the expansion and challenges of the capital of skyscrapers

Eight of the ten largest buildings in Brazil are in Balneário Camboriú (see list at the end of this report), city of 140 thousand inhabitants “squeezed” between BR-101 and the Atlantic Ocean, on the North Coast of Santa Catarina. The second smallest municipality in the state in terms of size, it has the most expensive square meters and one of the most dynamic real estate markets in the country. And since the beginning of the century, national GDP has grown more than double.

Data from FipeZap+ for August show that, in 12 months, the average price of residential properties increased by 19.53% in the city. It is the second biggest increase in the country, behind only that recorded in neighboring Itapema (+20.86%).

The appreciation is driven by high-end properties and has attracted the interest of famous investors, such as football players Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar; Falcão, futsal star; coach Abel Braga and Maurício Shogun, former UFC fighter.

The two tallest buildings are the One Tower, with 89 floors and 290 meters high, and the twin Yachthouse towers, with 81 floors and 281 meters. This latest project is signed by one of the world’s leading design offices, the Italian Pininfarina. It has a private helipad and direct access to the marina.

The average price per square meter in Balneário Camboriú is R$12,400, the highest in the country and 18% higher than in São Paulo. On Avenida Atlântica, which is on the seafront, a square meter can reach R$32,500 for high-end properties. On Avenida Brasil, one block behind the beach and where part of the local commerce is concentrated, the price reaches R$17,000.

There is no more beachfront land available. The last wooden house facing the Atlantic, located on a 286 square meter plot, is about to be demolished. According to a consultation carried out by the BBC Brasil portal with a local broker, the land and property may have cost between R$15 million and R$18 million. It will make way for a 12-story building.

FG Empreendimentos, one of the main skyscraper builders and responsible for One Tower, has ambitious plans for the city. It is working on four launches for next year, with an overall sales value of R$2.6 billion. It is also developing the largest residential building in the world, the project of which is being processed by the local city hall.

“The city has characteristics that not only attract investors from the country, but also arouse interest abroad. With the strategic location, the profile of residents has been transforming, creating a new business axis in the country. From a city that was pulsating during the season to a location that has attracted more and more residents in search of quality of life and safety”, says Jean Graciola, president of FG Empreendimentos.

In this century, Balneário Camboriú’s GDP grows more than twice that of Brazil

The real estate market and civil construction are two of the growth drivers of this city in Santa Catarina. The city’s GDP grew at an average of 4.7% per year between 2002 and 2020, the latest data made available by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). In the same period, the Brazilian economy grew 2% per year.

According to Bruno Cassola, high-end luxury real estate broker and real estate expert, Balneário Camboriú has become an out-of-the-ordinary city. “Public and private investments made in recent decades have placed the municipality at a high level of development,” he says.

Ranking released in August by the Public Leadership Center (CLP) places Balneário Camboriú as the 13th most competitive municipality in the country among the 410 that have more than 80 thousand inhabitants.

The strengths are quality of health (2nd place), sanitation (3rd), telecommunications infrastructure (5th), fiscal sustainability (6th place) and economic insertion and functioning of the public machine (15th ).

The challenges of Balneário Camboriú

The Brazilian capital of skyscrapers also has challenges ahead. The strong population density is a cause for concern for Rosana Silva dos Reis, professor of architecture and urbanism at UniSociesc. The population density in 2022 was 3,078 inhabitants per square kilometer, just under half the rate in Hong Kong.

“We need to think about strategies to boost public transport”, says the professor. The city suffers from constant congestion during the summer.

Another warning she makes is in relation to a process of gentrification, in which low-income urban areas undergo revitalization and appreciation, often expelling low-income residents and replacing them with wealthier people, which can lead to transformation community identity and culture.

CLP research points out that, in the economic sphere, the city faces problems in relation to human capital and innovation and economic dynamism.

The qualification level of workers in Balneário Camboriú is only 264th on the list of 410 Brazilian cities with more than 80 thousand inhabitants. In this regard, the city lost 19 positions compared to last year’s report.

GDP per capita was R$42,600 in 2020, which placed the city in 884th position among all Brazilian municipalities, according to IBGE data. In terms of growth, it ranked 261st among the cities surveyed by CLP.

According to the same survey, access to healthcare (168th place) and quality of education (241st) are two challenging aspects for the city in the social sphere. Primary care coverage lost 30 positions in the survey released in August, moving to 206th position. And vaccination fell to 265th, a drop of 158 places.

The worst performance in the educational pillar is in the Basic Education Development Index (Ideb) score for secondary education. The city is only in 331st position among the 410 with more than 80 thousand inhabitants in terms of academic performance rate and student performance in Portuguese language and mathematics assessments.

The tallest buildings in Brazil