The Municipality of Nicoya shut down construction work on Epic Nosara as a result of The Voice of Guanacaste’s investigative report, which revealed irregularities in building permits being granted by the local government for the real estate project without the project having water use approval.
“Last Friday, April 4, this project was shut down completely. The developers have already been notified,” Mayor Carlos Armando Martínez state at the municipal council meeting on Tuesday, April 8.
Epic Nosara is a complex of six luxury villas, each with a pool, being built near Pelada Beach and the Ostional refuge.
This media outlet revealed that the local government granted five construction permits for the project despite even though they did not have water availability approval from the Playas de Nosara ASADA (local water board) or the water department of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE). The sixth villa was being built without even obtaining the corresponding permits.
In an inspection conducted on Tuesday, April 1, The municipality confirmed that the company responsible for Epic, Pacific Trust and Escrow Services, did not have water use approval.
“The development company only has a drilling permit for exploration and use of groundwater (DA-2508-2024). This permit only authorizes drilling for exploratory purposes and does not confer the right to exploit the water resource,” states the inspection report No. MN-INSP-059-04-2025.
In addition, they confirmed that the company doesn’t have water use approval from the Playas de Nosara ASADA either.
The real estate companies Century 21 and Nosara Real Estate Agency had listed Casa Corcovado for sale in their catalog, one of the six villas in the luxury real estate project, Epic Nosara.
During the municipal council session on Tuesday, April 8, Mayor Carlos Armando Martínez reiterated that he had begun an investigation into the actions of the officials involved in approving the permits “with the intention of clarifying and finding the truth regarding the events reported by The Voice of Guanacaste,” he emphasized.
The municipality, through its press department, indicated that April 30 is the preliminary date for completing the investigation.
“It’s only possible to consider and define measures that logically stem from this course of institutional action when the Preliminary Investigation is completed and formally communicated,” the information provided by the press department indicated.
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