Romanian developer One United Properties has completed the structure of its One Herăstrău Towers mixed-use project, which will include 139 residential units, in addition to offices and commercial space on 5,055 sqm. The project is 85% pre-contracted ahead its completion planned before the end of the year.

Bucharest and the major university centres in Romania, such as Cluj-Napoca, Timişoara, Iaşi, Braşov or Craiova, are well-positioned to attract new business in the services sector, despite the Covid-19 pandemic that slowed down the transactional activity and led companies to work from home, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Opus Land Development, the developer of the Cosmopolis residential complex, completed the acquisition of a 15.6 ha piece of land located in the immediate vicinity of the project. Last year the developer purchased a 10 ha lot in the area.

Almost 70% of landlords and tenants in the office market believe that the COVID-19 epidemics will continue to affect their business throughout this whole year, with first signs of recovery being expected to start with 2021, according to a study conducted by Colliers International among 60 landlords and more than 100 tenants.

The state of emergency imposed by the current pandemic has led to the almost total vacancy of office spaces, within the context of many of the employees working from home. The landlords want to lower service charge levels for this period and continue to provide the necessary services to maintain the buildings in optimal conditions, according to a report by CBRE Romania.

Romanian residential developer One United Properties is moving ahead with three new projects in Bucharest.

Belgian real estate developer Liebrecht & wooD, continues the development of its second outlet centre on the Romanian market, in Cernica, near Bucharest, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, zf.ro reports.

The Poșta Puișor building in central Bucharest will be transformed into an office building by Forty Management & Investments, a company founded in 2015 by local investors Lucian Azoiței and Tudor Bădițescu, profit.ro has learnt.

CTP further expanded its portfolio in Romania and in the vicinity of Bucharest where it owns three properties: CTPark Bucharest West, CTPark Bucharest and CTPark Bucharest Chitila. The most recent 57,000 sqm purchase, Equest Logistic Park, is located near the capital, on the A1, at km 13. It was acquired for approximately €30 million from Forum Serdika, in the beginning of March 2020.

The Bucharest economy stands as one of the most insulated service centres in Europe to the negative fallout related to the COVID-19 outbreak. This is largely due to Bucharest’s heavy reliance on IT&C activities as well as scientific and professional services, on par with European capitals like Dublin, Paris and London.  That said, Romania’s high integration in global value chains means that it will face significant headwinds given negative developments in the global economy.