For the last 30 years all attempts had failed. Despite the best efforts of previous governments, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in São Luís, on the northern coast of Brazil, seemed impossible to renew. Nonetheless, the new governor, Flávio Dino, was determined to restore the largest historic patrimony of Latin America and the regional pride of the community, as it had been long neglected. Popular disbelief in his ability to do so seemed warranted: courts were setting daily fines due to his predecessor’s failed attempts; he had no budget to support the expensive refurbishment oeuvres; and the legal constraints for historical restoration were time- and resource-consuming.

That begged the question: How do you bring a historical heritage area back to life?

The solution came with the project “Adote Um Casarão” (Adopt an Old Mansion). A new law offered fiscal subsidies and a legal license for occupying historic mansions to parties willing to renew and maintain the properties, if they developed activities with social impact. Although, of course, there is no easy recipe for policymaking, the mistakes and achievements of Adote Um Casarão might provide valuable lessons for overcoming institutional difficulties in developing areas.

As someone who worked on the project, I can share three of them:

SET THE PROBLEM PROPERLY: BUILD A RELIABLE CENTRALIZED DATASET

After a week of meetings with five different secretaries, I realized that no one could plainly state how many mansions on the historic site were state-owned. Although public servants would be able to tell me the name and the last two generations' stories of each mansion, there was no systematized information available, let alone the buildings’ official documents. Different state authorities held similar roles over the area, and there was a lack of communication between them. It was quickly evident that there was a problem at the historical centre, but also, it was not clear to the government to what extent.

A small team, sponsored by the governor, was given authority to enquire about the different state departments and to centralize data. One of the first steps? Set up a digital file containing key information over the historical center, and share this file with all main departments involved in the project. The buildings were presented in a map, and they were classified according to their current level of conservation and the estimated value of refurbishment. In possession of structured information, it was possible to more fully assess the problem—and to set priorities.

BALANCE FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS AND SOCIAL DEMANDS: REFRAME THE LEGAL SOLUTION 

With a fiscal crisis unfolding across the country, it was clear that public funds would be insufficient to finance the expensive renewals of over 30 state-owned buildings. Brazilian law does not allow public buildings under historical protection to be sold to private parties, so privatization was not an option on the table. Furthermore, there was a growing pressure for the the buildings to represent the interests of low-income families, which would not be satisfied by market interests alone.

While a previous federal law allowed private investors to donate to cultural initiatives in exchange for equivalent tax deductions, Adote Um Casarão established a similar mechanism for the renewal of the downtown historic mansions. Investors interested in establishing activities on the public historic buildings would be responsible for their renewal, receiving a time-based license to operate activities on the restored mansion. Considering the time of the license and the renewal value, said investor would be able to have tax deductions up to the same amount of the restoring oeuvres, which would be deductible in the long run. Investors could also refurbish the building for third parties to occupy it. In this case, the investor receives the tax reduction and a third party—such as a non-profit or NGO—develops its activities on the mansion.

It is important to stress that the government is not contracting out the renewal of its buildings; rather, the administration is offering a conditional license and fiscal subsidies to interested parties to develop activities in public buildings. A committee involving public agents from different departments selects the proposals for “adopting” a mansion, judging them on what the proposals offer the historical building and their relevance to public interest. The community was previously consulted about main preferences for the area.

BUILD ALLIANCES: INCLUDE MAJOR PLAYERS FROM THE BEGINNING 

But having a project and financial resources was not enough. Different authorities from opposing political parties with varying visions all had a say over the same space. The historical centre was under heritage and patrimony protection of UNESCO—but also under the legal protection of federal, state and municipal government administrations in Brazil. Courts also played a major role, as they had a well-established jurisprudence ordering municipality, state and federal government to pay expensive fines due to the poor state of historic buildings. Personal fines were even issued to public authorities, and financial accounts of the institutions in charge of historical heritage protection were blocked as a way to apply pressure for change. Despite legal issues, it was clear that without agreement, hardly any project would succeed. 

Court decisions were used as an instrument to build unlikely alliances. As they concerned municipal, state and federal authorities, old mansions affected by judicial decisions were used to initiate discussions over possible solutions with other parties. Initial meetings established formal and informal agreements from a very early stage, which contributed later to building investor confidence over project feasibility. The joint selection of priorities, information sharing, and cooperation over related projects were main negotiating strategies. Courts were involved in sequence to secure legal approval for the initiatives agreed upon between the public authorities, and to suspend the fines. 

Present Day

Since implementation, Adote Um Casarão has selected nine old mansions to be adopted by different organizations, with a focus on areas such as technological development, education and culture. More than 500 new jobs in the private sector have been created. Adote Um Casarão is now part of a larger “Nosso Centro” initiative, a program that combines activities—such as housing, cultural events, security and education—to promote the social and economic development of the historic centre.

Structured data, a little bit of creativity and a lot of dialogue were able to once again make the centre a local pride. The impossible project is now a symbol of capital renewal, influencing not only its economical development, but also the sense of belonging in the area.

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Polly Lima is a Brazilian lawyer who holds a Master’s of Public Policy from the University of Oxford. Previously she was the head of the public-private partnership unit in the State of Maranhao, where she led different projects for infrastructure financing and social development. She was recognized by UNOPS as one the leading female professionals in infrastructure in Brazil (2019), and currently she is placed at OECD, where she assesses the performance of multilateral organizations.