of the projected triggers of this large plan have not been determined, the reason being that the exact costs of this plan for the state have yet to be determined.
“The Museum Path alone, which is now finished, cost 100 mil colones”, explained Martínez. The mayor of San José, Johnny Araya, was pleased with the job by the TEC team. He indicated that this time his interest is based mainly on the repopulation of San José so that it stops being just a place people pass through.
“We want to combat the mistaken vision that San José is just a crossing of ways, a place that is used to go from one to the other, and instead make it a destination to live, for art, and for tourism”, indicated Araya.
The current municipal hierarchy said this project would not only implicate the involvement of the municipality, but rather other public and private institutions.