“Almost 60% of the modern retail space scheduled for delivery in 2019 are expansions of the existing centers and except for two expansions, totaling 22,500 square meters – Veranda Mall and Colosseum Retail Park, investments are going to secondary and tertiary cities,” says Mariana Stamate, head of property management with real estate consultant JLL Romania.
In all, by the end of the year, Romania should have almost 250,000 square meters of new retail space. Developers delivered a little more than 100,000 square meters in four new projects and two expansions of existing ones in 2018. The new project investments in 2019 are made by NEPI Rockcastle in Sibiu and Targu Mures and Prime Kapital in Balotesti, according to JLL.
The biggest project by surface area is Era Shopping Center in Iasi, where Prime Kapital and Mas Real Estate, its two owners, are conducting a EUR125 million investment in expanding it from the current 41,000 square meters to 100,000 square meters of gross lettable area.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)