Rebouças Avenue, Shopping Centers, and Other Sectors in São Paulo Affected by the Zoning Law Revision
- The revision of the Zoning Law brought changes ranging from a new use for Av. Rebouças to larger shopping malls
The Partial Revision of the Law of Parceling, Use, and Occupation of the Soil (LPUOS), also known as the Zoning Law, was instituted in the city of São Paulo through Law 18,081/2024, on January 19, 2024.
The aim of this revision was to adjust important aspects for the improvement of the legislation's application, considering the Intermediate Review of the Master Plan sanctioned in July by Law 17,975/2023.
According to Marina Cavalli, real estate lawyer, and Maria Flavia Seabra, partner and lawyer at Machado Meyer Advogados, the revision is essential for the city's natural development.
"The revision, therefore, brought updates that benefit various sectors, allowing the creation of larger developments in strategic areas for urban development, encouraging more housing in areas with good infrastructure, preserving areas of environmental importance, while seeking to ensure greater mobility infrastructure for areas away from the center and offering social housing," the lawyers state.
Rebouças avenue receives a new classification
Regarding the commercial real estate market, one of the main changes in the LPUOS concerns the structuring axes of urban transformation, locations composed of metro and train stations and bus corridors.
Within a radius of up to 700 meters for train and metro stations and in a parallel strip of 400 meters from bus corridors, larger buildings may be erected, with a higher utilization coefficient for each region.
One region that stands out is Av. Rebouças, which gained an increase in the development potential of the property, being able to accommodate new asset models that will boost the region.
"With the revision of the Zoning Law, part of Avenida Rebouças gained a new zoning classification (ZCOR-3), which expanded the permitted uses in the area, previously limited to predominantly residential activities. This change has the potential to stimulate the interest of investors and entrepreneurs in the commercial building sector, which could result in an increase in office space supply," says Cavalli.
"From an urban planning perspective, Avenida Rebouças is characterized by a high population density and good infrastructure for different means of transportation. The existence of subway lines, buses, and bike lanes will certainly make the region even more attractive for investments, ensuring the mobility of the population and access to offices located in the region," Seabra adds.
Shopping malls will also be impacted
Another important point that may impact the real estate market is the inclusion of shopping malls and religious temples in the non-obligation to follow the maximum urban plot limits. Before the revision, these types of developments could reach a maximum built area of 20,000 m², with a maximum frontage of 150 meters.
"It is important to emphasize that the possibility of expanding shopping centers may attract investors interested in expanding the portfolio of Real Estate Investment Funds investing in the segment. Indirectly, the novelty may also impact other operations in the financial market, enabling the development of these ventures and boosting the market as a whole," says Cavalli.
The LPUOS establishes that residential buildings with mixed-use units can expand their area by up to 20%, but it was established that activities in the hotel industry, such as flats, apartment-hotels, and boarding houses, do not qualify as mixed use.
Details
The major changes in the revision of the Zoning Law are focused on residential developments. The Strategic Master Plan establishes that the utilization coefficient can reach up to 50%, provided that this increase is intended for the use of Social Interest Housing.
"It is worth remembering that complementary decrees are still awaited to regulate aspects provided for in the standard, such as the definition of administrative procedures for recognizing the urban perimeter as a village," says Seabra.
The new law maintained some rules, such as the height of buildings in neighborhood cores, and vetoed others, such as the implementation of developments in preservation zones.
"Still, the challenge is significant, and there are certainly points to be improved. We understand that its revision was timid. Another point worth noting is the absence of detailed maps that bring the characterization of the zoning to be applied block by block in the city," Seabra adds.
