All posts by tudor@cijeurope.com.

Two Romanian entrepreneurs develop luxury residential project in Pipera

Entrepreneurs Valentin Herea and Sorin Istrate are preparing their entry into the luxury residential market with a project located on Erou Iancu Nicolae Street in Pipera.

After leaving the Contexpert business, Sorin Istrate founded NDSA Group, with the aim of developing luxury residential projects in Bucharest. NDSA Group entered into a partnership with Romcity Property, a company owned by Valentin Herea, and together they joined two plots of land with villas on them, located next to the Lidl store on Erou Iancu Nicolae Street. The investors’ plan is to demolish the existing buildings, to free up the land of about 4,000 square meters, and to build in its place two other buildings with two basements, a ground floor and 3 floors, which will group 46 luxury apartments with average areas of over 130 square meters, not including balconies.

The apartments will be distributed 6 on each floor of the two buildings, plus 5 on the ground floor. 127 parking spaces will be arranged in the basements of the buildings. The investment value in this project was estimated at EUR 4.6 million.

Source: Profit.ro

Bucharest will have a new metro line

The Ministry of Transport has approved a new metro line, the extension of the M4 between Gara de Nord and Gara Progresul.

According to an announcement by the Minister of Transport, Irinel Ionel Scriosteanu, the new section will be 11.94 km long. The new line will also have an above-ground depot at Progresul, as well as 13 new metro stations: Ştirbei Vodă, Bogdan Petriceicu Haşdeu, Uranus, George Rozorea, Chirigiu, Filaret, Eroii Revoluţiei 2, George Bacovia, Toporaşi, Nicolae Cajal, Luică, Giurgiului, Progresul.

The connection with the existing Main Line will be made at Gara de Nord 2 Station by continuing the axes of the Line 1 and Line 2 tracks.
The total value of the investment is EUR 3.43 billion (including VAT), and the source of financing is provided from non-reimbursable European funds, the state budget and other legally established sources of financing.

The duration of the investment is 50 months, i.e. 4 years.

Dutch retailer Action opens stores in the Capital and Cluj

Action, one of the largest European discount retailers, continues its expansion and enters the Romanian market with new stores in Bucharest and Cluj. The company is now in the process of recruiting employees for these units.

Action has a portfolio of over 6,000 products in 14 different categories. Their range includes everyday essentials, such as cleaning and sanitary products, but also other types of useful items. A distinctive aspect is the price: more than two-thirds of Action’s products cost under 2 euros.

Founded 30 years ago in Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, Action has expanded rapidly, becoming one of the largest non-food discounters in Europe. The retailer has over 2,600 stores in 12 countries and over 72,000 employees from 159 nationalities.

Ovidiu Budeanu in talks with Carrefour to take over Supeco Bacău land

Entrepreneur Ovidiu Budeanu is discussing with French retailer Carrefour the conditions under which he will take over the Supeco Bacău land in exchange for a space inside the strip mall that will be built in the expansion of the Arena Mall shopping center and where a Carrefour Market with a sales area of about 2,000 square meters can be set up.

“We are in talks with Carrefour to offer them a space of about 2,000 square meters in the future strip mall area for a modern supermarket. In return, they will give us the land that Supeco currently operates on and which we intend to use for a future expansion of Arena Mall,” said Ovidiu Budeanu.

Ovidiu Budeanu is now working on expanding the Arena Mall area, for which he has set the inauguration date for March 2026. In addition, he will build a strip mall and a 4-star hotel affiliated with the Mercure network on top of it, both with a completion date of the last quarter of 2026. As part of the expansion works, a 1,000-space parking lot has already been arranged, and at the end of February, the first block with 90 apartments in the 3 buildings designed to complete the commercial area is planned to begin construction.

Source: Profit.ro

Herc Gradnja acquires Igalo hotel for EUR 11.3 million

Montenegrin company Herc Gradnja has bought the Adriatic hotel Igalo for EUR 11.325 million at the second auction for the hotel’s sale. The purchase price is below the starting price of 18.85 million euro at the first auction that failed to attract any buyers in January.

“We are going to pay the full amount in 15 days,” said the owner of Herceg Novi-based Herc Gradnja, Bratislav Pidzula. He said that, depending on administrative procedures, he hopes to launch a planned investment within a year.

So far, hotel Igalo belonged to troubled local hotel operator Vektra Boka. Its sale was organised by a public bailiff with the aim of allocating the proceeds to settle creditor claims. If Vektra Boka enters bankruptcy, domestic lender CKB would be the first, and perhaps the only creditor to have its claims settled as the sale of the company’s assets would not raise enough money to cover all claims.

Paragon prepares a new factory in Romania

The Irish-origin Paragon group, specialized in the production of printing materials, wants to build a new factory in Romania, one third larger than the one it has in operation in Otopeni.

Paragon has been present in Romania for 20 years and has a printing house in Otopeni in a hall with a floor area of approximately 4,900 square meters. With over 200 employees in Romania, the company achieved a turnover of 11.2 million euros in 2023. Now, the corporation is planning to develop a new factory, on a land with an area of 19,436 square meters in Buftea. Paragon’s intention is to build a production hall with a built area of approximately 6,500 square meters and an unfolded area of approximately 7,600 square meters, which will also include storage spaces, an administrative area and a technical area.

The property is adjacent to the Eli Park 1 logistics park built by Ionuț Dumitrescu, together with Dragoș and Adrian Pavăl, the owners of Dedeman, and sold in 2021 to the South Africans from Fortress.

Source: Profit.ro

Stirbei Palace could reopen in the fall, with luxury stores

Hagag Development Europe, the owner of the Stirbei Palace on Calea Victoriei, began the consolidation and renovation works of the Stirbei Palace in October 2023, and is currently heading towards completing the works and hopes to open the famous historical monument on Calea Victoriei to the public, in a “department store” format, with shops, but also a restaurant.

“We are advancing with the works and are getting closer to completion. In an optimistic scenario, we hope to invite Bucharest residents to come shop on Calea Victoriei in H Ştirbei Palace in September,” said Andreea Dumitru, Chief Marketing Officer, at Hagag Development Europe.

According to Andreea Dumitru, upon completion of the works, the new shopping and relaxation destination on Calea Victoriei will offer 4,000 square meters of commercial space, which will be occupied by premium and luxury brands, and the company hopes to soon finalize negotiations to bring in a restaurant operator. About 75% of the commercial space is already pre-leased.

In terms of the investment value, the developer has stayed within the initially allocated budget of 20 million euros. The general contractor carrying out the works is the Romanian company BTDConstruct & Ambient.

Gara de Nord is to be modernized

CFR Infrastructură signed the contract for the “Modernization/consolidation/rehabilitation of the Gara de Nord Bucharest railway station – phase I” last year.

The duration of the contract is 116 months, of which:
– 55 months of design and execution of works, respectively 9 months of design and 46 months of execution of works,
– 1 month for verification and approval for payment of the works and tests upon completion
– 60 months of warranty period.

The winning bid, submitted by the association of Romanian companies SC GDO MOV IMPEX SRL – SC OMEGA CERT SISTEM SRL, is worth RON 419.85 million, excluding VAT.

PHASE I of the MODERNIZATION program of the largest railway station in Romania – GARA DE NORTH BUCHAREST – includes the rehabilitation of the existing spaces in the three buildings of the building, where railway activity is carried out, services for the traveling public and commercial activities are provided.

Source: economica.net

MAS Real Estate to complete the acquisition of malls in Pitești, Alba Iulia and Iași

South African real estate company MAS PLC could take over a portfolio of malls from its partner, Prime Kapital, by early March.

This transaction will give MAS Real Estate control of Carolina Mall in Alba Iulia, Argeș Mall in Pitesti and Mall Moldova, which is currently in an expansion process and will be completed in spring next year, as well as extensions under development and Moldova Mall phase I, the Silk District offices in Iași and retail spaces within the Marmura residential project in Bucharest.

The acquisition of PK’s stake in PKM Development will increase MAS Real Estate’s mall portfolio in Romania by 178 million euros to over one billion euros.

In 2022, MAS Real Estate bought a portfolio of six shopping centers from Prime Kapital for 320 million euros.
Source: economica.net

Andac Urban Construct develops premium boutique project in the Iancu Nicolae area

A new premium boutique project kicks off in one of the most exclusive areas of the capital, Iancu Nicolae. Arkor Boutique Residence, constructed by Andac Urban Construct SRL and designed by KXL Studio, includes 14 spacious 4 and 5 bedroom apartments. With an estimated completion date of December 2025, construction has already reached the 3rd floor level, marking a significant step forward in the development.

Crosspoint Real Estate is the exclusive agent of the project.

“We are proud to have in our portfolio Arkor Boutique Residence, a project that raises the standards of premium living in Bucharest. Its boutique concept, small number of apartments and attention to detail make it an ideal choice for those looking for not just a home, but an authentic and exclusive lifestyle,” said Oana Popescu, Head of Residential at Crosspoint Real Estate.

The building has a smart home system, a ventilated facade covered with Dekton ceramics, and thermal insulation with 15 cm thick mineral fiber, offering high energy efficiency. The project also includes an underground parking lot with a degivated ramp, and the use of photovoltaic panels helps optimize energy consumption.

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