Parque Lefevre

About Parque Lefevre:

Parque Lefevre borders Río Abajo to the north, Pueblo Nuevo and San Francisco to the west and Juan Díaz to the east, and its southern edge is the Bay of Panama. Vía España runs along the northern side, lined with commercial plazas, and Avenida Ernesto T. Lefevre and Avenida Santa Elena lead down through the residential streets to Vía Cincuentenario. That avenue crosses the corregimiento past the ruins, and the Corredor Sur follows the shore, west towards Punta Pacífica and the banking district and east towards Costa del Este and Tocumen airport. The Metro does not reach the residential streets; the closest stations are Pueblo Nuevo and 12 de Octubre on Line 1 and Paraíso on Line 2, all to the north. To bridge the gap, the junta comunal runs a free bus at 6:00 and 11:30 from Puente del Rey through Panamá Viejo and up Avenida Ernesto T. Lefevre to 12 de Octubre station.

The name belongs to Ernesto T. Lefevre, briefly president of Panama in 1920, whose family kept cattle and a dairy, the Santa Elena, on this land. His son Enrique founded Compañía de Lefevre in July 1937 to turn the farm into a subdivision, offering lots from 500 square metres up to several hectares at fifty cents of a balboa per square metre, with a connection to the city’s main water pipes. The plan only took shape on the ground from 1944. Chanis, another piece of the farm, is named after Daniel Chanis Pinzón, a doctor who was president for four months in 1949. In 1950 Enrique Lefevre opened the Jardín de Paz, a garden cemetery modelled on Forest Lawn in California, and it still sits at the end of Calle F. The corregimiento itself dates from a 1938 decree, confirmed by municipal agreement in 1960, and one of its barrios still carries the name Santa Elena.

Panamá Viejo is the part of Parque Lefevre that everyone knows. The Spanish founded the city here in 1519 on the shore between the mouths of the Río Abajo and the Río Gallinero; after Henry Morgan’s attack in 1671 it was abandoned, and in 1673 the city moved to the peninsula that is now Casco Antiguo. The archaeological site covers 28.7 hectares, with the cathedral tower and a museum, and it is a World Heritage site together with Casco Antiguo. The law that protects it also sets a buffer zone around it, on land and at sea, which matters to anyone buying close to the ruins. Away from the ruins, daily life runs on Vía España and Vía Cincuentenario: supermarkets such as the Súper 99 on Avenida Cincuentenario, Plaza Ágora in La Fontana, Plaza Carolina on Avenida José Agustín Arango, and rows of small businesses, workshops and parts shops.

The corregimiento has twenty sectors and 42,832 residents at the 2023 census, after three decades of hovering around 37,000. Much of it is low ground between the rivers and the sea. San Gerardo de Mayela spent twenty years asking for a fix to its flooding before the municipality cleared and rebuilt its drains in 2026, and Puente del Rey and Villa del Rey, near the river, have taken water in heavy rain. Buyers are mostly Panamanian families who want a house with a patio inside the city, along with tenants and small investors drawn by how close the eastern edge is to Costa del Este. Prices in the house streets sit below San Francisco and well below Costa del Este, while the waterfront projects at Costa del Mar price themselves against their neighbour.

Houses in Parque Lefevre:

Houses are the core of the market and the reason most buyers come. Chanis has sixteen streets of family homes in many designs and sizes, La Fontana around Plaza Ágora is similar, and Santa Elena and the original Parque Lefevre streets keep single-family houses on lots that were sold generously in the 1940s and 1950s. Many of these homes have been extended over the decades, and on the busier streets some now front a shop or an office. When you look at houses for sale in Parque Lefevre, compare the built area on the registered plans with what stands on the lot, and walk the street on a weekday to see whether a workshop opens next door.

Apartments in Parque Lefevre:

Apartment buildings are the newer part of the stock. Mid-rise buildings such as PH Centennial stand near Vía España, a few minutes from Costa del Este, and Panamá Viejo Residences, finished in 2025 by the Panamá Viejo roundabout, offers two-bedroom units of about 58 to 81 square metres with one parking space each. Nearly every apartment for sale in Parque Lefevre sits under propiedad horizontal: you buy the unit plus a share of the common areas, pay a monthly cuota de mantenimiento and accept a PH reglamento that rules on rentals, pets and short stays. Parking spaces and storage units may be titled as their own fincas or only assigned to the unit, so check which before you compare prices. In the gated complexes, also ask what the cuota covers, since pools, gyms and guard posts are standard.

Rentals in Parque Lefevre:

Long-term rental demand comes largely from people who work in Costa del Este and want a shorter, cheaper commute, and from families who would rather rent a house than an apartment. Many apartments for rent in Parque Lefevre are compact two-bedroom units, often furnished, in the complexes near Panamá Viejo and the Corredor Sur. Houses for rent come up in Chanis and Santa Elena, some of them large enough for a family with several cars. Ask how many parking spaces come with the unit and whether maintenance, water or gas are included in the rent. If you plan to sublet a PH unit, read the reglamento first.

New Developments in Parque Lefevre:

New construction is concentrated on the bay side. In Costa del Mar, a gated community on the shore next to Costa del Este, Ipanema Residences is building waterfront towers with one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, and P.H. Parques del Mar is in the same area. Closer to the ruins, the Panamá Viejo Residences complex has recently delivered its towers. If you buy off plan, check the developer’s track record, tie your payments to construction milestones and find out how your deposits are protected until the unit is registered in your name.

Commercial Property and Workshops in Parque Lefevre:

Parque Lefevre has a working commercial market of its own. Vía España is lined with small plazas of ground-floor shops and offices, Galería Cincuentenario holds commercial units on Vía Cincuentenario, and the streets behind carry galeras, ofibodegas and mechanic’s workshops that serve the whole east of the city. Industrial and service space here is closer to the centre than the outlying business parks. Before you buy or lease, confirm the permitted use for the premises with the municipality, because the junta comunal takes complaints about workshops operating out of line with the rules.

FAQ:

• The house sits on one of the old 1940s lots. What should I check?

  Start with the finca at the Registro Público: the owner, any mortgage or lien, and the registered area of the land and the building. In these streets many houses have been extended more than once, so make sure what you see matches the approved plans and the registered title. Ask the municipality for the zoning of the lot and its neighbours too, since some blocks allow commercial and workshop use beside houses.

• Can I build or extend close to the Panamá Viejo ruins?

  Only within limits. The archaeological site is protected by law, and that law also sets a buffer zone around it on land and at sea. If the property is near the ruins, get the applicable rules in writing from the municipality and the heritage authority before you plan an extension or pay for development potential.

• Does Parque Lefevre flood?

  Some sectors do. San Gerardo de Mayela had flooding problems for years until its drains were rebuilt in 2026, and Puente del Rey and Villa del Rey, near the river, have flooded in heavy rain. Ask neighbours whether water has reached the street or the ground floor, and look at how the house sits relative to the road and the nearest drain.

• Is a listing that says “next to Costa del Este” really in Costa del Este?

  Often not. Many complexes advertised as close to Costa del Este are in Parque Lefevre, around Panamá Viejo or in Costa del Mar, and the price should reflect that. Ask for the finca number and the exact address, and compare with buildings in the same barrio.

• Can a foreigner buy property in Parque Lefevre?

  Yes. Foreign buyers have the same ownership rights as Panamanians, and the title is recorded at the Registro Público in your own name or a company’s. With a PH unit, ask for the reglamento and a paz y salvo for the maintenance fee before closing.