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Havan built an R$ 80 million megastore in half-timbered style on the site of the former Aderbal Ramos da Silva Stadium in Blumenau, moving Oscar Jenichen Street by 90 meters and redesigning Alameda Duque de Caxias with an exclusive bus lane in the Historic Center of the Vale do Itajaí.
Havan transformed one of Blumenau’s most emblematic plots into what promises to be one of the largest retail operations in the city’s Historic Center. The former Aderbal Ramos da Silva Stadium, which for decades hosted games of the Blumenau Esporte Clube (BEC) with a capacity for about 4,000 people between the 1970s and 2000s, was demolished in 2007 and the land remained underutilized until it was acquired by the retail chain for a million-dollar value, giving rise to a Havan enterprise estimated at R$ 80 million that goes far beyond a store: it redesigned streets, altered the road system, and changed the urban dynamics of one of the most traditional neighborhoods in the Santa Catarina city. Businessman Luciano Hang stated that “this place was abandoned” when referring to the space where the structure was erected.
The Havan megastore in Blumenau differs from the visual standard that the chain repeats in hundreds of units across Brazil. Instead of the conventional facade with a replica of the Statue of Liberty, the store adopted half-timbered architecture, referencing the city’s German heritage and adapting to the urban planning requirements of the Historic Center that would not allow construction outside the region’s architectural standard. The aesthetic adaptation is rare for Havan and demonstrates that the project prioritized integration with the surroundings instead of imposing the brand’s standardized visual identity, a decision that Hang himself publicly acknowledged by stating that the chain “adapted its aesthetics” to the Blumenau context.
How Havan moved streets to fit the megastore in the Historic Center
The road alterations necessary to accommodate Havan’s enterprise redefined the circulation of the entire region. The main change was the relocation of Oscar Jenichen Street by about 90 meters to integrate the former stadium’s land into the megastore complex, an intervention that required a complete redesign of the road with three lanes, two for left turns and one for those going right, a configuration designed to organize the flow and reduce conflict points in traffic. The return that previously provided direct access to Oscar Jenichen was moved approximately 200 meters ahead, a change that requires adaptation from drivers circulating in the area.
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Alameda Duque de Caxias, the traditional Rua das Palmeiras, was also reconfigured. The road gained three lanes including an exclusive bus corridor, prioritizing public transport that Havan and the city hall present as a mobility counterpart for the region that will start receiving a significant volume of consumers and vehicles. Alwin Schrader Street was expanded and began to operate in a dual direction over a larger stretch, allowing the bypass of the new block formed by the urban redesign. Part of the former Oscar Jenichen layout was maintained exclusively for pedestrians and cyclists, ensuring safe passage amid the transformations Havan caused in the surroundings.
What was the Aderbal Ramos da Silva Stadium before Havan’s arrival
The land where Havan erected the megastore carries a history that goes beyond concrete. The Aderbal Ramos da Silva Stadium was the stage for Blumenau football for decades, hosting BEC matches on Alameda Duque de Caxias at a time when the sport was a central part of the city’s social life. With a capacity for about 4,000 fans, the stadium reached its peak between the 1970s and 2000s, a period when the stands were filled with crowds watching regional games in a setting that mixed sports tradition with community identity.
The demolition in 2007 ended the sporting function of the space, but did not generate immediate alternative use. The land remained underutilized for years, accumulating weeds and deterioration that contrasted with its privileged location in the Historic Center, until Havan saw an opportunity in the space to install a large-scale operation in one of the city’s highest circulation areas. The transition from stadium to megastore is the type of urban transformation that generates both enthusiasm for the revitalization of an abandoned area and nostalgia for the loss of a landmark that was part of the collective memory of generations of Blumenau residents.
What Havan’s megastore with half-timbered architecture means for Blumenau
The choice of the half-timbered style for Havan’s megastore is not just an aesthetic concession: it is a strategy that links the enterprise to Blumenau’s cultural identity. The Germanic-inspired architecture that characterizes the city’s Historic Center is a visual heritage protected by local urban planning legislation, and Havan had to adapt its project to obtain approval from municipal authorities, a process that resulted in a store unlike any other unit of the chain in Brazil. The result is an enterprise that dialogues with its surroundings instead of imposing itself on them, an approach that can serve as a model for future Havan units in cities with protected architectural heritage.
In practice, the “before and after” of the region shows a transformation that goes beyond the landscape. The area that once gathered fans on football afternoons will now concentrate a flow of consumers and vehicles, with integrated parking and a redesigned road system to absorb the additional traffic that Havan’s operation will generate. For the commerce of the Historic Center, the arrival of a megastore with an R$80 million investment represents both an opportunity, due to the increased circulation of people in the region, and a challenge, due to the competition that a retailer of this size imposes on smaller shopkeepers operating nearby.
The impact of Havan on traffic and the daily lives of Blumenau residents
The road changes promoted by Havan are already affecting the routine of drivers, pedestrians, and public transport users even before the inauguration. Those who circulated along Oscar Jenichen, Alameda Duque de Caxias, or Alwin Schrader need to adapt to routes that did not exist before and to traffic directions that were altered to accommodate the enterprise. The city hall states that the changes were defined based on technical urban mobility studies focused on improving flow and safety, but any large-scale road reconfiguration requires an adaptation period during which congestion and confusion are expected.
Havan and the municipal administration expect the new road system to function better than the previous one once drivers internalize the changes. The exclusive bus lane on Alameda Duque de Caxias is a mobility improvement that benefits public transport passengers regardless of one’s opinion about the megastore, and the additional lanes on the redesigned roads increase traffic capacity that the region will need to absorb the movement that Havan will bring. Blumenau’s Historic Center will never be the same, and the R$80 million half-timbered megastore is the landmark that divides the before and after.
And you, do you think Havan enhanced or disfigured Blumenau’s Historic Center? Do you miss the stadium? Leave your opinion in the comments.
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