Didier Balcaen, CEO of Speedwell talked to Property Forum about the company’s development plans for 2021, the value of mixed-use projects and shared his long-term expectations for the Romanian property market.

Romania has one of the smallest private rental sectors (PRS) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and the domestic market counts a little over 1,000 residential units in construction or planned, according to a report by Colliers in collaboration with Greenberg Traurig and Kinstellar. 

Speedwell, in cooperation with Belgian partner LCV, launches SpacePlus, its first project on the industrial market. SpacePlus comes with units for light industrial and/or logistical usage, addressing corporate tenants that are searching for standardized storage or production units, flexibility in configuration and various additional services/features. The first location is in north-western Bucharest, with direct access from the ring road and close to the exit towards the A1 highway on the one hand, and easy access to and from the city centre of Bucharest via Sos. Chitilei or Blvd. Iuliu Maniu, on the other.

Evergent Investments, a public alternative investment fund, has purchased a land plot of 16,000 sqm in northern Bucharest, for an undisclosed sum. 

The hotel sector in Romania in on the recovery path following the steep drop in demand recorded in 2020 due to lockdown measures designed to contain the pandemic. Despite the health crisis, few projects have been abandoned, while deliveries of new hotels were delayed or postponed. 

Romanian developer One United Properties has acquired a new land of 23,350 sqm in the second district of Bucharest, one week after closing a separate land deal in the city. 

Spanish-based developer Gran Via has appointed Antoanela Comșa as the new President of its Romanian operations. She is replacing Jose Aguinaga, who will remain the main shareholder of the company.

The most popular cryptocurrency in the world is one of the eligible payment options for a luxurious penthouse in Bucharest, in the latest venture of real estate consultancies in the digital field.

Three land plots with a surface of around 250,000 sqm, located on the grounds of the former Chimopar industrial platform in western Bucharest, will be tendered in mid-July. 

Romanian real estate developer One United Properties has purchased a land plot of 21,165 sqm in Bucharest from a member company of Țiriac Group in a deal worth €15 million.