“We’re going ahead with the projects but we have no new information for the time being,” says Antoniu Panait, managing director of Vastint Romania.
The search for a builder for the first phase of the project started a while ago and the short list includes Israeli-held Danya Cebus and Austrian-held Porr, ZF has learnt.
“Yes, Porr made an offer for that project,” said Sandra Bauer, Porr group’s spokesperson, without providing further details.
The representatives of Danya Cebus, which built the AFI Palace Cotroceni mall and is now working on the AFI Park office buildings on the same location in Bucharest, did not comment on the information by the time the story was ready for posting.
Vastint, until recently named Interprime Properties in Romania, in 2010 bought the about 53,000 square meter plot where the Timpuri Noi plant used to be for EUR35 million, planning to use it for office space and residential development.
The former owners had secured the necessary zoning permits for buildings up to 110 meters tall with a gross surface area of over 200,000 square meters in 2009. To avoid the expiration of the zoning permits valid for five years, the company got a construction permit and since the office space market is showing signs of a rebound, decided to go ahead with the project.
The design plans on the Vastint website show the new buildings intended for the site will not be as tall as permitted, instead, the company will have two ten-story office buildings (35 to 40 meters tall) constructed there.
According to unofficial information, the Swedish-held company will begin work on the project without borrowing any money from banks and the two buildings will have an about 50,000 square meter lettable area. Construction should start in the spring, with delivery scheduled for the second half of 2016.
Though close to the Timpuri Noi subway station and 1.5 kilometers away from Piata Unirii in downtown Bucharest, the area is not a typical choice for office space developers, but may become one of the areas they turn to once the northern part of the city grows too crowded.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)