Culebra, Puerto Rico
Title on Culebra is public in the Puerto Rico Property Registry at $5–$10 a parcel online, with no bulk owner file; the island's landmark ground is public — the US Fish and Wildlife Service's 1,510-acre refuge, the Ports Authority's airport and the Municipality's own buildings — while its one large resort development was sold for $1.8M in 2001 and went through Chapter 11.
7 buildings · 5 with an owner established · 16 sources · 5 tier A · 2 tier B · prepared 2026-10-31
Puerto Rico registers title in the Registro de la Propiedad, part of the Department of Justice. Its law says the Registry 'es público para quienes tengan interés en conocer el estado jurídico' of a property. Online search runs through the Karibe system, which needs an account and charges $5 a parcel for the plain sheet ('hoja simple') or $10 to view the inscription folios; a certification costs $15. Property tax is assessed separately by CRIM, whose parcel viewer would not open for this research, and no bulk owner file is published.
The marquee buildings
The towers that set the tone of the core, and who holds them. A price is the price a document states, on the date it states — not an estimate of what the building is worth now.
| Building | Use | Owner | Owner type | Last price paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Culebra National Wildlife Refuge Flamenco Peninsula, Monte Resaca, Culebrita, Cayo Norte excepted, and 20-odd offshore cays 1,510 acres |
Land | United States of America (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) FWS: 'Spanning 1,510 acres, the refuge encompasses 21 offshore cays'; the Flamenco Peninsula and the cays 'were utilized for military training until 1975. In 1976, portions of these lands were transferred to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service'. Wikipedia (s6) gives 1,450 acres, 'one quarter of the municipality', protecting all outlying islands and keys 'with the exception of the privately owned Key Norte'; Monte Resaca's forest is jointly managed with DRNA. Established as a bird refuge by Theodore Roosevelt in 1909. The 2004 master plan (s8) put FWS jurisdiction at 598.9 ha. |
Government | —A |
| Culebrita island and Culebrita Lighthouse (Faro de Culebrita) Culebrita, Barrio Fraile, east of Culebra 266 acres (island, per 2004 master plan table) |
Land | United States of America (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Wikipedia: Culebrita 'is a nature reserve and is part of the Culebra National Wildlife Refuge', home to the Culebrita Lighthouse; begun 1882, completed 1886, closed by the Navy and Coast Guard in 1975 (s13). The 2004 master plan (s8) lists Isla Culebrita, 266 acres, current use 'Refugio de vida silvestre', records the lighthouse in an 'estado avanzado de deterioro' despite its 1981 National Register listing, and notes a Planning Board consulta 'para traspasar la titularidad del faro de Culebrita al Municipio de Culebra'. Whether that transfer happened was not established. Owner rests on refuge status (Wikipedia) plus the FWS page (s5). |
Government | —B |
| Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX) PR-251, Culebra 15 acres |
Civic | Puerto Rico Ports Authority (Autoridad de los Puertos) Wikipedia: 'The airport is owned by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority'; owner/operator in the infobox; 15 acres, one 2,600 x 50 ft runway (13/31). The Ports Authority began administering civilian flights after the Navy–Culebra protests and opened the first passenger terminal on 24 Oct 1976. The 2004 master plan (s8, §6.7) independently states the regional airport 'pertenece y es operado por la Autoridad de los Puertos de Puerto Rico (APPR)'. |
Government | —A |
| Playa Flamenco (Balneario de Flamenco) and campground Flamenco Bay, north shore, PR-251 25 acres (Playa Flamenco tract, Navy-era table) |
Land | Not established the source would not open Wikipedia: the beach is protected by DRNA 'as a marine reserve' (s13); the Navy left two M4 Sherman tanks when it departed in 1975 (s15). The 2004 master plan (s8) lists 'Playa Flamenco', 25 acres, current use 'Playa, hotel y lugar de acampar', next to the 572-acre Flamenco Peninsula (refuge). The Culebra Conservation and Development Authority's own income 'provienen de los servicios que se les ofrecen a los visitantes de las diferentes playas de Culebra' (s11). A search snippet shows DRNA's maritime-zone boundary record for the balneario naming the Municipio de Culebra as owner, but drna.pr.gov timed out, so no owner is shown. |
Not established | —A |
| Costa Bonita Beach Resort Punta Carenero, Culebra 164 apartments in 41 villas (condo-hotel) |
Hotel | Not established a paid title search would answer it Bankruptcy court (s12): the developer entities Desarrolladora Punta Carenero, S.E. and Inc. transferred the development to Costa Bonita Beach Resort, Inc. on 30 Oct 2001 for $1.8M; the debtor filed Chapter 11 on 3 Feb 2009 (Case 09-00699), listing a $3M Schedule F claim by the seller 'for the sale of the Costa Bonita Beach Resort development'. Creditors on GovInfo include CRIM, Doral Bank, FirstBank PR, PREPA and the Asociación Condóminos Costa Bonita. The 2004 master plan (s8) priced units from $156,500. Units are now held as condominiums; the current holder of unsold units was not established. |
Not established | $1,800,000 2001-10-30 Deed of purchase and sale no. 16, Desarrolladora Punta Carenero to Costa Bonita Beach Resort, Inc., as noted by the bankruptcy court. A |
| Centro de Gobierno (municipal government building) Dewey (Culebra Pueblo) |
Civic | Municipio de Culebra The FY2024–25 municipal budget (s9) lists Ordinance 15, Serie 2023-2024, authorising the mayor to renew a lease to the Departamento de la Familia 'para el uso de local que ubica en el primer piso del Centro de Gobierno'; the Department pays the Municipality $5,976.00 a year. Ownership by the Municipality is what the lease implies and the budget lists it among rents from 'locales' it collects; no Registry entry was bought. |
Government | —B |
| Municipal landfill (Sistema de Relleno Sanitario) Sector Tamarindo, Barrio Flamenco, PR-251 about 14 cuerdas |
Land | Municipio de Culebra 2004 master plan (s8, §6.3): the landfill 'pertenece y es operado por el gobierno municipal', on a finca of about 14 cuerdas, originally about 4, west of Laguna Flamenco and about 3 km southeast of Dewey; active area about 7.23 cuerdas. The statement is from 2004; it was not re-checked against a later record. |
Government | —A |
The core land
The most valuable ground in the city, and what the public record says about it.
Puerto Rico taxes property on 1957-base values, so Culebra's tax figures are far below market value. Figures are from the Municipality's FY2024-25 budget (s9), which reproduces CRIM's revenue estimate approved by its board on 21 Mar 2024 (Resolución 2024-39).
Who owns the town
At this scale the significant owner is rarely a trust or a fund: it is one or two local holding companies, a family in its second or third generation, and often the land around the town rather than the buildings in it.
Culebra's landholding was set by the US Navy, which took the land around the harbour under the 1900 Foraker Act, ran a gunnery and bombing range from 1939 and left in 1975 (Wikipedia, s13). In 1976 the Navy land was split between the Commonwealth and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (s5). The 2004 master plan put protected land at about 40% of the island and its cays (s8). The rest is mostly small private lots in Dewey and the rural RO-zoned districts, sold one by one; no private landowner total could be computed because the CRIM cadastre and DRNA's records would not open. Cayo Norte is privately owned (s6); its owner was not established.
| Name | Type | Holdings |
|---|---|---|
| United States of America (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) FWS states 1,510 acres and 21 offshore cays (s5); Wikipedia gives 1,450 acres, a quarter of the municipality, all outlying cays except privately owned Cayo Norte (s6). The 2004 master plan put FWS jurisdiction at 598.9 ha (s8). |
Government | 1,510 acres (Culebra National Wildlife Refuge)A |
| Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (Reserva Natural Canal Luis Peña) 2004 master plan: the Luis Peña Channel Natural Reserve, designated in 1999 as Puerto Rico's first no-take zone, covers 474.7 ha; with the FWS land, protected areas are about 40% of the island and cays (s8). Wikipedia: the waters around refuge cays such as Luis Peña are managed by DRNA as part of the reserve (s6). This is mostly sea, not owned dry land. |
Government | 474.7 ha (mostly marine)A |
| Autoridad de Conservación y Desarrollo de Culebra (ACDC) Created by Ley 66 of 22 June 1975 'como un cuerpo corporativo y político adscrito al Municipio de Culebra, a fin de establecer la política pública sobre la conservación, desarrollo y uso de los terrenos de Culebra' (s10). Its own income comes from services to visitors of Culebra's beaches (s11). Its land holdings were not stated in any source opened, so no acreage is shown. |
Government | 11 positions; $539K budget FY2023-24A |
| Puerto Rico Ports Authority Owns and operates Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (s7). The 2004 master plan says the Vieques–Culebra ferry service 'pertenece a la Autoridad de los Puertos' and is operated by the Autoridad de Transporte Marítimo (s8). The Maritime Transport Authority pays the Municipality $9,500.04 a year in rent for a local in Culebra (FY2024-25 budget, s9). |
Government | 15 acres (airport)A |
| Municipio de Culebra Owns the landfill (s8). Its FY2024-25 budget (s9) lists $62,061.84 a year in rents from its 'locales' and lots: the Maritime Transport Authority, Departamento de la Familia (Centro de Gobierno), Puerto Rico Telephone, a gas station, four of five Plaza Artesanal stalls and two leased solares. Ordinances 16 and 28, Serie 2023-2024, set up a program to regularise 'parcelas y propiedades municipales que se encuentran edificadas y/o ocupadas por terceros o que hayan obtenidos títulos sin cumplir' the rules; Ordinance 15, 2003-04, covers selling municipal lots held in usufruct. |
Government | about 14 cuerdas (landfill) plus rent-producing buildings and lotsA |
Who builds the houses
New-home building in this market: the volume, and the firms behind it. Ownership of a builder matters as much as its volume — a private-equity platform and a family firm behave differently.
There is no new-home league table for Culebra and no Census permit series for Puerto Rico. The 2004 master plan (s8) found only two projects sold the traditional way — Posada del Coronel, 41 single-family homes averaging $360,000, then halted, and the 164-unit Costa Bonita condo-hotel from $156,500 — and said property 'ocurre principalmente mediante la reventa de propiedades individuales'. Housing is mostly owner-built on small lots; the master plan records homes built without title in the maritime-terrestrial zone, and the Municipality's 2023-24 ordinances set out to regularise titles on municipal parcels occupied by third parties (s9). Residential condo units owned by individuals are not named.
| Name | Type | Units in a named project |
|---|---|---|
| Desarrolladora Punta Carenero, S.E. and Desarrolladora Punta Carenero, Inc. Developer entities that transferred the Costa Bonita Beach Resort development to Costa Bonita Beach Resort, Inc. on 30 Oct 2001 for $1.8M; the bankruptcy court records a road-easement dispute with a neighbouring landowner company, Dev, S.E. (s12). Unit count from the 2004 master plan (s8). |
Developer | 164 apartments, 41 villas (Costa Bonita)B |
Commercial landlords
The commercial side, counted separately from housing: who holds the office, retail and industrial floor area.
Culebra has no office market, no shopping centre and no REIT holdings. Its commercial property is guesthouses, small hotels, a condo-hotel and storefronts in Dewey. The largest commercial landlord established from an opened record is the Municipality itself, which leases buildings and lots to a telecom company, a gas station, a state agency and craft stalls. No private commercial landlord could be established, because the CRIM roll would not open.
| Name | Type | Holdings |
|---|---|---|
| Municipio de Culebra Leases: Autoridad de Transporte Marítimo $9,500.04; Puerto Rico Telephone, Inc. $8,020.08; Dakity Gas Station $6,553.80; Departamento de la Familia $5,976.00; Plaza Artesanal (4 of 5 stalls) $10,800.00; lots to Culebra Ice Planet $7,771.92 and DS Garden $4,200.00; Fundación de Culebra Inc.; plus septic-truck rental $9,000. Certified by the municipal Finance Director (s9). |
Government | $62,061.84 a year in rents (FY2024-25 budget)A |
| Costa Bonita Beach Resort, Inc. Bought the development at Punta Carenero on 30 Oct 2001 for $1.8M and filed Chapter 11 on 3 Feb 2009 (s12). The units are now condominiums; how many the company still holds was not established. A pre-2010 holding, shown because it is the island's one large resort development. |
Private company | 164-apartment condo-hotel development (bought 2001, $1.8M)A |
Looked for and not found
Claims this page would have made if a source could be opened. They are left out rather than guessed.
- Owner of Playa Flamenco's balneario and campground. A search snippet shows DRNA's maritime-zone boundary record naming the Municipio de Culebra as owner, but drna.pr.gov timed out, so it is not shown; whether ACDC holds or only operates the Flamenco land was not established.
- Whether the Culebrita lighthouse's title passed to the Municipality, as a Planning Board consulta listed in the 2004 master plan sought.
- The owner of Cayo Norte, which Wikipedia calls privately owned; no record naming it was opened.
- Who holds Costa Bonita's unsold units, and how the 2009 and 2012 Chapter 11 cases ended; only the 2010 opinion was read.
- Owners of Club Seabourne and the other guesthouses and small hotels; owner of the Dewey ferry terminal building (the 2004 plan says the ferry service belongs to the Ports Authority; the Maritime Transport Authority rents a local from the Municipality).
- The Culebra Conservation and Development Authority's landholdings; the Ley 66-1975 text on drna.pr.gov did not open.
- CRIM roll value for Culebra and its most valuable parcel; CRIM's Catastro Digital was unreachable.
- Former Navy land under the US Army Corps of Engineers' Formerly Used Defense Sites programme: the 2004 plan describes the clean-up areas, but no current USACE record was opened.
Sources
- Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmobiliaria (Ley Núm. 210 de 8 de diciembre de 2015, según enmendada), Art. 3 — Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto, Biblioteca Virtual · openA
- Reglamento General para la Aplicación de la Ley Núm. 209-2015, Art. 6.1 (electronic access fees) — Departamento de Justicia de Puerto Rico · openA
- Ley del Arancel del Registro de la Propiedad (Ley Núm. 91 de 30 de mayo de 1970, según enmendada), Art. 1 Núm. 3 — Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto, Biblioteca Virtual · openA
- CRIM Catastro Digital (parcel viewer) — Centro de Recaudación de Ingresos Municipales (CRIM) · blockedC
- Culebra National Wildlife Refuge (refuge home page) — U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · openA
- Culebra National Wildlife Refuge — Wikipedia · openA
- Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport — Wikipedia · openA
- Plan Maestro para el Desarrollo Sustentable de Culebra, Parte I: Análisis de Situación (Informe Final, submitted to the Grupo Interagencial de Vieques y Culebra, 27 Dec 2004) — Estudios Técnicos, Inc. · openA
- Presupuesto Año Fiscal 2024-2025, Municipio de Culebra (incl. CRIM estimate of revenue, Resolución 2024-39; list of municipal rents; ordinance index) — Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto, Presupuestos Municipales · openA
- Autoridad de Conservación y Desarrollo de Culebra — Base legal y presupuesto aprobado 2023-2024 — Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto · openA
- Autoridad de Conservación y Desarrollo de Culebra — Presupuesto aprobado 2019-2020 — Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto · openA
- In re Costa Bonita Beach Resort, Inc., Case No. 09-00699 (Bankr. D.P.R.), Opinion and Order, Doc. 225, 23 Feb 2010 — U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Puerto Rico, via GovInfo · openA
- Culebra, Puerto Rico — Wikipedia · openA
- Culebrita — Wikipedia · openA
- Flamenco Beach — Wikipedia · openA
- Balneario de Playa Flamenco, Culebra (deslinde ZMT aprobado) — Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA) · blockedC