“Traffic is difficult in Barbu Vacarescu (north of the city i.e.) now but there are still projects due for inauguration there and traffic will only get worse,” Tal Roma, development manager of AFI Europe Romania, said.
The authorities of the city must encourage development in other areas, as well. Employees do not have to spend two hours in traffic to get to work or home. Office buildings must get closer to residential areas, Tal Roma added.
Israeli-held AFI is now planning to build AFI Business Park Bucharest between Soseaua Progresului and Tudor Vladimirescu, near the Academia Militara subway station currently under construction.
Everybody is now focusing on employees, on the quality of their lives. They do not want them to spend too much time in traffic, but be close to home, not get home at nine or ten p.m. because of the traffic, AFI Europe Romania official said.
AFI Business Park Bucharest will have a lettable area of 50,000 square meters and a total gross area of 95,000 square meters, and include 1,000 parking spots. It will also be close to Marriott Hotel and the Palace of Parliament. The only office building complex in the area is Green Gate developed by Czech-held S Group Holding.
AFI Business Park Bucharest will consist of two smaller office buildings and an office tower, a hi-tech campus and a central square with a garden. It will be developed in three phases, 20,000 square meters in the first phase, 20,000 square meters in the second and 12,000 square meters in the third. The first phase should be completed by the end of 2017 or early in 2018, Tal Roma said, adding the developer was in talks with potential tenants but nothing had been signed yet.
The central-western part of the city is now ‘hot’ and AFI Europe Romania is focusing on this area, which it sees as having a lot of potential. The central-southern part of the city is next, the AFI official said.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)