Augusto Ivan de Freitas Pinheiro and Eliane Canedo
Research and contributions: Cristiane Titoneli
The 2000s: Porto Maravilha docklands upgrade
The Joint Urban Consortium Operation (OUC – Operação Urbana Consorciada) for the Rio de Janeiro Docklands region, better known as the Porto Maravilha Docklands Upgrade, was established in 2009 through Municipal Law Nº 101, set up to support proposals focused on the economic and social revitalization of this area. To do so, a Special Urban Planning Area of Interest (AEIU – Área de Especial Interesse Urbanístico) was demarcated in the Rio Docklands, covering some five million square meters. Its boundaries were marked by four avenues: Avenida Rodrigues Alves, Avenida Francisco Bicalho, Avenida Presidente Vargas and Avenida Rio Branco, encompassing the Saúde, Gamboa, and Santo Cristo districts, as well as part of the Caju neighborhood and the Centro area in the heart of the city.
The OUC was a tool allowing the government to enter into partnerships with the private sector in order to introduce sweeping structural changes to the urban fabric, paving the way for social, economic, environmental and spatial improvements. Until that time, this tool had rarely been deployed under urban policies in Brazil, with its best-known use being the upgrades of the Água Espraiada district and Avenida Faria Lima thoroughfare in São Paulo.
The revitalization project for the Rio Docklands absorbed some BRL 8 billion in funding, administered by the government-run Caixa Econômica Federal S&L institution, with a thirty-year implementation window.
The operating arm of this audacious urban intervention consisted of a public-private partnership that was managed by the Consórcio Porto Novo consortium and overseen by the Port Urban Development Company (CDURP – Companhia de Desenvolvimento Urbano da Região do Porto de Rio de Janeiro). Funding was raised through sales of Additional Construction Potential Certificates (CEPACs – Certificados de Potencial Adicional de Construção), reflecting the increase in constructed areas on the lots.
The Act also made provision for the maintenance of a Cultural Environment Protection Area under the Projeto SaGaS project, introducing incentives for harmonizing new and old buildings on the same lots, and establishing a 3% quota for investments in cultural heritage assets. It also laid out the land use and occupancy parameters, particularly the purchase of CEPAC certificates for the lots, should real estate developments exceed lot areas, in order to comply with the standards established for this area. According to the Act, they could be twenty to fifty stories high, depending on the sector where they were located.
The basic OUC program for the Docklands region focused on preserving the identity and characteristics of this region, repairing the existing streets and laying new roads, fixing and expanding local infrastructure, restoring and showcasing cultural heritage treasures, and encouraging residential uses for this region. Other features included building urban furniture and facilities, laying cycle-path networks, and integrating the Docklands neighborhoods with Downtown Rio through a Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) system.
Although failing to achieve many of its goals – like attracting new residential enterprises to this area – this project provided significant leverage for the lives of local residents, while also fully restoring its rich cultural heritage. Overall, it may be said that this initiative left a positive legacy.
II. Aerial view of the Moinho Fluminense mill today, without the Perimetral viaduct and with the Boulevard Olímpico sidewalk. Photo by Mauricio Hora, 2021.
Some benefits warrant particular attention, like investments in restoring important examples of cultural heritage assets; new office buildings and cultural facilities; and an upsurge in nightlife and tourism. Demolishing the massive Avenida Perimetral in 2016 enhanced the value of the waterfront and showcased the lovely landscapes of the Guanabara Bay, blocked for decades by this elevated highway, with difficult access and largely abandoned after Port activities declined. [III]
There is no denying that the area responded positively to most of the investments. Good examples of this are the urbanization of the bayfront between the Praça Mauá and Praça XV plazas and the restoration of the hanging gardens in the Jardim Suspenso do Valongo. Other features include the construction of the Instituto dos Pretos Novos memorial institute; the Museum of Tomorrow (Museu do Amanhã), designed by architect Santiago Calatrava and attracting more than a million people a year; and the Rio Museum of Art (Museu de Arte do Rio), designed by the Bernardes + Jacobsen Arquitetos architecture firm and drawing over 35,000 visitors a year. With a million visitors a year, the Aquarium (Aquário do Rio) was designed by architect Alcides Horácio de Azevedo.
Some 28 kilometers of modern Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) lines were laid, linking the Docklands to several points in the Centro district and transportation terminals; priceless archaeological sites were discovered, including the Cais de Valongo quay (declared a World Heritage Site); historic buildings were restored, including the Igreja de São Francisco da Prainha church. Six of the eighteen warehouses lining the Cais da Gamboa wharf were repurposed as venues for cultural events and other occasions, while modern offices blocks are rising in this newly reurbanized area, equipped with full infrastructure networks.
Particularly noteworthy are some trailblazing social and cultural initiatives undertaken by the Galpão Aplauso, a converted warehouse that has trained 11,000 youngsters for just over a decade, with a focus on culture+work. The Galpão Spectaculu and the old Bhering chocolate factory today house eighty studios and workshops on five floors, working with art, design, fashion and cuisine.
Driving forces behind the vitality of this area for several years, all these initiatives made a point of setting up shop in repurposed old buildings in the Santo Cristo neighborhood. Other new entrepreneurs have been moving into the Docklands districts, with ventures of all sizes, eager to explore their charms and innovate through their offices, workshops, restaurants, art galleries and stores. Reaching this stage has been a long trek. And there’s still plenty of fresh ground to be covered and conquered.
São Paulo, October 26, 2016: One of Brazil’s largest food and agribusiness conglomerates, Bunge Brasil announces the start-up of operations at the new Moinho Fluminense mill in Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro. With investments of BRL 500 million over two years, the company built a fully-automated greenfield plant that uses cutting-edge technology (...). It is designed to be the most modern mill in Latin America.52
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The Moinho Fluminense was sold to a property developer based in São Paulo:
Autonomy Investimentos. The plant was then owned by the Bunge Alimentos food subsidiary, which engaged in discussions during 2014 with Vinci Partners, an asset management group eager to build a huge office and store complex on this Docklands site. These plans included a mall, and even turning one of the silos into a hotel. Still today, it is one of the most desirable properties in Downtown Rio: ”This sale could provide incredible leverage for the Porto Maravilha Docklands upgrade project, because whatever is done there will make it the heart of this region. This is a great deal (...) and will be an anchor for the Docklands area.”
