Corinthia Hotels is set to expand its five-star hotel portfolio with the opening of a new luxury property in Bucharest, Romania. Located in the heart of the capital, the former Grand Hotel du Boulevard will open its doors again in December 2019, to coincide with Romania’s National Day.

Alesonor, a Greek-held property development company, plans to invest €100 million in an energy-efficient residential project in the northern part of Bucharest.

Development is booming in almost all segments of the Romanian market, but developers still need to overcome a number of legal and regulatory challenges before they can start building. Then, once construction is complete, they must realise that tenants have become more aware and more “choosey”. Răzvan Gheorghiu-Testa, Partner at Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații and Head of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group reviewed some of the issues that may arise when developing or leasing a new building in Romania.

The EBRD and ING Romania are joining forces to finance the logistics park CTPark, situated on the A1 Bucharest-Pitesti motorway and 2 km away from the Romanian capital. The financiers have arranged a package of €96 million, of which the EBRD is providing €43.8 million and ING €52.2 million.

Retail space deliveries will accelerate towards 200,000 square meters in 2018, as new projects and extensions are scheduled in ten medium-size towns and cities across Romania, but no significant delivery is scheduled in capital Bucharest this year, according to reports released by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

The World Bank Office in Romania and the District 5 City Hall of the Municipality of Bucharest signed a reimbursable advisory service (RAS) agreement – a form of technical assistance - to support the implementation of urban development solutions that will boost growth and improve the quality of life in District 5.

S Immo has completed the upgrade of the Sun Plaza shopping centre in Bucharest and reopened all reconfigured areas to the public. The €30 million remodelling has added 11,000 sqm of new retail space to the shopping centre.

Strabag SE, through its Romanian subsidiary, has been awarded the contract to build a 110 m tall office tower in central Bucharest. The contract has a value of about €39 million. Completion is scheduled for October 2019.

Israeli-owned company Hagag Development Europe plans to invest €70 million in new projects in the Romanian capital. The developer has recently acquired two buildings on Calea Victoriei for €20 million and a 3 ha land plot near the Pipera forest. Hagag will invest a further €50 million in the procurement and development of the projects.

In Romania, the peak of the real estate cycle is often delayed compared to other countries in the region and market dynamics don’t allow for a true warm up. Ana Dumitrache, Head of Investment Properties at CBRE Romania shared her expectations for the market.