The concession process for the Rio Branco Palace —built in the same place where the first government house in Brazil used to be, in the 16th century—is the subject of a legal battle between the government of Bahia and entities linked to historical heritage in Salvador.
The palace is located in the same place where the colonial government headquarters used to be, built in 1549 at the behest of the first governor-general, Tomé de Souza, and from where Brazil was ruled for over 200 years.
The bidding for the concession of the palace for a period of 35 years for a hotel group took place on Thursday (20), in Salvador, with a minimum bid of around R$ 26.5 million. There was only one interested: the company BM Varejo Empreendimentos, parent company of Rosewood, one of the most luxurious hotel chains in the world.
Also on Thursday, the Public Ministry of the State of Bahia filed a representation to suspend the bidding. The request was denied by the Court this Friday (21), but the Prosecutor’s Office said it will appeal the decision.
Even with a single company in the bidding process, the bidding has not yet ended. The documentation that was delivered by BM Varejo Empreendimentos is yet to be analyzed.
If approved, the Rio Branco Palace will be awarded to the Rosewood chain, which plans to implement a six-star hotel on the site. Under the contract, the company that wins the bidding process will only have to pay rent to the state from the sixteenth year of the concession.
The project also foresees that the company will carry out restoration work on the Memorial of the Republican Governors of Bahia —which works on the site—, but which will remain under state control and open to public visitation.
Located in Praça Tomé de Sousa, next to the upper part of Elevador Lacerda, Palácio Rio Branco has a privileged view of the Bay of Todos-os-Santos.
The decision to transform Palácio Rio Branco into a hotel was taken by the governor of Bahia, Rui Costa (PT), who approved a Proposal for Expression of Interest by the Portuguese group Vila Galé. The company, however, ended up not participating in the bidding process for the concession of the space.
If the concession for the Rosewood network is finalized, the Portuguese group will be reimbursed for the expenses with the preparation of the project.
In addition to the space of Palácio Rio Branco itself, the installation of the hotel will require the construction of support buildings on land at the back of the historic building. In October last year, the Bahian government expropriated an area between Rua Pau da Bandeira and Ladeira da Montanha.
In a note, the Secretary of Tourism of the State of Bahia informed that the decision to grant the Rio Branco Palace to the private sector “follows a global model of preserving heritage and offering, in an area such as the Historic Center, employment and income opportunities”.
The Secretary of Tourism of Bahia, Maurício Bacelar, did not comment because he is returning from a work trip to Spain.
The forecast of the Bahian government is that, within a period of 18 months, the restoration and recovery works of the palace will be completed so that the hotel can be opened for occupation.
The complaint that led to the MP-BA lawsuit was the result of a representation from the Instituto dos Arquitetos do Brasil (IAB).
“How are you going to analyze that public notice without having access to the spreadsheet, without having access to the instruments of economic-financial modeling that resulted in that amount of R$ 26 million? That is a financial model that society needs to know”, says Luiz Antônio de Souza, president of the Bahia department of the IAB.
As it no longer has any traces of its original architecture, the palace is not listed by Iphan (Institute of National Historic and Artistic Heritage), but experts attest to its symbolic load and historical importance.
The Instituto dos Arquitetos do Brasil, Bahia section, has been calling for the palace to be listed since 2015 and defends its use to house public bodies or cultural facilities.
“The importance of this building is not just for the history of Brazil, it is for the history of the Americas”, says Luiz Antônio de Souza. “[O governo baiano] is renouncing the use of the good, it is renouncing and transforming the use of something that is 473 years old as a place destined for administrative activity”, he adds.
The palace has undergone renovations and reconstructions over the centuries. In 1837, it was the seat of the ephemeral Bahiense Republic, proclaimed in Salvador after the Sabinada revolt.
During the imperial period (1822-1889), the palace hosted Emperor D. Pedro 1st, Empress D. Leopoldina and Princess D. Maria da Glória, who later became Queen of Portugal. Emperor D. Pedro II and Empress D. Teresa Cristina were also guests.
In 1912, at the behest of President Hermes da Fonseca, the palace was fired upon by cannon fire from the São Marcelo fort to overthrow governor Aurélio Viana. Seven years later, it was rebuilt and took its current name, in honor of the Baron of Rio Branco.
The Rio Branco Palace was the seat of the government of the state of Bahia until 1979. Afterwards, it housed Bahiatursa, the State Department of Culture and currently houses the Memorial of the Republican Governors of Bahia.
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