The redevelopment of the Iulius Town mixed-use project by Atterbury Europe and its Romanian partner Iulius, has been charging ahead in this burgeoning Eastern European city, with tenants clamouring for space in the modern new precinct. Roux Gerber shares development stories…

It is astounding that the development has won awards before it is even complete; please tell us more about that. What makes this development so special, in your opinion, that it has already won awards?
Iulius Town, as Openville Timișoara has been rebranded, is without a doubt the most important real-estate investment in the west of Romania, with an impact on the community and the entire market. This is the first mixed-use project in the region, and the interest and appreciation for a development of this magnitude are justified.

To date, Iulius Town has raked in four awards focusing on the office segment and offered by specialised entities in the industry. Last year, Atterbury Europe and Iulius won the award for the “Best Office Development for the BPO/SSC Sector in Tier 1&2” at the Romanian Outsourcing & Shared Services Awards 2018, as well the “Office Project of the Year” award in the HOTSPOT Timișoara event presented by the main business magazine of the German community. Forbes Romania has presented Iulius Town with awards for two consecutive years – “Best Strategy” last year and “Largest Office Building” this year, in the Best Office Buildings Forbes gala.

The fact that the development has raked in awards as early as its construction phase is testament that industry specialists have a particular appreciation for the concept of this project. The awards were granted following the market delivery of the United Business Center (UBC) class A office buildings (2017: UBC 2 – 18 000 sqm and UBC 1 – 13 000 sqm, 2019: UBC 3 – 19 400 sqm) and recognise their significant contribution to the business environment in Timișoara. The buildings address a genuine need for premium office spaces and, naturally, owing to their features and amenities, which measure up to the highest of standards. UBC 0 is the main attraction; it will be the tallest office building in Romania, standing at a height of 155 meters and comprising 27 floors, and will become a landmark building for Timișoara, and indeed all of Romania. It will comprise 52 000 sqm of office space.

The first phase of the Iulius Town redevelopment is nearing completion. There must have been quite a few challenges in the construction of such a massive redevelopment?
The complexity and unknowns when doing a redevelopment linking into existing space and adding on, always remains real and combined with a very tough winter period we lost more than a month’s working time. Despite this, the works are progressing well, and many tenants are in the fit-out process with their shops or gearing up to start soon.

So how close to completion is it now – what is currently happening on the site?
We are in the final stage of development and we are working to finalise every element of the extensions to the existing mall, infrastructure elements, landscaping, including a park on top of a multi-level parking structure, and a tunnel passing through the development. All structures are 95 percent complete and we have estimated August 2019 as a finalisation date of all works,

How far is the construction on UBC 0, the new skyscraper?
At this moment we are finishing the excavation of the basement. The drilled piles and moulded retaining walls are complete and we are executing the basis for the lift shafts. We’ll start on the raft foundation by the middle of June. Completion is scheduled for 2021.

Are certain sections of the development already in use?
Yes, the office components referred to as UBC 1, UBC 2 and UBC 3 are functional, while the Inditex group opened with all seven its brands on 16 May. There are also other new restaurants, cafés and stores that recently opened in the mall, Taco Bell being one of them. All the others are planned to be part of the main opening later this year.

When will Phase Two of the redevelopment be rolled out and what will that involve?
The current focus is on completing the UBC 0 in 2021. It is our view that the market will react positively after the opening of the Phase 1 redevelopment and we have flexibility in the planning of Phase 2 to react to whatever new demand that may arise.

We imagine finding tenants has not been a problem. How have you kept up with the demand?
Yes, it’s gone extremely well. To contextualise, the high demand from tenants requesting a presence in a quality mall and office environment in western Romania was the main reason why we even considered extending the retail and office offering at the already successful Iulius Mall.

Timișoara has become the most attractive office market after Bucharest by the number of square metres rented in new buildings. All Romanian companies wish to move to new buildings close to the city centre with comprehensive facilities for their employees. Working in Iulius Town means you are within easy reach of all the facilities, including a food court, restaurants, café, fitness centre, hundreds of stores, cinema, kindergarten, medical clinics and public services.

In addition, the Partner Card, which offers discounts as high as 25 percent at over 100 locations in the mall, is a very good incentive instrument for employees. Seeing our ongoing development in the precinct ensures that companies gain trust in our project, and the quality of the development clearly makes a difference to the other projects that are being developed in the area. All the companies in Romania try to concentrate their business in areas with a powerful academic environment, because Romanian people place a high premium on education – and Timisoara is precisely such a destination.

Once Phase One is complete Iulius Town will have the largest retail area outside the capital of Romania, covering more than 100 000 sqm, which will be an attraction not only for people in Timișoara, but for everyone in the west of Romania and even from neighbouring countries.

The development also brings international brands to Timișoara for the first time, such as Zara Home and Oysho which recently opened, as well as other major names that we’ll announce in due course. Other popular brand stores that were in Iulius Mall already have been expanded and modernised along the latest market concepts – including the Inditex group brands Zara, Stradivarius, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti and Bershka.

In addition, Iulius Town customers will have access to a variety of new restaurants and cafés with exciting themed interior design and international menus. These will include international brands such as the new Taco Bell, but there will also be franchises and original concepts by entrepreneurs from Timișoara, so that this project also helps the local business community grow.

Going to the movies will also become a special experience as Cinema City expands to 12 auditoriums and will implement, for the first time outside of Bucharest, the concept of VIP cinema: dinner and a movie, in an ultra-all-inclusive system.

Iulius Town will also accommodate the largest fitness center in Romania, a project under the World Class brand, which will feature a semi-Olympic swimming pool.

A state-of-the-art conference center will also operate here, comprising three elegant halls designed to accommodate both business and private events.

As for the park, which is set to be the main anchor of the project, it will be a one-of-a-kind relaxation venue, unlike anything else in Romania. There will be outdoor event squares, a lake, spectacular species of trees and shrubs, a carousel for children, a skating rink and wide areas covered in special turf for visitors to be able to relax exactly as in the famous parks in other big global cities.