Another important avenue in São Paulo, Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, is named after the mayor who designed it. When it opened in 1970, it attracted the installation of São Paulo’s first shopping mall, the Iguatemi Shopping Mall, a fact that boosted the avenue as a new business hub. Initially, it was a place that had popular stores in general, but over the years and with the appreciation of the avenue and the region, Iguatemi Shopping Mall began to serve a public with greater purchasing power, offering stores of internationally renowned brands.
From the 1980s, the avenue began its process of verticalization and was even referred to as the ‘new Paulista Avenue‘ due to the similarity of the skyline composed of tall buildings.
The region around Faria Lima Avenue is characterized by its proximity to the most valued residential area of the city, such as Jardins e Morumbi, as well as good restaurants, and luxury commerce. Besides its prime location, modern, sophisticated, and high-quality constructed buildings drew the attention of major companies that settled in the area. According to an article in Exame magazine, companies in the finance segment are the ones that have the most presence on Faria Lima Avenue, such as Banco Itaú, Banco Bradesco, BTG Pactual, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, etc. Next are technology companies such as Google and Facebook. In addition to these, companies such as We Work Coworking, Linkedin, Shopee, and Bunge have also chosen Faria Lima Avenue to set up their headquarters.
Faria Lima Avenue now has some of the most valued square meters in the city. It is considered the country’s main financial center, given the significant presence of bank headquarters and investment institutions, as indicated in a report by Exame magazine.
In 2024, the largest bank in Brazil, Banco Itaú (Itaú bank), acquired the Faria Lima 3500 building for 1.5 billion Brazilian Reais, in a transaction considered the most expensive for a building in the history of Brazil. The high-performance building is not tall, it has only 6 floors, contemporary design and sustainable building certification.
In front of the Faria Lima 3500 building, there is another icon of the avenue, the Patio Malzoni building, which has the highest rental value in the region. It is here that Google and BTG Pactual are located. The square on the ground floor of the building was the solution found to preserve a historic building from the 17th century, known as Casa Bandeirista.
Another notable building on the avenue is Birmann 32, easily recognized by the large sculpture of a metal whale on the front of the building. It is considered the second most expensive after Patio Malzoni Building.
