History of Parque Augusta

• Decade of 1970: the legal dispute over the park area begins.
• 2004: Conpresp designates the grove as protected heritage, through Resolution 23/2004.
• December 23, 2013: Law 15.941 authorizes the city to create the Parque Municipal Augusta.
• 2017 to early 2019: SVMA prepares the Preliminary Study for the park.
• August 10, 2018: the city signs the agreement that allows the park to be created.
• September 2018: the court approves the agreement.
• April 6, 2019: the city signs the deed of donation for the land.
• 2019: construction begins.
• July 2020: construction stops at the request of Iphan, for archaeological research.
• September 15, 2021: Law 17.639 gives the park the name Parque Augusta – Prefeito Bruno Covas.
• November 6, 2021: the city opens the park.
• August 23, 2022: Portaria SVMA 50 establishes the park’s Rules of Use.

Law 15.941 came from Bill 345/06. The law places the park where Rua Augusta, Rua Caio Prado and Rua Marquês de Paranaguá meet. The law ties the park to physical activity, environmental education and the preservation of São Paulo’s memory.

The land belonged to the companies Albatroz and Flamingo, owned by Cyrela and Setin. On August 10, 2018, the city signed the agreement. The agreement ended a legal dispute that started in the decade of 1970. Before the deal, the future of the land depended on the courts.

A court approved the agreement in September 2018. The parties were the city, the public prosecutor’s office and the companies. The agreement set out the construction of the park. The developers Setin and Cyrela invested about R$ 11 million, according to the city.

On April 6, 2019, the city received the land as a donation.

Between 2017 and early 2019, SVMA prepared the Preliminary Study for the park. The study started from 4 proposals by civil society groups and local residents. SVMA combined the ideas of the 4 proposals into a single design, the Synthesis Project. The park’s rules state that the park came from the mobilization of organized civil society.

Construction began in 2019. The National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) halted the work. Iphan saw archaeological potential in the area. The hypothesis was the presence of traces of early Indigenous peoples.

An archaeological survey found no pre-colonial traces. The survey found fine earthenware, ceramics, glass and construction materials from the turn of the 20th century.

The Conselho Municipal de Preservação do Patrimônio Histórico, the city council for heritage protection, listed the grove through Resolution 23/2004. Its short name is Conpresp, the name used in the rest of this page. Municipal Law 10.365/1987 classifies the grove as a permanent preservation area. State Decree 30.443/1989 protects the park’s trees.

The protected heritage includes the vegetation of the grove and the portal on Rua Caio Prado. Protected heritage also covers the building that remains from the old Colégio Des Oiseaux. The park’s construction restored the Casa das Araras and the Portal.

Law 17.639, of September 15, 2021, gave the park the name Parque Augusta – Prefeito Bruno Covas. Mayor Bruno Covas took part in the signing of the land transfer agreement, on April 6, 2019.