COVID-19 has fundamentally challenged and modified the way the global workforce interacts, socializes, and collaborates. Flexible working practices, including working from home, have been heavily adopted as the recent pandemic has forced a trial run of remote working for industries, businesses, and individuals across the entire world. As a result, sentiments towards office space, its value, role, and contribution to the operation of daily work tasks are now being reconsidered both by employees and employers. While the pandemic has boosted the shift towards integrating flexible workspaces into corporate real estate portfolios, the fear that the office will lose its relevance is not realistic. Rather than becoming obsolete, it will become an increasingly valuable asset in facilitating collaboration and driving business growth, writes Gavin Bonner, Vice President of Romanian office developer Genesis Property in an opinion piece for Property Forum.

Local developer Nordis Group aims to increase its presence in the hotel business and attract more investors. The company has invested in two projects with high tourism potential in the mountains and the seaside.

Over 230 real estate projects in Romania have been certified to meet health, safety and sustainability standards and the pandemic has boosted the efforts of developers to meet targets for such ratings, according to Colliers. 

CTP has acquired 17.9 hectares of land in northern Bucharest for an undisclosed sum. The land was bought from two businessmen who were planning to invest €50 million in a logistics project. 

Online retailer eMAG will invest €1.5 million in upgrading its HQ building to accommodate the hybrid work system as it aims to make the program permanent for more than 3,000 employees. The HQ will be transformed into a collaborative workspace and will be fitted with technology systems that support the mix of office and remote work.  

Retailer Penny, controlled by German group REWE, will install photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof of its warehouses in Romania. The renewable energy systems will be implemented in Turda and Ștefănești.  

German carmaker Mercedes-Benz is boosting its logistics operations in Romania. Construction firm Plana-Innova was selected to build its new centre that will have a maximum storage capacity for 45,000 products. 

Romanian entrepreneur Liviu Tudor has announced plans to revamp Novo Park, the office park he owns in northern Bucharest. The office facades will be refreshed and solar panels will be placed on top of each of the seven buildings in the complex. 

Romania has development potential for retail projects in smaller cities, and five counties with a combined population of 1.8 million inhabitants are not covered by any modern retail schemes, according to a report by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

Real estate investor and developer GTC has appointed Ziv Gigi as Managing Director of operations in Romania. He has more than 15 years of experience in Central and Eastern Europe-based real estate markets, developing and operating dozens of projects in the office and retail segments.