Iguatemi and Catuaí Announce R$1 Billion Four Seasons Project in Itaim Bibi, Stepping Up Competition With JHSF
Iguatemi will enter the hospitality sector through a partnership with Grupo Catuaí on a roughly R$1 billion development that will bring the Four Seasons brand back to São Paulo. Announced Thursday, November 5, the complex will combine a hotel, residences, restaurants and wellness amenities between Amauri and Jerônimo da Veiga streets in Itaim Bibi, near Brigadeiro Faria Lima Avenue.
Catuaí will hold a 56% stake in the development, while Iguatemi will own the remaining 44%. The total investment includes land, construction and interior finishes. The project is undergoing permitting, with an opening targeted for late 2030, subject to the necessary approvals and development schedule.
The investment brings Iguatemi into a segment where rival JHSF operates through its Fasano brand. In the same neighborhood, the Fasano São Paulo Itaim hotel has 107 rooms across 20 floors, ranging from 30 to 190 square meters. The new Four Seasons will feature 104 hotel rooms in addition to its residential units.
From Offices to a Hotel and Residences
The announcement establishes the planned use of a site whose development REsource had been tracking. In an October 7 article, REsource reported that part of the property had approval for a 13-story office building with 11,200 square meters of total floor area and ground-floor retail.
At the time, REsource also reported that two buildings had been demolished between 2022 and 2023, and that records from 2025 linked the project entity to companies affiliated with Iguatemi and Grupo Catuaí.
Iguatemi had confirmed that it was evaluating a development with a co-investor but had not publicly specified the project’s features, intended use or financing structure. The November 5 announcement provided those details.
The newly announced plan replaces the office proposal with a hotel and residential complex. The change reflected the partners’ assessment of São Paulo’s luxury hotel supply.
According to SiiLA Market Analytics, the new hotel site sits between the Faria Lima and Itaim office submarkets, where vacancy rates are low, at 9.22% and 7.31%, respectively.
Faria Lima and Itaim Bibi currently command São Paulo’s highest market rents for Class A+ and A office properties, at R$309.10 and R$302.33 per square meter per month, respectively.
The site was assembled over approximately five years through the acquisition and demolition of five properties, including the two buildings mentioned in REsource’s early October report.
The new development will occupy approximately 3,700 square meters of land. That figure refers to the site area rather than the complex’s total floor area. The planned building will rise 26 stories and will be designed by David Chipperfield Architects.
The development
The development will comprise two sections. The first, accessed from Amauri Street, will house the hotel’s 104 rooms and 35 apartments with hotel services. Offered for sale, these apartments will be delivered fully equipped, with owners able to opt into the Four Seasons rental program. Residents will share the hotel’s recreational amenities and services.
The second section will have a separate entrance on Jerônimo da Veiga Street and contain 10 residences: nine apartments of approximately 750 square meters each and a penthouse of roughly 1,200 square meters. These residences will have their own recreational amenities and views of Jardim Europa and Itaim Bibi. Together, the two residential offerings will total 45 units, in addition to the hotel rooms.
The complex will also feature three restaurants, a bar, event space, a spa, a pool and a fitness center. Four Seasons will operate the hotel.
Iguatemi will participate through a subsidiary in a special-purpose entity with Catuaí. The company estimates cash outlays of approximately R$300 million between 2027 and 2030 for its 44% stake.
Based on current assumptions for development, occupancy, average daily room rates and residential sales, Iguatemi projects a nominal, unlevered internal rate of return of 18% annually on its stake. This company estimate depends on those assumptions.
Both companies were contacted for comment but had not responded by publication time.
A Return to São Paulo and a Project in Rio
The development will mark Four Seasons’ second hotel operation in São Paulo. Its first property opened in 2018 at Parque da Cidade, alongside the Marginal Pinheiros highway, and ceased operations in 2020. The property subsequently became the JW Marriott São Paulo, which opened in 2022.
Through Catuaí Asset, Catuaí is also involved in the Four Seasons project planned for the former Hotel Marina Palace in Rio de Janeiro’s Leblon neighborhood. Announced by the hotel company in December 2025, that property is scheduled to open in 2029, ahead of the São Paulo development.
The Rio project will feature approximately 120 rooms and suites and involve a renovation of the existing building’s façade and interiors. Amenities will include a restaurant, spa, rooftop bar and rooftop pool.
