The beachside town of Balneario Camboriu, dubbed the “Dubai of Brazil” for having the country’s tallest buildings and most expensive real estate, is now taking aim at the title of world’s highest all-residential tower.
The Senna Tower project, inspired by the late Formula One driver Ayrton Senna, is being developed by FG Empreendimentos and will include investments from retail billionaire Luciano Hang.
The company, which has constructed about 60 buildings in the area, expects the tower to surpass 540 meters (1,772 feet) and have 157 floors at a cost of 3.5 billion reais ($616 million). Though they’re just preparing to drill the foundations and it won’t be finished until around 2033, sales have begun and should reach 8.5 billion reais when completed, according to FG Chief Executive Officer Jean Graciola.
The three-floor penthouses, with 910 square meters (9,795 square feet), could fetch 300 million reais each. Graciola said he’s held talks with Sotheby’s about selling them through the auction house.
“We’re a company that constructs regionally but sells Brazil to the world,” Graciola said in an interview at his office in Balneario Camboriu.
The current record-holder is Central Park Tower along Manhattan’s Billionaires’ Row at 472 meters. Another project in Dubai is in development with plans to go as high as 530 meters, Graciola said. Senna’s final height will be determined after details of the building’s pinnacle are hashed out, he said.
Land Prices
Graciola disputed the idea that they’re simply competing for the title. Given how costly land has become in Balneario Camboriu — an average of 14,206 reais per square meter — building such a tall tower will help compensate for that and provide greater returns on investment, Graciola said.
The real estate fever gripping Balneario Camboriu has spread to neighboring cities including Itajai and Itapema, with the three among the top five most expensive locales in Brazil, according to FipeZAP, which tracks the data.
The bulk of buyers in Balneario Camboriu come from wealthy families in Santa Catarina, Parana and Rio Grande do Sul states along with rich landowners and farmers from the center west of the country. Graciola has been trying to sell more to Sao Paulo state, the country’s largest, and is also opening a Miami sales office. He plans to use Portugal as an entry to European clients.
The group has engaged actress Sharon Stone and Cristiano Ronaldo for advertisements over the past decades.
Sales Climb
FG’s 2024 sales jumped 54% from a year earlier to 2 billion reais with a profit margin of close to 85%, Graciola said. The closely held company, started by Jean’s father Francisco, finances purchases directly and currently has a credit book with 4.3 billion reais.
With just 170,000 year-round residents, Balneario Camboriu has little to no industry outside of tourism and construction. By contrast, Sao Paulo, South America’s biggest city with about 20 million people in the metropolitan area, is currently constructing its tallest tower for corporate use that will reach 219 meters with nearly 40 floors.
FG, which recently created a consulting business for high rises called Talls Solutions, is working with Fatih Yalniz and Harry Poulos, who’ve been involved in the engineering and design of some of the world’s tallest structures, according to the company.
