Rio de Janeiro city law overhauls Reviver Centro program and establishes a new urban planning regime for Praça Onze; transition rules require an assessment of ongoing operations

The mayor of Rio de Janeiro passed Supplementary Law No. 301/2026, which overhauls the Reviver Centro program and establishes the Praça Onze Maravilha Area of Special Urban Interest (AEIU Praça Onze). The law amends key urban planning regimes in the city of Rio de Janeiro and may directly affect developers with ongoing or planned projects in the covered areas.

The restructuring of the Reviver Centro program has the most practical implications for developers and investors interested in Rio’s real estate market. Supplementary Law No. 301/2026 fundamentally alters the structure of incentives applicable to the city’s central area:

• The right to “Operação Interligada” (a development right that allows additional buildable area to be used in designated recipient areas) is now reserved for conversion and retrofit projects and also applies to ground-floor retail spaces with active storefronts.
• Neighborhoods that receive transferred building potential are redesigned, and the former discounts linked to the sector of origin give way to a new modulation system based on the destination neighborhood.
• A specific bonus is also created for projects with a positive urban impact, such as units intended for long-term social rental.

For developers with projects already structured under the previous regime, the critical point is the transition window:

• Projects that have obtained a permit or have a permit application process opened by June 30, 2026, may retain the conditions of the original regime, provided the permit is issued by December 1, 2026.
• Holders of a municipal certificate recognizing the right to use Operação Interligada, issued by June 1, 2026, may access additional benefits if they apply the building potential in specific receiving areas by December 31, 2027. These benefits include exemption from the compensation due to the municipality and a 100% bonus on the balance stated on the certificate.
• The option to pay the compensation in installments over ten years, which was previously regarded as one of the model’s main economic attractions, is also no longer possible.

The combination of these factors calls for a review of the strategies of industry players who already hold building rights or are in the process of obtaining them.

AEIU Praça Onze: new plan aims to revitalize downtown area

In parallel with the overhaul of Reviver Centro, the AEIU Praça Onze will be established as a distinct urban planning framework for the area surrounding the sambadrome and sections of the expanded downtown, encompassing Praça Onze, Estácio, Cidade Nova, Catumbi, and Cruz Vermelha. Among the planned structural interventions are the demolition of the 31 de Março Overpass, the construction of a new avenue and the Boulevard do Samba, the reorganization of the road system, the redevelopment of the sambadrome as a multipurpose facility, the construction of the Biblioteca dos Saberes library and the Parque do Porto park, the creation of new housing units, and the restoration of Vila Operária do Estácio.

The new law also provides for the possibility of signing an agreement with the state government to extend Metro Line 2, with two new stations in the central region.

Supplementary Law No. 301/2026 also establishes new parameters for land use and occupation within the AEIU Praça Onze perimeter, subdividing the area into sectors and subsectors subject to specific rules regarding building height, floor area ratio, and land use coefficients.

The proposed regulations also cover building foundations, active facades, common-use ground floors, and the volumetric reconfiguration of city blocks, with specific guidelines for areas containing protected heritage sites and an explicit provision for the preservation of the historic views of Santa Teresa. On the economic front, the AEIU Praça Onze expressly authorizes the use of public-private partnerships, urban concessions, real estate and equity investment funds, agreements with other federal entities, the sale of public assets, and payment in kind as instruments to facilitate the interventions. In addition, the project provides for the creation of an Economic Development District to coordinate efforts between government and civil society in areas such as security, maintenance, landscaping, commercial promotion, and infrastructure.

Overall, the initiative could represent a significant change in the urban planning and contractual framework applicable to downtown Rio de Janeiro, with effects likely to extend beyond the AEIU’s boundaries and influence the analysis of projects, contracts, and structures in the expanded downtown area and the main surrounding areas. The interplay between urban planning regulations, contractual instruments, and value capture mechanisms calls for a comprehensive and careful review of each transaction potentially covered by the new regime.

Demarest’s Real Estate team is available to provide any further clarification that may be necessary.