COSTA RICA · REAL ESTATE
Key Facts
- The country Costa Rica is a Central American democracy whose state-owned Banco de Costa Rica owns a fund manager that runs US dollar real-estate funds for local savers.
- Why it matters A state-owned bank group had to pay about US$89 million to repair a dollar fund hurt by a disputed 2020 purchase, which tests how far the regulator can go against a public bank.
- Why now The purchase closed on Tuesday 27 October 2026, which starts the follow-up phase for investors, courts and the regulator.
- What happened BCR SAFI bought the Pacific Business Park from a fund it manages, crediting the fund US$87.05 million plus US$2.31 million in legal costs, US$89.36 million in all.
- The numbers The fund held US$378.08 million in assets and 1,505 investors at 31 March 2026, and the park was about 100% vacant.
- What it means for you Anyone weighing Costa Rican funds or Pacific-coast logistics space gets a live case of regulatory enforcement, with court and criminal proceedings still open.
- Still open What the bank group will do with the park, how the cash is used inside the fund, and when the lawsuit and the criminal case end.
- Power Index Costa Rica ranks 9th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 36.5 points (October 2026 edition).
BCR SAFI, the fund-management arm of state-owned Banco de Costa Rica (BCR), completed the purchase of the Pacific Business Park from a US dollar real-estate fund it manages on Tuesday 27 October, paying US$89.36 million in all. Of that, US$87.05 million was credited to the fund and US$2.31 million covered the legal costs of the transfer deed, according to the BCR SAFI filing (CHR-9250) on the securities regulator’s public register.
Diario Extra headlined US$89 million, Delfino.cr headlined US$87 million and La Nación headlined US$89.3 million, yet all three describe the same two line items, not rival prices. A companion explainer on how the deal works and who BCR SAFI is covers the mechanics, while this piece maps the decisions and dates ahead.
The fund is denominated in US dollars, held US$378.08 million in assets at 31 March 2026 and counted 1,505 investors, according to Moody’s Local Costa Rica, a local credit-rating agency. The questions now sit with Sugeval, the securities regulator, with the courts, with prosecutors and with a bank group that has to decide what to do with a vacant site on the Pacific side of the country.
Next Steps for the Pacific Business Park
The park now sits on the books of BCR SAFI and not inside the fund, and the bank group has not said what it will do with it. In August the group said it would define a plan after weighing the property’s features, location, size and potential, according to BCR’s press release of 18 August.
Any resale would start from a low base, since the last valuation booked for the park was US$24.24 million at 31 March 2026, against the US$70.8 million paid in February 2020. CR Hoy calculated in April that a sale near that value would leave a loss of about US$65 million over seven years.
Moody’s Local noted in July that the park was about 100% vacant and could not be marketed because of a sanitary order, so it was producing no rent. In May 2024 the Ministry of Health had ordered seven of its warehouses closed after permits were not renewed, according to CR Hoy.
What Fund Investors Can Expect
The 1,505 investors in the BCR Non-Diversified Real Estate Investment Fund held units worth US$993.26 each at 31 March 2026, according to Moody’s Local. The park made up 50% of the fund’s leasable area and 87% of its empty space, so its exit removes half of the fund’s leasable space at once.
Sugeval’s order requires the money to go to paying the fund’s liabilities, cutting its debt and lowering interest costs, according to La Nación’s account of the resolution. Moody’s Local counted liabilities of US$128.11 million at 31 March 2026, 92% of them loans, with the grace period on the largest loan ending in June 2027.
The credit to the fund also covers financial costs and other items, according to La Nación, so US$87.05 million is not a price for the park alone. Against a book value of US$24.24 million in March the gap is about US$62.8 million, and how it feeds into unit values and payouts has not been published.
Moody’s Local rates the fund BBB.cr with a developing outlook, and said in July that removing the park could improve occupancy, debt levels and cash flow. It added that the rating could be confirmed or changed, up or down, once the process ends.
Courts, Prosecutors and the Regulator
BCR SAFI says it carried out the Sugeval order under protest and with full reservation of rights, without accepting that the contested acts were lawful, according to its filing. A lawsuit that BCR filed on 27 April 2026 against the Central Bank of Costa Rica over the Sugeval order is still pending in the administrative courts, the filing says.
The appeals tribunal for administrative disputes finally rejected the requests of BCR and BCR SAFI to suspend the order on 29 April and 10 August 2026, according to the filing. Those rulings dealt only with suspending the order while the main case proceeds, CR Hoy noted, so the underlying legal question is still undecided.
Separately, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has investigated the 2020 purchase since 2021 and searched properties in December 2025, according to Delfino.cr, which counts 16 search points. CR Hoy reported in April that 14 people appear as suspects in a case about suspected irregular overpricing and influence harming the public treasury.
An investigation is not a finding of guilt, El Observador stressed, and no trial date appeared in the sources reviewed. Sugeval said it will monitor the full execution of the action plan and make sure investors receive the maximum possible information, according to its press release quoted by La Nación.
Tenants and the Pacific Property Market
The park is a complex of warehouses in Caldera, Esparza, in Puntarenas province on the Pacific side, on a site of 540,400 square meters (about 134 acres), according to Delfino.cr. It had no tenants to lose at 31 March 2026, since Moody’s Local put it at about 100% vacant.
Almost all of the fund’s 134 tenants sit in its other properties, led by the Zona Franca El Coyol free-trade zone park at 32% of monthly rent, according to Moody’s Local. Without the park the rest of the fund shows occupancy in line with the market, CR Hoy reported in May, against 42.07% for the whole fund and an industry average of 72% in Moody’s Local data.
What It Means for You
For US investors and companies, the case shows that dollar funds in Costa Rica sit under a regulator that can order a state-owned bank group to repair investors, which it did over two years of appeals. No US company is named as a tenant or party in the filings and reports reviewed.
Moody’s Local indicates the site cannot be marketed while the sanitary order stands, so anyone considering Pacific-coast warehouse space should not count on it. Related Rio Times pages cover Costa Rica and who runs its economy, and nothing here is investment advice.
What Is Not Known
BCR has not said whether it will sell, lease or redevelop the park, and no buyer or tenant has been named. Whether the fire-safety and health permits that blocked leasing have been resolved is also not public.
How the US$87.05 million will be split between debt repayment and other uses inside the fund, and what that does to unit values and payouts, has not been published. The effect on the fund’s credit rating depends on a Moody’s Local review that has no announced date.
It is not known when the lawsuit or the criminal case will end, and no hearing, assembly or trial date appeared in the sources reviewed. The next fixed date on record is June 2027, when the grace period on the fund’s largest loan ends, according to Moody’s Local.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who bought Costa Rica’s Pacific Business Park?
BCR SAFI, the fund-management arm of state-owned Banco de Costa Rica, bought it on Tuesday 27 October. It acquired the park from the BCR real-estate fund it manages after an October 2024 order from the regulator Sugeval.
How much did BCR SAFI pay for the park?
The BCR SAFI filing totals US$89.36 million. That is US$87.05 million credited to the fund plus US$2.31 million in legal costs.
What happens to the fund’s investors now?
Sugeval’s order directs the money to paying the fund’s liabilities, cutting debt and lowering interest costs. The regulator says it will monitor the plan and give investors the maximum possible information.
Is the legal fight over?
The main lawsuit filed by BCR on 27 April 2026 is still pending. BCR SAFI paid under protest, with full reservation of its rights.
Is the criminal investigation closed?
The Ministerio Público has investigated the 2020 purchase since 2021 and searched properties in December 2025, according to Delfino.cr. An investigation is not a finding of guilt, and no trial date appeared in the sources reviewed.
Sources: SUGEVAL, hecho relevante CHR-9250 filed by BCR SAFI (entry 117257), 27 October 2026; Banco de Costa Rica, press release, 18 August 2026; Moody’s Local Costa Rica rating report on the BCR real-estate fund, 20 July 2026; Sugeval, mandate page; La Nación, 27 October 2026; Delfino.cr, 28 October 2026; Diario Extra, 27 October 2026; El Observador, 27 October 2026; La República, 27 October 2026; CR Hoy, 18 August 2026; CR Hoy, 18 August 2026 (valuation and appeals ruling); CR Hoy, 2 May 2026; CR Hoy, 6 April 2026; CR Hoy, 13 May 2024; La Nación, 29 November 2024.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief