The old Port Workers Club building was imploded this morning; ‘important for the recovery of the Center’, says mayor

Imploded at 7 am this Sunday, the old building of the Clube dos Porttuários, in the Leopoldina Zone, in Rio, is on Avenida Francisco Bicalho. For the action, changes in the routine of the surrounding streets were followed since early Saturday morning, with a special scheme that involves different bodies. According to Rio City Hall, the action is part of the revitalization of the Port Region.

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The demolition is part of a series of property implosions that began in March, in actions between the municipality and Caixa Econômica Federal, which received the land as part of the economic modeling that financed the Porto Maravilha Urban Operation. With the advancement in recent years of residential developments in the neighborhoods of Saúde, Gamboa and Santo Cristo, in the Port Zone, where the bank’s real estate fund has already negotiated most of the land, now the revitalization is advancing to the Zona da Leopoldina, in the neighborhood of São Christopher.

— The City Center is ranked first in real estate launches. Now, in the port region, we are seeing more areas opening up for new real estate developments, buildings, businesses and residences — guarantees Mayor Eduardo Paes, who was present this morning at the demolition of the old Port Workers Club.

The property has more than 30 thousand m² and the implosion area is around 1,500 m² in a 19 meter high building. According to City Hall, the site had been abandoned for more than 10 years and was integrated into the assets of the real estate investment fund managed by Caixa in 2014. It took 75kg of explosives distributed in 554 points to bring down the structure.

Still according to Eduardo Paes, the city hall wants to “invert the city’s logic and have a central area with transport offerings, with hospitals, schools, infrastructure and public services functioning”:

— This is the ideal area of ​​the city to occupy. It’s a process that takes time, but it’s starting to happen now. It is a very special moment of recovery for the city center. Rio has become a city that is a reference in the revitalization of central areas — says the mayor.

There is still no project closed for the space of the former Clube dos Porttuários, Caixa Econômica Federal will still enter the market negotiation phase as has been done with other projects in Porto Maravilha. According to the city hall, the expectation is that in the coming months the property will already be negotiated for another development in Porto.

Since the end of March, City Hall has begun demolishing other unoccupied properties along Avenida Francisco Bicalho, actions that should continue over the next few months.

Preparation

Throughout this week, traders and public transport users were warned about the implosion of the 19 meter high building. To ensure the safety of pedestrians, drivers and traders in the region, a radius of 150 meters was isolated an hour beforehand. Five control points needed to be set up by Civil Defense at the following addresses:

• Avenida Pedro II, 35;
• Avenida Francisco Bicalho, 261 (Corner with Rua Equador);
• Rua General Luís Mendes de Morais, 503 near the Porto Carioca development;
• Rua General Luís Mendes de Morais, 78, in front of Galpão Aplauso;
• Avenida Francisco Bicalho, 47, close to Unidos da Tijuca block.

The operation will involve 155 agents from various municipal bodies, including CET-Rio, Civil Defense, Municipal Guard, Public Order Secretariat and Center Subprefecture. The Rio Operations Center (COR) will intensify monitoring on the streets near the area with cameras and the use of a drone.