IULIUS and Atterbury Europe have started construction on RIVUS Cluj-Napoca

RIVUS Cluj-Napoca, the project developed by IULIUS and Atterbury Europe, is entering the implementation phase. With an investment estimated upwards of half-billion Euro, this is the most extensive real-estate development underway in Romania. RIVUS Cluj-Napoca entails the reconversion of an underutilized former industrial platform into an integrated mixed-use complex, open to the community and focusing on cultural, green, office, retail and entertainment uses.

Last year, this project was the beneficiary of the largest financing contract granted to a real-estate development in Romania, in the amount of EUR 400 million. Structured as a syndicated green loan between Erste Bank (Lead Arranger), BCR, EBRD and BRD, the financing is conditional upon the achievement and maintenance of the highest international sustainability standards (LEED Platinum and EDGE Advanced) and covers the entire investment cycle, from development and operation to refinancing. The concept for this project was developed in collaboration with the international architecture firm UNStudio.

“RIVUS was designed as a mixed-use project, navigating around three essential directions: nature, culture, and family-oriented entertainment solutions. The project will give back to the city what has been previously a publicly inaccessible area, integrating it naturally in the urban structure and routes of Cluj City. The concept being tailored to the residents’ expectations and to the needs and development goals of the city, as well as the expertise and partnerships consolidated by IULIUS during its 25 years of business operation in the market, are the main aspects that gained the trust of our lenders and partners in this project. We are building a landmark project for the Romanian real-estate market, that draws significant interest from retailers, as evidenced by our lease occupancy ratio that is already upwards of 70%, which to us is a clear indicator of market confidence in the concept and its long-term potential. We are confident that RIVUS Cluj-Napoca will be a landmark for urban regeneration nationwide and beyond, a complex with an identity of its own, built together with and for the community, designed to be an active part of the city, and steadfastly focused on the future,” said Sorin Guttman, RIVUS project Manager.