A CASE STUDY OF THE PROCEDURE OF DEVELOPMENT OF A LARGE REAL ESTATE PROJECT IN SÃO PAULO, B RAZIL

Abstract: This thesis report presents the process which has been followed to develop a large real estate project in São Paulo, Brazil where the buildings remaining on the site are landmarks. The report includes an extensive case study the Matarazzo Project about which I performed the analysis of the procedure of development during my internship at SCPM – a French Project Management company. The ultimate goal of the thesis is to provide investors with brief recommendations to develop similar project in Brazil with respect of the cultural values. A French Investor intends to develop the Matarazzo Project – a large and complex real estate project in São Paulo, Brazil – on a site defined as a national and municipal landmark by public authorities, respectively CONDEPHAAT and CONPRESP, due to the remaining buildings erected from 1904 which are witnesses of the well-organized institutions of Italian immigrants. The protection of the existing buildings involved a particular procedure to apply for permits. Indeed, it implies the presentation of the project to several organs such as IPHAN, CONDEPHAAT , CONPRESP, SEHAB, SMT, DEPAVE, etc. with a list of required documents – TAC , Projeto de Restauro, Relatorió de Impacto de Vicinhenza, plans, layout, renderings, etc. Thus, to apply for building permits such a situation implies a selected numbers of particular consultants as a Legal Authorization Specialist, Retrofit Specialist, DEPAVE Specialist, Cultural Centre Specialist , lawyers, added to the stakeholders normally present during the development of a real estate project – architects, engineers, land surveyor, quantity surveyor , insurance companies, etc. The case study involved, at this stage, more than 23 entities (2 from the Direction, 3 from the Supervision, and 18 from the Executive Stakeholders) The combination of actors was such because I realized my internship at an early stage of the project – maybe the earliest. Indeed, when I started, the Master Plan had not been defined yet and the Work Cost Estimate had not been performed, even though the Project Manager already had an idea about the overall schedule and was hiring the appropriate stakeholders. By now, the Master Plan has been fixed and shares both green and brown field areas. The existing buildings will host a Retail Centre (18.000m²) surrounded by glazed roof, a Palace Hotel (10.000m²), the Chapel remains a religious place, the Paediatric will be replaced by a Village Hall (500m²). Underground constructions will be located all above the site with a Cultural Centre (18.500m²) and a Parking Lot (55.000m²). Plus, depending on the Right-to- Built, a Tower (21.000m²) will be erected near the Ponta. Consequently, in terms of time, the Project Manager forecasts the whole project to last no less than five years – including legal documents approvals and works execution. In terms of budget, a Work Cost Estimate – more or less accurate depending on the level of completion of the plans of each specific area – has been done so that the Client can start to set up the Business Plan and develop the strategy to finance the project – finding financers, operators, tenants, etc. Having work more than five months on the Matarazzo Project enables to make an analysis of what the situation had been and what it should be. It is crystal clear that mentalities and ways of proceeding between France and Brazil are different. Nothing is said but that is the role of the consultants to establish what strategy to choose, or to state things such as what is allowed to build, how to build, etc. Nothing is written either, indeed there is no code of construction, barely a Código de Obras e Edificações which define for which permit to apply depending on the work to perform. So, the spirit is ‘ do as best as you can and let’s see if will be accepted by legal authorities’. And conflict is avoided – problems are not pointed directly, they last and they became bigger putting the whole project on hold. The solution to all this has been to hire a Project Manager Assistant to work directly from there, increasing communication between France and Brazil, making researches about similar projects, and trying to keep everyone on the right track cause – due to the size of the project – minor points are often forgotten and became major points. For the future, the Project Manager starts to forecast the whole organization of the project, in particular for the detailed conception and execution phases. Regarding the work breakdown structure, to simplify communication proceeding having one representative for the architectural team and one general contractor is the favourite option despite the disadvantages it implies (information retention, increased fees for management of sub-contractor, etc.). The analysis of the procedure of development of a large real estate project in São Paulo, Brazil has resulted in future recommendations on what attention should be focused on. In short, the recommendations include the following: Being aware of local culture and local way of proceeding (steps of development, local institutions, subsequent required documents); Having a good intern organization (being aware of what is due and by who); For more details on the future recommendations, cf. chapter 6.