History in São Paulo
The metropolitan area of the city of São Paulo currently has a population of 20.5 million inhabitants. Development in São Paulo began in the downtown area, which is now occupied by commercial buildings and cultural venues such as the municipal theater. From the downtown, the city's real estate market has developed outward in all directions, and now occupies all of the city's regions in a diversified fashion, allowing for the development of local commerce and residences for all social classes, with supporting infrastructure in most areas. Over the years, we have developed projects in many of São Paulo's neighborhoods.
Brascan began its activities in São Paulo in 1980 focused on developing projects in areas close to the Pinheiros and Tietê Rivers, which run through the city of São Paulo. Today, these areas have the highest real estate market prices per square meter in the city. The Company’s initial developments in São Paulo were targeted to a then emerging middle class and consisted of relatively compact apartments. The unit size for these apartments was, on average, 70 square meters as the target market was single people or young couples. In the mid-1980s, Brascan launched projects in the same regions but targeted at families.
In the 1990s, the Company created a new residence concept called the “Condominium Club.” The Moema and Alto de Pinheiros projects are examples of this concept, both are residential buildings targeted at high-end consumers, located in high-quality condominiums with a large surrounding leisure area equivalent to that of a resort club. The concept capitalized on homebuyer demand for secure downtown living with more amenities than what a standard residential building offered.
In the late 1990s, Brascan launched another new line of “mixed-use” products where residence, work and leisure harmoniously coexist in the same development. The worldwide award-winning Brascan Century Plaza, launched in 2003, is an example of a successful mixed-use product in São Paulo's downtown area.
Nearly half of Brookfield Incorporações ’s lands are located in the Golden Triangle, the area between the cities of Campinas, Sorocaba and São Paulo. Its lands are located 10 minutes by automobile from the ring-road that is being constructed around the city of São Paulo. These 3 cities are among the biggest consumer markets in Brazil and as a result of that, the public infrastructure, such as highways, hospitals, universities and schools has already been developed.
The Company recognized this trend in the late 1990s, acquired properties and have signed land purchase and sale agreements in the area. In 2001, Brascan was successful in acquiring a large high-value land parcel located within this Triangle in the fast-growing suburb of Alphaville. The land acquired was 278,000 square meters and has a saleable area of 663,280 square meters that we believe may generate R$2.0 billion in revenue. A premium residential neighborhood has now developed around the area, which has further increased the value of the land.
History in Rio de Janeiro
Brookfield Incorporações has developed properties in many of Rio de Janeiro's neighborhoods. In 1978, the Company began developing projects in the south zone. Its first residential project was Residencial Epitácio Pessoa, at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. The project targeted mainstream customers in an area that was considered upper-class at the time. In the early to mid-1980s, launchings were concentrated in the Botafogo region.
The Company then launched projects in Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon and Barra da Tijuca, where 90% of the market for high-end and luxury developments is currently concentrated. In addition to the national awards it has received, Brascan has also been recognized as the largest developer within Rio de Janeiro and the southeastern Region (2005).
Brookfield Incorporações has been developing projects in the Barra da Tijuca region since 1980. Projects have included homes in the metropolitan region, single-family homes, master-planned communities, buildings and condominium club projects, such as the highly successful Waterways development, which is located on the oceanfront and is comprised of high-end and luxury buildings, and includes a restaurant, swimming pool and exercise room. An example of a luxury development is the 290-unit Saint Tropez development also located on the oceanfront in the Barra da Tijuca region. High-end and luxury developments have included the Itaúna developments located in western Barra da Tijuca. This development is directly adjacent to an environmental reserve, securing its customers' view of the ocean as no other development can occur between the buildings and the ocean due to the existence of the reserve. The Santa Monica development is an example of a project targeted at single-family mainstream, high-end and luxury homebuyers.
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