Avenida Paulista, both an address and a symbol

More than a century at the top of the city

Opened in 1891 as an avenue of mansions, Paulista became a financial hub from the 1960s onward and today is also São Paulo's main cultural corridor. MASP, from 1968, Conjunto Nacional, Itaú Cultural, Instituto Moreira Salles, Sesc Avenida Paulista, Japan House and Casa das Rosas are all on the avenue.

Few addresses bring together such different publics. Executives, students, tourists and families share the sidewalks, and on Sundays the avenue closes to cars and becomes a leisure space. Banks, consulates, hospitals, schools and hotels complete the picture.

With no land to grow, the avenue reinvents itself from within

Paulista has very little space available for offices and almost no vacant land. Large contiguous areas practically never appear, and demand that does not fit on the avenue moves to nearby streets, Rebouças and Jardins.

The way forward has been retrofit. The area is home to many of the city's renovated corporate buildings: older buildings renew their facades, systems and common areas to compete again with new ones, and market surveys point to significant appreciation after renovation.

Visibility few addresses offer

For those who receive clients and partners from other cities and countries, Paulista is the easiest address to explain and to reach: four Line 2-Green stations, a connection to Line 4-Yellow and hotels of every category nearby.

At street level, pedestrian flow is constant from Monday to Sunday, with very diverse publics. For retail, dining, healthcare, education and services, few addresses offer this exposure. On the upper floors, renovated buildings now compete with new buildings in other districts.