Clear coast

Not so long ago, the Brazilian town of Balneário Camboriú was best known as a quiet coastal outpost where holidaymakers from neighbouring states would come to enjoy the beach. In recent years, however, it has undergone an abrupt change and has the skyline to prove it. It’s here that you’ll find the country’s 10 tallest buildings under construction – remarkable for a city with a population of about 139,000 (though that rises to almost a million in peak season).

As you approach Balneário Camboriú, you’ll see a long line of oceanfront skyscrapers on the horizon. It’s an impressive sight – no wonder the city is known as Brazil’s mini-Dubai. Driving the property boom is a combination of fresh opportunities, the arrival of new wealth, enviable security (by Brazilian standards) and a bit of luck too. “Balneário Camboriú is sui generis,” TV presenter and journalist Dagmara Spautz tells monocle. “It’s unique. I can’t say that its qualities would be good somewhere else. The city built itself like this and it works.”

Balneário Camboriú is in the wealthy southern state of Santa Catarina, which has low levels of unemployment and an enviable safety record – a significant draw for those from urban centres in the north with high crime rates. When monocle visits the office of its mayor, Fabricio Oliveira, he offers an explanation for the boom that his city is currently experiencing. “In recent years, there has been a repositioning of Balneário Camboriú, especially since the pandemic,” he says. “With some infrastructure and action, we have managed to establish it as a cultural and economic hub, bringing in international events such as Fight Week, a martial arts tournament. For our New Year celebrations, we partnered with the uae, which sent more than 1,000 drones for Brazil’s largest-ever show of its kind. We have also worked on the expansion of our beach, creating economic benefits. We have shown that we are an entrepreneurial city that is capable of change and innovation.”

Like many residents, the mayor was not born in Balneário Camboriú. “I am from Curitiba,” he says. “I came here in 1986. I sold ice cream on the beach and worked in a nightclub, then became a city councillor. I always knew that it was a place of opportunity, no matter your surname.”

Bruno Cassola, one of the city’s most in-demand estate agents, was preparing to move his business to a new office to cope with the influx of Brazilians seeking to buy a home here. “Balneário Camboriú is small but there are so many things happening that it gives off the vibe of somewhere bigger,” he says. His clients range from industrialists from wealthy southern cities, such as Joinville and Blumenau, to people who have made money in the country’s flourishing agribusiness sector. This explains why Balneário Camboriú now has the most expensive property per square metre in Brazil.

The region’s leading construction company is FG Empreendimentos. You can see the fruits of its labour across the city – as well as its poster campaign that highlights its partnership with the Aveiro clan, Cristiano Ronaldo’s family. “The Aveiros are wonderful,” says Jean Graciola, ceo of FG. “And Cristiano is such a cool guy. We started the partnership with them in 2021. They wanted an apartment here and the partnership has worked very well.” Graciola is responsible for many of the tallest buildings in Balneário Camboriú, including the 290-metre One Tower, which has 84 floors, and FG’s Triumph Tower, now approved for construction, which, at a planned 544 metres, will be the world’s tallest residential skyscraper.

The city’s Expocentro exhibition centre is helping to make Balneário Camboriú an important host city for trade events. “We have a huge area and can do six events simultaneously,” says former commercial manager Cristine Fabbris. “This city used to be a summer destination but now it’s buzzing all year round, thanks to places such as Expocentro. The average business-tourist spend is three times that of a leisure tourist.”

Vanessa Lima, who moved here from Porto Alegre in the neighbouring state of Rio Grande do Sul, is the founder of Boutique do Pão de Ló. She launched her bakery in 2013 with a food truck and recently opened a branch of her business in a space designed by architect Vanessa Larré. The new outpost (there are others in Itajaí, Itapema and neighbouring Praia Brava) is doing well. “Balneário Camboriú is a city that’s growing,” she says. “We opened a few months before the pandemic, which was challenging, but the growth has been incredible.” Vanessa’s husband and business partner, Tomás Santos, says that one of the reasons why the city works so well is that it’s open to those from other places. “We have people from everywhere in Brazil so they are receptive to new ideas,” he says.

Larré is one of the city’s key architects and is adapting her practice to designing for high-rise buildings. “I really enjoy living here and especially appreciate the security,” she says. “I have a teenage daughter and I am glad that she’s able to be out and about, having fun with her friends. It’s a safe city. The place is also very alive. There are always people in bars and restaurants.”

Larré’s office is at Casahall Design District, an open-air mall with shops, architecture offices and Brazilian design brands such as Artefacto that want to ensure that they have a presence in a city that’s experiencing a property boom. Larré’s next project is the interiors of a high-profile residential building by Tonino Lamborghini of the Italian automotive empire. “We have done projects in São Paulo, Miami and Qatar but, because of the high-demand, we mainly stay in Balneário,” she says.

The city is attracting people from other countries too, such as Serbian chef Bojan Petrovic who, with his partner, Venise Manif Petrovic, opened Maka, a Latin-American restaurant in a charming boulevard full of bars and restaurants. Manif Petrovic is entranced by the city. “It has the soul of a big city but it’s safe, clean and growing gastronomically,” she says.

But this city that everyone is talking about can also be a divisive subject because of its politics: it voted overwhelmingly for hard-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 presidential elections. “Santa Catarina is a conservative state,” says Dagmara Spautz. “Bolsonaro had about 70 per cent of the vote here.”

But one thing that Balneário Camboriú has in abundance is a sense of pride. It’s not a perfect city but in a country known for its social inequality and sense of insecurity, it is like no other. — L