The western area was used by the Companhia de Entrepostos e Armazéns Gerais do Estado de São Paulo (Company of Warehouses and General Warehouses of the State of São Paulo, CEAGESP) for their garbage disposal, and around 80 families were scavenging for food and packaging there.

[1] The first studies to turn the area into a park were carried out in 1987 as part of the centenary of Heitor Villa-Lobos's birth.

State decrees allocated 732,000 square metres (7,880,000 sq ft) to create the park, dedicated to leisure, culture and sport.

The Departamento de Águas e Energia Elétrica (Department of Water and Electric Power, DAEE) started to clear the site in 1989, removing the families that were living there, and 500,000 cubic metres (18,000,000 cu ft) of debris that was larger than 1 metre (3.3 ft) diameter.

[1] In 2011 plans were announced to expand the park by 20% by incorporating a 123,000 square metres (1,320,000 sq ft) area currently used for the construction of Line 4 of the São Paulo Metro.