Rooftop: leisure on the roof increases property value by up to 20% – 09/29/2023 – Market

Infinity pool, outdoor cinema, sofas around the fireplace and a privileged view of the city. With these options, developers increase investment in leisure areas at the top of buildings. According to the companies, the interventions can add up to 20% more value to the residential square meter.

Known as rooftop, the concept of the building’s terrace as an entertainment area is imported from the United States and is an attraction for condominiums, hotels and restaurants around the world. In Brazil, one of the most iconic is Terraço Itália, built in 1967. A visit to the 41st floor of the building in the center of São Paulo costs R$50 per person.

Today, even developers specializing in the economic segment, including projects sold through MCMV (Minha Casa, Minha Vida), use the concept to differentiate their products and also meet legal requirements.

In São Paulo, the building code stipulates half a square meter of leisure area for each HIS (Social Interest Housing) unit of a residential condominium and 2 m² of uncovered area. On a small plot of land or with a free view, the companies’ bet is to create a living space instead of a technical area.

In these projects, the rooftops are predominantly “dry areas”, which are more affordable. There are beanbags, benches and careful landscaping.

“It is important to bring the best possible to the economic segment, because there is an increase in demand from residents”, says Leonardo Mesquita, Cury’s commercial vice-president. “It’s a place of decompression, which gives the feeling of being on top of everything, away from traffic and chaos.”

One of the construction company’s rooftop launches is Cidade Central, on Avenida do Estado (central region of São Paulo), which will have views of the Municipal Market and the Pinacoteca. The average price per m² of two-bedroom apartments is R$7,300. According to Cury, families with incomes from R$3,500 can be financed.

Plano & Plano has three ready-made MCMV projects in which the rooftop is a lounge with landscaping. “It delights the customer. In a very dense city like São Paulo, people need the skyline”, says Renée Garófalo Silveira, development director.

In the medium standard, as properties of up to 100 m² are defined and cost between R$250,000 and R$500,000, the rooftop has more leisure items, gym and gourmet spaces.

“We usually include the swimming pool, which is a technically more complex project to execute, but which has great acceptance, and also spaces for contemplation, fireplace, cinema… These are spaces for [moradores] can benefit from the view, from outdoor life”, says Renata Tavares, marketing manager at Canopus, responsible for the Today Smartlife Line.

“We rarely go up to the rooftop for service spaces, such as laundry or bike racks.”

Since 2015, Trisul has built 18 projects with rooftop leisure. The first, in Vila Clementino (south zone of São Paulo), has a party room overlooking Ibirapuera Park. “With the concept we can bring more privacy and all condominium owners can enjoy the view from the rooftop”, says Penélope Bernardo, superintendent of the company’s architecture area.

This year, Trisul’s launches include a barbecue, pizza oven, skybar, fireplace space, spa and rooftop gazebo.

João Leonardo Castro, development director at SKR Arquitetura Viva, which has also been working with rooftops for eight years, states that choosing the space or not depends on the location and type of the building and how the common areas will be arranged.

“Especially on smaller lots, which are not club condominiums, [o rooftop] it is the extension of the apartment and influences the decision between competing projects. Even more so after the pandemic, which increased the desire to live where you feel good”, he says.

“We have given up the penthouse apartment to put a rooftop”, says Castro.

In Barra da Tijuca, west of Rio, the residential Niemeyer 360º pursues the concept of a “green roof” with five lounges, each one facing a view of the city: sea, mountains, islands and lagoons. The project was designed by architect Paulo Niemeyer, great-grandson of Oscar Niemeyer.

“It is the tallest residential building in Rio, which provides a 360-degree view. We believe in an increase in value of around 15% compared to a project without this benefit”, says Antonio Carlos Osorio, partner at Capital 1. The metro square of the property starts at R$ 16 thousand.

The rooftop of Glória Residencial Rio de Janeiro, a retrofit of the iconic Hotel Glória, will have swimming pools with lap lanes, children’s and heated pools, a steam room, a massage room, a gourmet lounge, a wine cellar and a drone landing area for deliveries.

At Alma Ipanema, the roof will feature an infinity pool and views of the beach. Apartments measuring 58 m² have an average value of R$35,000 per square meter.

“The most direct comparison is between new and used properties, which can be worth twice as much. In relation to apartments with leisure on the rooftop, the impact can reach 20% in value”, says Jomar Monnerat, manager of Opportunity Imobiliário, developer of the projects.

Brix Fundo de Investimento Imobiliário, which has Opportunity Imobiliário as one of its partners, chose to put a rooftop in its first launch in the Rio neighborhood of Botafogo, PB50, after a market study.

The concept is successful because they are spaces where the building’s residents and guests meet and socialize, summarizes Guilherme Lozinsky, Brix’s development director.