Altre is Votorantim’s real estate investment platform, focused on creating value with its current portfolio of assets and deploying additional capital seeking income generating assets.
The process for creating this platform started in 2015 with the analysis of existing real estate assets and their potential, from a strategic and operational standpoint. Since then, this initiative has been organized around three major strategies: monetize assets with limited development and strategic potential; maintain and preserve a strategic land bank; and develop projects for properties with further development potential.
Altre was born as a robust company with income generating assets and urban development projects. Its main projects are located in large urban areas in Brazil: two in the state of São Paulo (city of Votorantim and the state capital, São Paulo) and one in the state of Pernambuco (city of Paulista). In addition to sustainable urban development and ESG criteria, these projects also incorporate concepts of smart cities, which leverage the entire system of cities with populations of more than 100,000 to catalyze development and improve local quality of life. The first two projects, in phase one, are at the end of the licensing stage and are scheduled to be launched between 2021 and 2022.
In São Paulo, where Altre projects are concentrated in the Vila Leopoldina neighborhood, ARCA, an old warehouse retrofitted into an entertainment space, was completed in 2018 and despite the pandemic continued to host events in 2020: Drive Thru Art, an exhibit of paintings, videos and photographs by 18 contemporary artists from different generations, and ALIVE, a special end-of-year live virtual event by Brazilian DJ Alok. Votorantim used the temporary interruption of activities to make improvements on the site, which will make the space safer and more enjoyable.
Part of another restored warehouse, STATE, which functions as a hub for innovation, technology and creative economy, ended the year with 100% occupancy and launched its own restaurant, which is expected to open as soon as office operations are fully resumed after being interrupted by the pandemic. In addition, an expansion project expected to be completed in 2021 was initiated in the same warehouse and in an adjacent building to accommodate new tenants. In total, there will be more than 26,000 m² of gross leasable area (GLA), with more than 17,000 m² of office space.
ARCA, STATE and other spaces in transformation are part of a broad reframing project including the entire complex where they are located. The goal is to transform the old industrial facilities into a mixed and diversified project, with offices, homes, cultural activity venues and a large green area where more than 2,000 seedlings of species from the Atlantic Forest will be planted. These changes will have positive social and environmental impacts on the entire region. Altre filed a proposal for an Urban Intervention Project (Projeto de Intervenção Urbana, PIU) with the São Paulo City Council and is awaiting approval to start improvements on public spaces included in the project. Also in the same neighborhood, Votorantim is one of the sponsors and shareholder of the Atlas Office Park project, with an area of more than 36,000 m² of office space.
Altre has a dedicated team of employees, with extensive market experience, who carry Votorantim’s DNA in their way of doing business and seek to align the development of company assets with strategies that have a positive impact, especially with regard to environmental and social aspects.
Initiatives to Combat COVID-19
One of the highlights during the pandemic was the emergency social assistance activities carried out in Vila Leopoldina, one of the neighborhoods where Altre’s real estate assets are located. One example was the distribution of food and/or cleaning product vouchers to 1,000 families in the communities of Linha, Nove and Cingapura, who also had access to health initiatives conducted in partnership with BP – A Beneficência de São Paulo, through which they could ask questions regarding the pandemic and receive medical care (learn more).
