Luxury Development in Ipanema

By Mark Beresford, Contributing Reporter

A new property development on Rua Joana Angelica, just off the landmark Ipanema Beach’s Posto 9, marks the latest expansion by Rio luxury developer Concal, which for nearly forty years has dominated the top end market in the Zona Sul of the city.

The Conde de Mallorca development is composed of six apartments, with five 225 square meter apartments taking up one floor each, and a duplex penthouse of 412 square meters on the top floors.

The five 1-floor apartments all have four bedrooms and balconies, while the top floor “cobertura” also has a private swimming pool on the roof. The common leisure area includes a spa, a swimming pool, a fitness center, an events hall, a bar, and a playground. Each apartment also comes with parking space for three to four vehicles.

The cobertura is back on the market, says Concal realtor Telma Arrais, after the original buyer decided to resell the property at an asking price of R$6.5 million. A fourth floor apartment is also still available, for just R$4.15 million.

The foundations of the building have now been laid, and, the whole project, which is currently approximately 25 percent complete, will be ready in about eighteen months.

Buyers so far have all been Brazilian, and include families who plan to live in the development and also buy-to-let investors.

Confidence has now returned to the Rio real estate market, realtors say, after the Brazilian economy and Brazilian domestic demand recovered well from the global economic crisis of 2008-2009.

Although the Brazilian low income housing market is currently in vogue with foreign investors, realtors say that the luxury market in the Zona Sul of Rio de Janeiro is another hot spot, thanks to a combination of a lack of space in the area and continued demand from Brazil and from abroad.

Concal, established in 1971 by architect José Conde Caldas, is one of the major players in this market, with over 130 completed luxury developments, across Ipanema, Leblon, Lagoa and the Jardim Botânico.

The company’s residential developments, nearly all of which are christened under the “Conde” label, are characterized by a more personal, client-led touch than is common in many Brazilian projects, and by a focus on high quality finishing and innovation.

State-of-the-art technology also helps to differentiate Concal’sdevelopments; the Conde de Mallorca development, designed by the chairman’s son, Sergio Conde Caldas, includes fingerprint entry, central vacuums, programmable showers and baths, and smart car parking systems.

The project has won a prize from real estate association ADEMI for the architectural concept.

Conde de Mallorca is not the only current Concal development. Other projects underway Conde de Versailles in Leblon and the Résidences Belle Vue in Alto Leblon, while the company is also expanding into the emerging middle class markets of Sao Cristovao and Tijuca.

According to O Globo newspaper, Concal had sales of R$350 million in 2009, and had a record 962 units under construction at the end of the year.