Superior Tribunal de Justiça suspends repossession of São Paulo cinema

The Superior Tribunal de Justiça (STJ) has suspended the repossession of the Espaço Petrobras de Cinema, located on Rua Augusta in central São Paulo. Justice Teodoro Silva Santos granted a suspensive effect to the appeal filed by the cinema's current holders, reversing a previous decision from May that had allowed for the repossession of the property, which also includes Café Fellini.

The minister noted that the appeal from the developer, Rec Villa Empreendimentos Imobiliários, had omitted significant recent facts. Specifically, the property has been classified as a Special Zone of Cultural Preservation by the Municipal Council for the Preservation of Historical, Cultural, and Environmental Heritage of the City of São Paulo (Conpresp). Additionally, an injunction in a civil public action currently prevents the demolition or alteration of the protected space.

The dispute stems from the developer's 2022 acquisition of the site for a real estate project. While Conpresp had previously authorized demolition on the condition that the cinema rooms remain active for cultural production, the site's status as a protected cultural zone requires the developer to integrate the cinema halls as an active facade within any new commercial or residential construction.