Industrial families in real estate: Gerdau Johannpeter, Tavares de Melo and the new capital allocators

Grupo Tavares de Melo, founded in 1920 in the sugar-ethanol sector, completed the sale of its mills to Louis Dreyfus (Biosev) and the Dupé brand to Alpargatas back in 2007, redirecting its capital into real estate through the family office Sensatto Investimentos. Today, it operates assets such as the 1809 Brickell building in Miami and maintains logistics operations in Brazil, according to information from Sensatto Investimentos itself. The move by the northeastern group is emblematic of a trend gaining momentum in the Brazilian market: families of industrial origin becoming relevant capital allocators in the real estate sector.

This migration of productive capital into real assets is not random. It represents a deliberate strategy of wealth preservation and diversification, in which real estate serves as a long-term vehicle with recurring income generation and land value appreciation. The GRI Institute has been closely monitoring this phenomenon, and the data compiled in this radar reveal that allocation theses vary significantly depending on each family's sector of origin and vision.

Who are the industrial families allocating capital in Brazilian real estate?

Three distinct profiles emerge from the mapping. The first consists of families that liquidated positions in traditional sectors and established professional real estate management structures. Grupo Tavares de Melo is the most illustrative case: after completely exiting the sugar-ethanol sector, it channeled resources into Sensatto Investimentos, which today manages a diversified portfolio of income-producing assets in the United States and logistics operations in Brazil, according to data from the group itself.

The second profile is that of industrial heirs who chose to develop projects with urban planning impact. Carlos Bier Gerdau Johannpeter, through JL Empreendedora and Domus Populi, is one of the creators of Prado Bairro-Cidade in Gravataí (RS), the first development in Rio Grande do Sul to adopt new urbanism principles, designed to house thousands of residents, as reported by Jornal Seguinte. Gerdau Johannpeter's bet departs from the conventional logic of metropolitan development and targets the creation of planned communities with integrated infrastructure — a segment that demands patient capital and a long-cycle vision.

The third profile is represented by experienced sector operators who use institutional partnerships to scale their theses. One Innovation, founded by Milton Goldfarb and Paulo Petrin in 2013, received investment from Singapore's sovereign wealth fund (GIC) since 2014 and maintains a partnership with XP Asset on five compact apartment projects in São Paulo, totaling 2,500 units, according to Metro Quadrado (April 2025). Goldfarb has consolidated a model that combines top-tier institutional capital with execution focused on high-demand niches.

The ability to attract partners such as GIC and XP Asset gives these operators a structural competitive advantage, expanding their land acquisition capacity and diluting concentration risks.

Which real estate segments concentrate these families' allocations?

The radar identifies four priority segments: logistics, planned communities, fractional ownership and high-end residential.

In the logistics segment, Sensatto Investimentos, Grupo Tavares de Melo's investment vehicle, maintains active operations in Brazil, complementing its international income asset strategy. The combination of a domestic land bank with commercial properties in mature markets like Miami reflects a currency and geographic hedging thesis that has become common among Brazilian wealth families.

Planned communities represent the most ambitious frontier of this capital migration. Prado Bairro-Cidade, by Carlos Bier Gerdau Johannpeter, exemplifies an approach that transcends traditional development by proposing a complete urban planning model. Located in Gravataí, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, the project is designed according to new urbanism principles, prioritizing mixed use, walkability and quality public spaces, according to Jornal Seguinte.

Mundo Planalto, led by José Roberto Nunes, follows a similar logic by developing Terra Santa Cidade do Lazer, transforming a farm into a planned community with six condominiums and a water park, according to data from the GRI Institute. The company also operates in the fractional ownership segment, which has significant scale in Brazil: there are 216 developments with potential General Sales Value (VGV) in the billions, according to a survey by Caio Calfat Real Estate published by Revista Kdea360 in October 2025.

The Brazilian fractional ownership market has reached a maturity level that attracts operators with execution capacity in established tourist destinations. The Hard Rock Residence Club Gramado, developed by Mundo Planalto in partnership with other investors, will feature 858 apartments, of which 758 under the fractional ownership model, with delivery projected for 2027, according to Panrotas.

In high-end residential, One Innovation is preparing a strategic shift. Milton Goldfarb's developer will launch its largest project in history in the luxury market, located in the Rebouças area of São Paulo, occupying an 8,000-square-meter plot, with plans for the first half of 2026, according to Exame. This move is enabled by the revision of São Paulo's Strategic Master Plan, which allowed the construction of taller buildings and densification along transportation corridors, stimulating both the compact apartment boom and luxury megaprojects in upscale neighborhoods.

One Innovation's transition from compact units to ultra-high-end signals that the studio cycle in São Paulo may be reaching a profitability plateau, leading sophisticated developers to reposition their theses.

The geographic bifurcation of theses

A clear pattern emerges in the territorial distribution of these allocations. While Milton Goldfarb and One Innovation concentrate operations in the São Paulo capital, leveraging the Master Plan's regulatory changes, the other groups operate predominantly outside major urban centers.

Carlos Bier Gerdau Johannpeter develops in Gravataí (RS). Mundo Planalto operates in Gramado (RS) and Goiás. Grupo Tavares de Melo, of Pernambuco origin, diversifies between domestic logistics and international assets in Miami. This geographic bifurcation is not coincidental: it reflects the perception that the largest land value appreciation spreads in the current cycle are in secondary markets, where land acquisition costs still allow attractive margins for large-scale projects.

Industrial families tend to operate with longer investment horizons than traditional developers, which positions them competitively in planned community and fractional ownership projects — segments that require five- to ten-year maturation periods.

What these moves indicate for 2026

The mapping reveals that the entry of industrial families into Brazilian real estate has shifted from isolated occurrences to a structural phenomenon. Three indicators support this reading.

First, the sophistication of the vehicles used. Sensatto Investimentos, JL Empreendedora and the One Innovation partnership with GIC and XP Asset demonstrate that these families are not simply buying properties but structuring operations with institutional governance.

Second, sectoral diversification. Logistics, fractional ownership, planned communities and urban luxury represent segments with distinct risk-return dynamics, suggesting professional advisory and careful portfolio analysis.

Third, the scale of projects in the pipeline. One Innovation's megaproject in Rebouças, the 858 apartments at Hard Rock Residence Club Gramado and Prado Bairro-Cidade in Gravataí are developments that require significant financial and operational capacity.

For the Brazilian real estate ecosystem, the growing presence of these industrial-origin capitals expands the equity base available to the sector and introduces an allocation discipline that prioritizes wealth preservation over short-term speculative returns. Sector leaders who participate in events organized by the GRI Institute have highlighted this phenomenon as one of the most relevant transformation vectors of the current cycle.

Industrial capital has arrived in real estate to stay, and its influence on the market's price, product and geographic dynamics will become increasingly decisive in the coming years.