From Office Park to Urban District: A Mixed-Use Development Strategy in Costa Rica
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viquez_jviquez_msred_cre_2026_thesis.pdf
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6.98 MB
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a51bfaaf47d55e7b480271a71dc1c59d
Author(s)
Viquez, Jose R.
Advisor(s)
Ng, Tinchuck
Date Issued
February 2026
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This thesis examines how large, single-use office campuses in emerging metropolitan regions can be evaluated and guided through transformation into mixed-use urban districts that support daily life, economic resilience, and long-term stewardship. Rather than assuming that mixed-use development is inherently beneficial, the research addresses a more fundamental question: how district performance can be assessed, governed, and adapted over time within the institutional, market, and environmental constraints of an emerging economy. The study is grounded in the U2 parcel at América Free Zone in the Heredia-Belén corridor of Costa Rica, one of the country’s most productive employment zones and a landscape characterized by high job concentration, limited housing supply, and extended commuting patterns. The thesis does not present the U2 proposal as a predetermined solution. Instead, the site is used as an analytical lens to test whether district-scale interventions can reconcile economic productivity with proximity, livability, and environmental performance. The research develops a multi-layer analytical structure composed of four perspectives. The first synthesizes urban theory and empirical literature on mixed-use development, human-scale urbanism, mobility behavior, and institutional stewardship. The second examines global benchmarks and market evolution, including contexts such as the United States and United Kingdom, where dense rental housing and integrated urban formats emerged after prolonged periods of single-use development. The third analyzes Costa Rica’s macroeconomic conditions, real estate market dynamics, regulatory environment, construction costs, and sustainability framework. The fourth evaluates site-specific conditions at U2, including physical constraints, infrastructure capacity, governance culture, and its relationship to the existing AFZ campus. These perspectives are consolidated into the District Performance Framework, the principal methodological contribution of the thesis. The framework organizes district performance into interdependent domains encompassing urban form and access, market performance, governance capacity, social and cultural value, environmental performance, and implementation feasibility. Applied to the AFZ U2 proposal, the framework identifies areas of alignment, points of tension, and conditions requiring monitoring or adjustment, treating the initial phase as a proof-of-concept that informs subsequent decisions. The thesis concludes with a long-term evaluation matrix that translates the framework into a practical governance and decision-making tool, enabling phase-by-phase assessment over a twenty-five-year horizon. Beyond the AFZ case, the research offers a replicable method for evaluating and governing mixed-use urban districts in emerging markets where institutional capacity exists but development practices remain misaligned.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Real Estate. Program in Real Estate Development.
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