Property News

Iulius has signed a partnership with IFC, a World Bank member, to create a decarbonation strategy for the entire property portfolio
Iulius has signed a partnership with IFC, a World Bank member, to create a decarbonation strategy for the entire property portfolio 2048 1152 ROMANIA PROPERTY CLUB

17.03.2023

IULIUS has recently signed a partnership with IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, for the purpose of developing a strategy to decarbonize the entire portfolio of the company and achieve net-zero emissions. IFC will use the Green Pathways for Real Estate Institutional Portfolios (GRIP) platform to provide solutions for defining, implementing and financing the plans of IULIUS to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to reach CO2 neutrality as soon as possible. This would be the first such engagement in Romania.

IULIUS Palas, Iasi

IULIUS is consolidating its sustainability goals for the following years and has thus entered into a partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. IFC will use the GRIP platform to support the company in the process of putting together a plan of actions to help reduce the carbon footprint across the entire portfolio. “Buildings are responsible for a third of greenhouse gas emissions globally. Through this partnership, Iulius and IFC are helping to accelerate climate action in real-estate development”, said Ary Naim, Regional Manager for IFC in Central and Southeast Europe.

In fact, IULIUS has always built in an environmentally conscious manner and owns the only LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified nationwide shopping mall network in Romania. This adds to the Palas Iaşi and Iulius Town Timişoara mixed-use projects and the 15 office buildings in the United Business Center network in Iași, Timișoara and Cluj-Napoca, which are all green building certified. “We are particularly excited about this new partnership, which will help us take our sustainability strategy to the next level. The company has already undergone a comprehensive process of implementing high standards of energy efficiency, sustainable management of green spaces, outdoor surfaces and waste, and other sustainable solutions, as confirmed by the LEED certifications. However, we want to contribute even more to maintaining a healthy environment by reducing the carbon footprint in all eight of our projects,” said Dan Adrian Chelaru, Group Sustainability Officer IULIUS. 

Examples of certifications 

  • Palas Iași – the only LEED® Neighborhood Development certified project in Central and Eastern Europe
  • All 15 buildings in the United Business Center network are LEED® certified, of which UBC 0 (the most recent certification) and UBC 3 Timișoara are LEED® Platinum certified.

In addition to meeting the highest modern technical requirements, their implemented solutions, comfort and safety, the projects developed by IULIUS also benefit from hundreds of bike parking spaces, electric vehicle charging stations, excellent access to public transit, all of which helps reduce the use of personal vehicles and cuts pollution. They are also the only real estate projects in Romania to include urban gardens, which are initial investment upwards of € 17 million.

In 2021 IULIUS also obtained the first green loan granted by IFC to a Romanian company, in the amount of € 72 million for Palas Campus in Iaşi. The ample office project, set to open this spring, is also undergoing a dual green certification process: EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) by IFC and LEED by the US Green Building Council.

Impact announces delivery for the first phase of residential project in Constanta
Impact announces delivery for the first phase of residential project in Constanta 2000 1333 ROMANIA PROPERTY CLUB

07.03.2023

IMPACT Developer & Contractor has completed the first 209 apartments representing the first phase of the Boreal Plus residential compound in Constanta.

Boreal Plus, Constanta

The 209 apartments are located in three blocks and will be handed over to the new owners starting this month. At the same time, the developer also completed a 6-level parking building (S+P+4E) that includes 290 parking spaces. The building is equipped with electric car charging stations, two high-capacity elevators, and individual underground storage boxes . Boreal Plus thus becomes the first residential compound in Constanta with a multi-storey parking building, available for purchase by the residents.

The second development phase of the Boreal Plus compound in the north of Constanta will include 132 apartments, the entire project totaling 673 units with an estimated market value of over 84 million euro. The entire project also includes the construction of a private kindergarten, a park with playgrounds dedicated exclusively to residents, but also several commercial spaces.

IMPACT develops sustainable large-scale residential projects, getting involved in numerous social responsibility projects, for the benefit of the community. Thus, in December 2022, IMPACT completed the construction of a roundabout in Constanța city, located at the intersection between Tomis Boulevard and Amsterdam Street. The new roundabout improves road traffic both for the residents of the new Boreal Plus residential compound, as well as for those who live in the other neighborhoods located in the north of Constanta and for all those who transit the city towards Ovidiu and A2 highway, streamlining traffic and increasing safety on this section. The total investment in this public infrastructure project amounted to over 450,000 euro, the beneficiary being the National Road Infrastructure Administration Company (CNAIR) through the Constanta Regional Roads and Bridges Directorate.

WDP has budgeted investments of 80 million euros on the local market
WDP has budgeted investments of 80 million euros on the local market 1900 575 ROMANIA PROPERTY CLUB

06.02.2023

  • Craiova

The Belgian logistics space developer WDP, one of the largest logistics space developers present in Romania, will build a logistics center on an area of ​​6,200 square meters in the commune of Almaj in Dolj county, with an investment of 4.5 million euros. The building will function as a distribution center for the company Erkut, a supplier of the Ford car manufacturer, with a factory in Craiova.

WDP Warehouse

“The property is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2023. From that time, Erkut will enter into a seven-year lease,” WDP’s latest report said.

Another investment of WDP on the local market is the construction of a new warehouse in Timisoara, with an area of ​​33,000 square meters, which will be used both for storage and for production by a technology company. The investment for this project rises to 32 million euros.

In Slatina, WDP wants to expand an already existing project by over 48,000 square meters, with an investment of 36 million euros, by the third quarter of the year, and in Sibiu, it wants to expand the space occupied by Siemens by over 8,700 square meters based on a ten-year contract.

This development would be ready in the first quarter of 2024 and involves an investment of 6 million euros. In total, the investments planned by the Belgian group for Romania at the beginning of 2023 rise to 78.5 million euros.

Iulius opens second Family Market in Iasi, following a total investment of € 24 million
Iulius opens second Family Market in Iasi, following a total investment of € 24 million 1548 871 ROMANIA PROPERTY CLUB

09.12.2022

IULIUS inaugurated the second Family Market project, in the Bucium neighborhood of Iași. The proximity retail project brings services and products needed on a daily basis to the residential area that has seen constant development in recent years. McDonald’s Drive Thru, Auchan supermarket, Sinsay and 23 other local and national entrepreneurs provide the customized mix of products and services resulting from community consultation.

IULIUS Family Market – Bucium, Iasi

This year, IULIUS inaugurated two Family Market projects in Iași: the first in Miroslava commune, last summer, and now the one in the Bucium neighborhood. “It is an investment of 12 million euros and we have a retail area of 5,500 square meters, in which we have brought together 26 brands, which have created over 180 new jobs”, says Radu Pârlea, Shopping Center Manager Family Market. “Most are local and national, with fresh and healthy products, from florists, groceries, pastry shops, restaurants, to auto parts, barbershops and services that you need on a daily basis. The concept is designed to respond to the public’s interest in local consumption”.

The new project integrates a McDonald’s restaurant, the second location of the brand with Drive-Thru service and the fourth in the city of Iasi. The restaurant integrates the latest technologies, being equipped with digital screens for displaying menus, kiosks for ordering products. The anchor of the project is Auchan supermarket, a large format concept of more than 2,000 sqm, where customers can find more than 11,000 items on the shelves. The shopping offer is completed by: Sinsay, La Bottega, La Ciambella, Kosarom, Spartan, Fusion To Go (sushi), Dolciano, Dulcinella and Teo`s Café.

Tarom wants to “open” Brasov-Ghimbav International Airport
Tarom wants to “open” Brasov-Ghimbav International Airport 800 600 ROMANIA PROPERTY CLUB

15.11.2022

The first commercial aircraft that will land on the runway of the new airport in Brașov will be a Romanian one, belonging to TAROM”, said Mihăiță Ursu, general director CEO of TAROM, during the discussions held on Monday with Adrian Veștea, the president of the Brașov County Council, and with Alexandru Anghel, the general director of Brașov-Ghimbav International Airport.

The consolidated schedule of activities regarding the opening of the Braşov-Ghimbav International Airport, agreed by the Braşov County Council, together with ROMATSA and the Romanian Civil Aviation Authority, provides that the airport will be operational in mid-June next year.

At Monday’s meeting at the Tarom headquarters, it was agreed to identify sustainable options for TAROM to be able to operate flights between Bucharest and Brasov, which could be possible at the end of next year at the earliest.

“TAROM carefully follows the market and once again proves to be a reliable partner of Romanians and beyond. We can discuss the operation of flights between Bucharest and Brașov and return, this only if the infrastructure of the future airport will allow it, emphasizing the conditionality that between the airport and the center of Brașov there should be, on a regular basis, integrated passenger transport services, but also the availability of services of the rent-a-car type for future passengers”, added the CEO of TAROM.

With an investment of 40 million euros, Continental opens a megafactory in Timisoara
With an investment of 40 million euros, Continental opens a megafactory in Timisoara 770 512 ROMANIA PROPERTY CLUB

11.11.2022

Continental has completed the construction of the third expansion of the electronic components factory in Timișoara, with an investment of approximately 40 million euros.

With the new investment, the production area will increase by more than 7,000 square meters, which means an increase of more than 60% of the space (about 18,000 square meters will be reached for production). Parking spaces, a technical area, offices and a green area were also added.

“What used to mean horsepower under the hood is now user experience. To meet the growing demand of our customers, we must pursue the most developed digitization, standardization and automation possible – and that is exactly what we are doing with our new mega factories strategy”, said Lucian Mărgineanu, the director of the automotive production unit in Timișoara. “Continuing the implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies represents another leap into the future. The digitization of production processes, as well as the use of state-of-the-art equipment, means another step in guaranteeing the quality of our products and services. Therefore, in the electronic components factory in Timișoara, we are focusing on a sustainable future”, he added.

Continental makes more than 17 million products a year in Timișoara

The electronic components factory in Timișoara produces over 17 million products annually. Airbag control units, electronic parking systems, control units for various technologies such as air suspension, power steering, suspension adjustment and dynamic load stabilization, Head-Up and Head-Up Combiner display units and on-board instruments are manufactured here. Over time, the factory developed in the direction of Industry 4.0, integrating equipment and technologies such as the innovative storage system, the trigeneration system and others.

Over 17,500 employees in Romania

The technology company founded in 1871 provides safe, efficient, intelligent and affordable solutions for cars, machinery, traffic and transportation. Continental achieved a turnover of 33.8 billion euros in 2021 and currently has more than 190,000 employees in 58 countries and markets. On October 8, 2021, the company celebrated its 150th anniversary.

Between 1999 and 2021, Continental invested over 2 billion euros in its activities in Romania. All three fields of activity of the company are represented in Romania. Continental owns six production units and four engineering centers in Timișoara, Sibiu, Carei, Nădab and Iasi. The company has a tire distribution center in Bucharest. At the end of 2021, Continental had more than 17,500 employees, of which more than a third were engineers and computer scientists, and will continue to hire based on future projects.

CERTION completes VOGH Olimp project, less than two years after the works started
CERTION completes VOGH Olimp project, less than two years after the works started 1536 864 ROMANIA PROPERTY CLUB

08.11.2022

The real estate developer CERTION announces the completion of VOGH project, the first brand residences operated as a hotel in Olimp, less than two years after the start of the works. Thus, the company is preparing to start the reception process and then the delivery of the apartments to customers, with the project to be opened to guests in the first part of next year.

Located and developed in Olimp resort, which is in full transformation through investments of over 700 million euros until 2025, the 12-storey complex totals 173 apartments, out of which 85% have already been sold, with a total value of 57.6 million

“The successful completion of VOGH Olimp complex, despite the less favorable context of the last two years, confirms our ability to fulfill our promises to our investors and customers. For the entire team, delivery to the promised standard and on time was the main objective during this period,” said Cătălin Scripcaru, CEO of CERTION.

Among the main facilities available to guests and residents of VOGH Olimp is the spectacular infinity pool on the 11th floor overlooking the sea, unique on the Romanian coast. Added to that is the unique CIGAR BAR on the same floor plus a chic SPA area. The property benefits from hotel services specific to authentic brand residences.

The hotel custodian of VOGH Olimp is Loyal Paladin company, which will operate the largest alliance of branded residences in Romania, with a portfolio that will include approximately 2,000 accommodations until 2026.

The chain of brand residences operated by Loyal Paladin and developed by CERTION in the South of the Romanian coast, includes 5 projects, of which VOGH Olimp is the first completed. GALILEO Olimp Resort & Residences is also in an advanced stage of execution, whose construction was started at the end of 2021 and whose delivery is estimated in the second half of next year. The other three CERTION projects in the South of the Romanian coast, LAGO, SOLANTIS in Neptun and PHAROS in Olimp are in the authorization stage.

E.ON Business Services Cluj moves its headquarters to Record Park after one of the largest rental transactions outside Bucharest
E.ON Business Services Cluj moves its headquarters to Record Park after one of the largest rental transactions outside Bucharest 770 584 ROMANIA PROPERTY CLUB

03.11.2022

E.ON Business Services Cluj, the accounting services division of the German group E.ON, moves its offices to the Record Park project in Cluj-Napoca, where it has leased 3,500 square meters, one of the largest areas traded so far by a company outside Bucharest.

E.ON Business Services was established in Cluj-Napoca in 2012, with the aim of delivering financial and accounting services to internal clients of the E.ON Group worldwide. The company reached 600 employees and a turnover of over 20 million euros in 2021. The company’s offices are moved from Amera Tower, an office building developed by investors Ádám and Enikő Ambrus, on two consecutive floors in Record Park, project which offers a total of 15,000 square meters of office space and 236 apartments. E.ON has leased almost a quarter of Record Park Offices, a project delivered in 2020 that also houses the headquarters of MHP Consulting Romania, a subsidiary of Porsche AG, and that of the American insurance company MassMutual.

The Record Park Offices building is owned by AYA Properties Fund, a Belgian real estate investment fund. At the beginning of this year, Speedwell sold Record Park Offices in Cluj-Napoca to the Belgian investment fund AYA Properties Fund for 35 million euros. There is limited shareholder overlap between Speedwell and AYA Properties Fund.

Last year, Speedwell announced that it had invested around 90 million euros on the Romanian market, the equivalent of some projects with a value of around 400 million euros, and that it aims to place an additional capital of 90 million euros with the aim of doubling the portfolio in the next 4 years. The company’s expansion plans are secured by an investment fund launched in 2019 and in which several wealthy Belgian families have investments.

Top cities that attracted the most office tenants in the third quarter of 2022
Top cities that attracted the most office tenants in the third quarter of 2022 420 250 ROMANIA PROPERTY CLUB

03.11.2022

Across the country, in the last three months, companies have leased modern offices with a total area of 108,747 sqm, both new offices and contract extensions, up 9% from the same quarter of 2021, according to an analysis by Fortim Trusted Advisors, an alliance member of the BNP Paribas Real Estate.

At the country level, large cities have an increasing share in the total number of office rentals, to the detriment of the capital. In Bucharest, contracts were rented, pre-rented and extended for a total office area of about 75,700 sqm, while in Iasi of 11,355 sqm, in Cluj-Napoca of 9,293 sqm and in Timisoara of 6,415 sqm.

“Office segments in cities such as Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Timisoara are developing, but more cautiously. Investors only move from one stage of the projects to another after making sure that there is a current demand. Until now, regional markets have attracted more and more large demand, from multinational companies, which have seen an opportunity in the well-trained workforce, in regional universities and which are now expanding easily from one city to another, depending on the availability of quality office spaces”, says Nicolae Ciobanu, Managing Partner – Head of Advisory Fortim Trusted Advisors, an alliance member of the BNP Paribas Real Estate.

Among the large office tenants who have chosen another city, besides Bucharest, there are also Accenture (in Cluj-Napoca), Linde Global Services, Hella (in Iasi), Tech Mahindra (in Timisoara), Expleo (Iasi).

In the third quarter of 2022, Accenture rented an office space in the Hexagon Offices building in Cluj-Napoca, Linde Global Services pre-leased in the UBC 0 building, from the Iulius Town Timisoara project, and Preh Romania, Hella and Expleo pre-leased in the Palas Campus project.

The new office buildings in the primary and secondary cities of Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Timisoara, Brasov and Craiova have the same high-quality standards A and the same types of facilities for employees (retail areas, services, common spaces for socialization, green certifications), as those in Bucharest.

In addition, in primary and secondary cities, other premium office projects are in development, which will ensure constant deliveries of new offices over the next two to three years.

German company Infineon Technologies AG opened an R&D center in IULIUS Group’s Palas Iasi complex
German company Infineon Technologies AG opened an R&D center in IULIUS Group’s Palas Iasi complex 420 250 ROMANIA PROPERTY CLUB

12.10.2022

German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies AG is growing its presence in Romania by opening an office in Iași, located in the Palas mixed-use complex, an investment by IULIUS Group. The new research and development center will initially occupy a 600 sqm area, and will expand in the future. Infineon engineers working here create semiconductor solutions for the automotive industry.

The company currently operates an R&D center in Bucharest and is expanding its business to Iași, by opening an office in the United Business Center 3 office building in the Palas mixed-use complex.

“We are glad that Infineon Technologies decided to join the business community in Palas Iași, an established regional center for major tech companies that create essential solutions for a better life. Iași has grown a lot in the last 10 years and is on the radar of big companies in the most dynamic sectors of the economy, being an attractive city in terms of investments, competing not only with Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara, but also with other similar European cities,” said Ionuț Pavel, Office buildings Manager Palas Iași & Palas Campus.

The new center will accommodate specialists in the development of semiconductor solutions for safer, greener and smarter cars. The office has an initial area of 600 sqm and the company plans to expand in the future.

Infineon Technologies entered the local market in 2005, when it opened a research and development (R&D) center in Bucharest and has grown to over 500 engineers in Romania.

Infineon Technologies AG is a world leader in semiconductor solutions that make life easier, safer and greener. Microelectronics from Infineon are the key to a better future. With around 50,280 employees worldwide, Infineon generated revenue of about €11.1 billion in the 2021 fiscal year (ending 30 September 2021).

The United Business Center premium office space network developed by IULIUS Group includes 14 class A office buildings, with a total area upwards of 182,000 sqm, located in the urban regeneration projects in Iași (7 buildings – 75,600 sqm), Timișoara (4 buildings – 80,000 sqm) and Cluj-Napoca (3 buildings -26,200 sqm). All the buildings are designed, built and operated in an environmentally friendly and people friendly manner, so they are all either certified or pending certification in line with the LEED international sustainability standard developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

In Iași, the business community formed in the Palas complex has grown steadily, attracted by the young and talented workforce generated by the university center and the modern office infrastructure provided by IULIUS. The interest of the business environment in the Group’s projects was the cornerstone for developing the new Palas Campus project nearby the Palas mixed-use complex. Palas Campus is the largest A class office building in Romania, with a gross leasable area upwards of 60,000 sqm; it is set to open early next year and is already fully leased.

© Romania Property Club, 2023 — All rights reserved.

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