The first luxury hotel built in the federal capital will be demolished next Sunday morning (25), at 10 am.
Opened in 1973, Torre Palace operated in Brasília for 40 years, with 140 accommodations and 14 floors. The hotel had a four-star rating and was abandoned in 2013, after the children of the late owner, Lebanese businessman Jibran El-Hadj, entered into a dispute over the inheritance of the hotel.
Marcos Cumagai, member of the purchasing group, told CNN Brazil that the expectation is to build between 230 and 250 apartments, spread over 16 floors, in the new building.
“It is a product of between 230 and 250 apartments, large suites, with significant investment, prime areas and an international Michelin standard restaurant”, declared the businessman.
According to Cumagai, the goal is to open the new hotel within three years.
The implosion will be carried out by the company RVS Construções, but the new building has not yet had a defined contractor. According to Cumagai, international networks have presented proposals to manage the venture.
The implosion of the hotel will be coordinated by an integrated operation between the Public Security Secretariat (SSP) of the Federal District and the Civil Defense, in addition to other bodies of the Government of the Federal District (GDF).
The Brasília Tower Hotel, LET’s Idea Brasília Hotel and Nobile Suites Monumental, located within 100 meters of the building to be imploded, will be evacuated between 6am and 8am. Areas between 100 and 300 meters will have mandatory indoor stays from 8am.
In addition, there will be total road closures and removal of vehicles from 3pm on Saturday (24th), blockage of the N1 road from 6am on Sunday and the S1 road between 9:30am and the end of the implosion.
The Military Police of the Federal District (PMDF) will provide security and access control; the DF Military Fire Department (CBMDF), alerts and operational support; Detran-DF, blockades and removal of vehicles; Samu will act in medical emergencies; and Neoenergia and Caesb will carry out preventive power and water shutdowns.
The schedule foresees sound alerts at 9:57 am, 9:58 am and 10 am, with detonation shortly after, and gradual release of the perimeter from 10:30 am, if safety conditions are confirmed. The population should avoid the region, respect the closures and follow the authorities’ guidelines.
Unemployment
After abandonment, the hotel began to accumulate debts and became occupied by homeless people. In 2016, the PMDF (Military Police of the Federal District) carried out an operation to repossess the building.
The eviction took place in June of that year, after five days of negotiations between the occupants and the PMDF. According to the agency, the objective of the action was to comply with a court decision to repossess the property, ensuring the safety of the population occupying the space.
At the time, the operation included around 200 military police officers, including personnel from the Special Operations Battalion and the Shock Battalion, in addition to support from the Federal District Military Fire Department and other Federal District government bodies.
During the action, BOPE teams accessed the top of the building with the support of helicopters, while police officers from the Shock Battalion advanced along the internal stairs, removing improvised barricades.
The occupants offered resistance, throwing stones, tiles, chains and even gas cylinders at the police, in addition to setting fire to the upper part of the building using a stove and a gas cylinder.
Given the situation, the PMDF used controlled impact ammunition and moral effect devices, in accordance with operational protocols.
In total, 16 people were in the building, 12 adults and four children. The adults were taken to the Specialized Police Department of the Civil Police of the Federal District, where they were charged with crimes such as resistance, damage to property and attempted murder.
The eviction operation involved, in addition to the PMDF, several GDF bodies, such as the Civil Police, Detran-DF, Civil Defense, Health Surveillance, the Guardianship Council and government departments, in an integrated action.
