El Canal

Turning challenges into meaningful places

Area: Large-scale masterplan

Location: Grecia, Costa Rica

Scope: mixed-use masterplan, urban design + strategy

In Grecia, Costa Rica, where land was both soil and legacy, a water canal shaped the story of a family. Today, that same canal guides the present and future of a new neighborhood: El Canal.

El Canal is everyday life in harmony with the landscape, an accessible, authentic place full of natural beauty, where the agricultural past transforms into an urban future.

  • An inherited coffee estate, fragmented among multiple heirs, required a strategy to transform it into a cohesive and viable development.

    Beyond land division, the challenge was to reconcile legacy, infrastructure, and future growth—while creating a framework that could generate long-term value for both the family and the surrounding community.

  • ENNTRE developed a low-density masterplan that organizes housing, retail, and community amenities around a defining historic element: the original irrigation canal.

    Rather than treating it as a remnant, the canal was repositioned as the structural spine of the project—guiding circulation, public space, and landscape strategy.

    The plan establishes a clear hierarchy of movement, integrates natural systems, and creates a flexible framework for phased growth while maintaining coherence over time.

  • The result is a resilient, character-rich neighborhood that balances heritage with future development.

    By structuring the project around landscape and shared space, El Canal enhances land value, strengthens identity, and creates a model for community-oriented growth in Grecia.

Project information

  • Finca La Argentina, Grecia

  • Development of the masterplan for a mixed-use project with commercial and residential areas.