Meet Oceana, a billion-real case study of the real estate market in southern Brazil

The island of Florianópolis has been turning into a sort of Brazilian Miami.

In recent decades, the Santa Catarina capital – known for its exuberant natural beauty across more than 42 beaches, hills and lagoons – has consolidated itself as the favourite destination for those seeking coastal real estate developments in the country. 

According to the FipeZAP Index, Florianópolis (recently voted the safest capital in Brazil) today has one of the four most valued square metres in the country – a list that also includes Balneário Camboriú, Itapema and Itajaí in the first four positions.  

Beyond its breathtaking landscapes, the city boasts socioeconomic indicators comparable to those seen in developed countries and a thriving, diversified economy. 

The result: the city has been attracting more and more investors, visitors and residents from other states to the region. 

“The dream of an agribusiness entrepreneur or a Brazilian industrialist in the 1970s and 1980s was to buy an apartment facing the sea in Rio de Janeiro. Today, this desire to live by the beach has shifted to the Santa Catarina coast,” said Luciano Bocorny, CEO of the developer CFL.

It is no coincidence that CFL chose the coveted Jurerê area to bring to market Oceana, a distinctive project with a gross sales value of R$ 1.7 billion.

Signed by Arquitectonica – one of the most awarded architecture firms in the world –, the development will be built on a plot of more than two hectares facing the sea, with 180 metres of “feet in the sand”. 

Oceana will have 127 exclusive residences with floor plans between 180 sqm and 976 sqm. 

The residential development has complete condominium infrastructure – practically a beach club – and the complex will also feature fitness spaces signed by Italy’s Technogym. To top it off, there will be an exclusive hotel (with only 60 keys), to be operated by an international brand new to Brazil.

According to the CEO, the value attributes – helped by the perceived scarcity of new plots of this size in Florianópolis (especially in Jurerê) – were quickly understood by the market.

In less than 30 days, Oceana had already sold R$ 1.3 billion at an average price of R$ 50,000 per sqm. So far, 92% of the residences have been sold and, according to the CEO, a final reserve of units will be offered to the market next summer.  

“In 32 years in the real estate market, I had never seen anything like it,” said the CEO.

According to the director of CFL Imóveis, Ricardo Saldanha, Oceana attracted traditional families from the region as primary-home clients, as well as foreigners and Brazilians living abroad. 

For CFL Inc’s commercial manager for the Florianópolis market, Samur Rick, the high demand is justified by the unique characteristics of the development and of Jurerê beach. 

“It is a planned neighbourhood with the organisation of a gated community, with an active management committee, caretaking and neighbourhood monitoring through electronic fencing and a police post at the entrance to Jurerê,” he said.

Responsible for selling a very significant share of Oceana’s sales value in just 14 days, the owner of the Supervisão agency, Pedro Luiz Vargas, defines the development as “a true feet-in-the-sand beach club” and says that living there will be “like spending the whole year in a five-star hotel.”

International signatures

The architecture firm behind the project, Arquitectonica signs icons of global architecture such as Brickell City Centre, in Miami; the Microsoft Headquarters, in Paris; and the JK Iguatemi complex, in São Paulo.

But for the founder and president of Arquitectonica, Bernardo Fort-Brescia, Oceana was a unique opportunity for the firm to develop a project for the first time in southern Brazil in a context similar to Miami’s. 

“In designing this project, we thought about providing the experience of a wellness resort that made the most of the breezes and the beautiful waters of the beach,” he said. “Part of the idea is that you feel you are on the deck of a yacht: the wide horizontal lines and the curved edges floating along the sides convey that sensation.”

Another renowned firm signing Oceana, Uruguay’s Obra Prima was tasked with translating the essence of the development into the interiors and communal areas of the residences and the hotel. 

“The strongest point of the whole project is always the connection between inside and outside,” said Carolina Protto, partner at Obra Prima. 

“When we saw the plot, we were enchanted by its enormous potential, the large frontage facing the sea, the harmony with nature, its position and its importance for Jurerê,” said Juliana Bassani, the other partner at Obra Prima.

Oceana’s international character is also present in the sea-view fitness space conceived by Technogym. 

“With its infinite views, Oceana is the perfect setting for exercise,” said Álvaro Silva, Technogym’s representative in Brazil.

The company developed a personalised project for Oceana, taking advantage of the natural beauty of the setting to create a synergy between Jurerê and healthy habits in the land of the Iron Man.

Privileged location

With striking design and architecture, Oceana also stands out for its extremely privileged location. 

For CFL’s CEO, Luciano Bocorny, Jurerê is a place that already has several dining and entertainment options. However, he says the Oceana complex will add new ones.

“We will have a beautiful fig tree square, which will be preserved, featuring dining venues and a mall of services and convenience for the area,” said the CEO.

For CFL’s product and design director, Luciana Detoni, the project will be a landmark in the local landscape. 

“We probably will not have new opportunities to conceive a development of this grandeur on an area of this magnitude,” said the executive. 

CFL’s general sales director, Rafael Starosta, defines the project as “unique, incomparable and unrepeatable.” 

“Our view is that this is the best plot in southern Brazil and that translated into unprecedented sales-speed performance and also into setting a new benchmark for pricing per sqm in the region,” said Starosta.

Discover the development and get in touch via email: oceanajurere@cfl.com.br or by WhatsApp.

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Article published on the site: Brazil Journal.