Two foreign explorers, identified as 2swag and Urbex Ashton, recently entered Vila Franca Centro during the night, spending several hours inside the abandoned building. The two adventurers prepared food, water and a plan to enter around two in the morning, avoiding detection during the day in a building surrounded by people. They spent the night walking through dark corridors with flashlights, documenting on video the state of degradation of a shopping center that closed on October 31, 2013 and has been abandoned for almost 13 years.
The images reveal a deeply degraded space, with fallen ceilings, water infiltration, mold, pigeons that have taken over entire floors and droppings scattered throughout various areas. The explorers found remnants of closed shops, including a former optical store with equipment still inside, a Fuji Image Service with photographs scattered on the floor, posters of artists from the 2000s and restaurant menus with 2013 prices. In a former Western Union they found an exchange rate table dated October 31, 2013, precisely the day of the definitive closure, which they compared to a stopped clock on the last day of the shopping center's life.
The Valor Local edition also revisits the almost 13 years of abandonment and gathers the political positions for the future of the building. The mayor, Fernando Paulo Ferreira, believes the current term could bring a solution, pointing to progress by 2029, and notes that more than half of the units are concentrated in a single owner, which allowed for a condominium assembly to proceed with a technical survey. Councilman David Pato Ferreira, from Nova Geração, does not believe the problem will be resolved during this term and anticipates that it will be up to his party to find a solution from 2029 onwards, criticizing the lack of a concrete project. Chega, represented by Barreira Soares, advocates for private investment and accuses the Socialist executive of maintaining opacity in the process. CDU, through Cláudia Martins, insists on direct municipal intervention, proposing the centralization of public services and the opening of the 188 municipal parking spaces that remain closed.
