Rio wants to convert 1st skyscraper in Latin America into residential or hotel – 05/06/2023 – Market

Guanabara Bay, the Rio-Niterói bridge and the Museum of Tomorrow fill the landscape seen from the top of the historic Joseph Gire building, better known as A Noite, in downtown Rio de Janeiro.

The movement seen on the postcards from the top of the building, considered the first skyscraper in Latin America, contrasts with the somewhat gloomy scenery inside the 102-meter-high, 22-story building.

Inaugurated in 1929, A Noite has been closed since 2012. Since then, few workers have taken turns maintaining the property, which accumulates empty spaces, dark and with a lot of dust.

This environment with an air full of solitude may have its days numbered. The Rio City Hall announced the purchase of Joseph Gire for R$ 28.9 million at the end of March.

The agreement was signed with the Union, which had incorporated the building into its assets in 1940. The agreement with the municipality came after the federal government tried to sell the property on four other occasions, without success, to the private sector.

The management of Mayor Eduardo Paes (PSD) intends to renegotiate the skyscraper with investors. The municipality considers that the building has the potential to become a residential or a hotel in the hands of the market.

In order to avoid new frustrated sales attempts, the City Hall foresees an operation via a real estate investment fund. In practice, according to the municipality, this mechanism provides greater flexibility for business conditions, with the possibility of down payment plus installments and swaps.

“This building is symbolic for the country and for the city. It makes little sense to keep it closed”, says Gustavo Guerrante, president of CCPar (Companhia Carioca de Parcerias e Investimentos), the municipal body responsible for concessions and PPPs (public-private partnerships ).

“The interesting thing is that he has a recovery, and that this recovery happens as soon as possible”, he adds.

According to Guerrante, the idea of ​​reopening the skyscraper is part of plans to revitalize the center and port area of ​​Rio, which has been receiving residential developments.

The president of CCPar says that the city hall is already talking to possible interested parties in A Noite, and the expectation is to have proposals on the table starting in May.

According to Guerrante, the shorter period to be offered for the start of the revitalization will be one of the differentials in the definition of investors. Guerrante projects that the renovation works will take at least 24 months (two years).

“It would be very ambitious to talk about less than two years”, he says. “The structure [do prédio] It’s not a problem. Internally, yes, finishes, walls, electrical network, all this will have to be redone”, he completes.

Leonardo Schneider, vice-president of Secovi Rio, considers that if the city hall establishes flexible conditions for the sale of A Noite, with attractive deadlines for payments, the project will tend to awaken private interest.

In his view, the path is to seek conversion to a residential development, as the pandemic has emptied commercial spaces not only in Rio.

“The Union has the rules and the way to sell its assets, but many times they are not so attractive for the entrepreneurial market”, says Schneider.

“That building [A Noite] it’s not just any retrofit. It has an architecture that has to be respected, it can have a higher cost”, he adds.

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The skyscraper faces Mauá square, which is visited by tourists visiting nearby points, such as the Museum of Tomorrow.

Almost one hundred years old, A Noite was designed by architects Elisiário Bahiana and Joseph Gire. Born in France, Gire also signed other iconic projects in Rio, such as the Copacabana Palace and Glória hotels.

A Noite is so called because it initially housed the headquarters of the Rio de Janeiro newspaper with the same name. The skyscraper is also one of the landmarks of the golden years of Brazilian radio, as it housed the headquarters of Rádio Nacional.

Artists such as Emilinha Borba, Dalva de Oliveira, Luiz Gonzaga and Cauby Peixoto passed through the place. Fans used to wait for the idols at the door of the building.

It is still possible to see the name of Rádio Nacional, almost erased, on one of the walls of the floors previously occupied by the station. From the radio auditorium, all that was left was the stage, the extinguished lamps and the coating full of dust.

Before closing its doors, A Noite also received employees from other public bodies, such as Inpi (National Institute of Industrial Property) and Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency).

Marcelo Haddad, CEO of Aliança Centro-Rio, highlights the symbolism of the building and says that there is a tendency to revitalize old buildings in the city.

He considers that the eventual transformation of the skyscraper into a residential one can stimulate the real estate market after the effects of the pandemic on corporate real estate.

“City centers, not only in Rio de Janeiro, were impacted by the hybrid work model”, says the CEO of Aliança Centro-Rio, which has real estate companies among its members.

In 2013, A Noite had its listing approved by Iphan (National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute), including the façade and other architectural elements, such as the snail-shaped staircase.

With the sale to the municipality, the revitalization of the entire listed part of the building is expected. The annual maintenance of the closed property cost BRL 2.4 million to the public coffers, according to information released in March by the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services.

This account involves expenses with elevators, security, brigade members and concessionaire fees, among other obligations.

Thiago Pinheiro Barbosa, 35, is one of the few people who continue to work at A Noite. He provides services to an outsourced company in the electrical part of the building.

Barbosa says that he started working on the skyscraper in 2006. Since then, he has performed different functions and has seen the building’s emptying process up close. “Before, the flow [de pessoas] It was huge,” he recalls.

The worker claims that he still has no idea how his professional life will be if the revitalization leaves the drawing board. He says he would like to continue working there.