What led to the decision to invest in this huge urban-regeneration project?

Vibrant Cluj-Napoca was recently voted the most desirable city in Romania to live in, based on a survey of young professionals, and it’s also in the top 10 most desirable places in Europe to have a home base. Not surprisingly, it therefore has the highest average residential prices in Romania and is one of the fastest-growing cities in Eastern Europe. Several prominent universities are seated here, and it’s also the hot spot for various cultural events, including the famous Untold music festival. And although Cluj-Napoca is the city with the strongest economy in the country after the capital, Bucharest, there are currently only two malls in the entire city! The current retail offering of around 110 000sqm is considered an undersupply of more than 150 000 sqm by modern city standards.

Is that why Cluj-Napoca was chosen for this project?

When you combine all the factors the answer is self-explanatory – fast growing + highly in demand + preferred place to live + undersupply in retail + well managed + good infrastructure + second highest spend per capita + strong economy. The real question is why nobody has jumped at this opportunity earlier? The answer lies in the topography of Cluj-Napoca with its many hills, which means that favourable sites for large-scale developments are very limited and finding the right site within the city limits seemed an impossible task. Our JV partners, the Iulius Group, embarked on an ambitious site-assembly process a few years ago, which fortunately paid off and we now have one of the most prestigious sites in Cluj-Napoca.

What can you tell us about the shoppers whom you’re targeting with this development?

The location, in the inner city adjacent to the Somes River, is very central, with good connectivity and infrastructure, including a planned future underground metro station nearby. We are therefore targeting the people living in the immediate vicinity, where the residential offering is expanding rapidly, although we believe the development will attract people from all over Cluj-Napoca.

Is there anything comparable anywhere else in the country?

No, this will be unique in Romania, offering mixed use retail, office and residential spaces within a focused green development concept. This green park concept will connect both sides of the Somes River and is in support of Cluj-Napoca’s urban river-upgrade programme, which is already advanced in the construction phase.

We believe there used to be a factory on the site? How big is the total space?

Yes, the site was indeed home to factory operations, which included Carbochim and some other smaller operators. The total site area is around 14.5 hectares.

What is happening with these factories?

Part of the land-assembly process is the relocation of some existing factories to other suitable locations in Cluj-Napoca.

All very exciting – can you share more details about exactly what the new development will entail?

There will be a combination of a multi-level retail complex set within a green, plant-rich environment, limited office space and exclusive residences, all in a park-like setting sprawled all along the banks of the Somes River. As a first phase of the development, the retail component is envisaged to cover around 100 000 sqm of GLA, with office space of around 25 000 sqm and limited residential blocks offering around 400 residences.

Where are you in the development process?

Our JV partners have completed the land-assembly process and the team is far advanced in the process to obtain the required development rights. Various studies required for the rights process have been undertaken and the final concept has been refined, taking all requirements into consideration. Parallel to the development-rights process, the detail design, leasing and viability processes are regularly updated so that we’ll be ready for the execution phase as soon as we get the green light for the requested rights.

Has the project been officially launched?

Yes, we launched a communication campaign in April, and the exposure generated positive feedback from all quarters. The project videos, which included renderings of the development in its envisaged green park-like surroundings, were viewed over 155 000 times on YouTube. More than 20 000 people visited the project website and over 3 000 messages were posted in support of the proposed project. Official press releases were very well received by the local, national and international media and we were overwhelmed by the positive coverage received from scores of respected media outlets.