Ikea plans to build its third store in Romania next to the city of Timisoara. The Swedish retailer has reportedly applied for a permit to build a roundabout that would allow access to the future store. Ikea also plans to open stores in Brasov and Cluj-Napoca.

Real estate developer Werk Property Group is planning to invest €14 million in Vox Vertical Village, a residential project in Timisoara. The development of the 120 housing units is scheduled to start soon with completion scheduled for the end of 2019.

NEPI Rockcastle has started construction works on a new shopping mall in Satu Mare. NEPI’s eighteenth shopping centre in Romania is expected to be inaugurated at the end of 2018.

Golub GetHouse has embarked on the construction of a student residence in Kraków. Unibep S.A. is the general contractor for the investment, which involves renovating the former Telpod factory and adapting it for the needs of modern, high-standard university accommodations. The industrial interiors will contain 290 functional housing units with various layouts – for one, two, three or four persons, offering a total of over 700 beds. Golub GetHouse is implementing the project in partnership with Chicago’s CA Ventures International, a company specializing in student housing construction in North and South America. The investment is financed from Golub GetHouse’s real estate fund.

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.

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.

GTC closed 2017 with a €105 million development profit. The company acquired Belgrade Business Center (17,700 sqm) in September 2017 and the Cascade office building (4,200 sqm) in Bucharest in August 2017 for a total sum of €46 million. GTC presented its 2017 financial results.

Cushman & Wakefield launched its latest Łódź real estate market report at MIPIM. The report, prepared in cooperation with the Investor Service and International Cooperation Bureau of the City of Łódź Office, contains an overview of the city, its growth potential, numerous revitalisation projects and commercial property market. Its key findings were presented at the Łódź stand at MIPIM by Zuzanna Krech, a Negotiator in the Office Agency of Cushman & Wakefield, and representatives of the city’s authorities.