Hergan: Interest in real estate market is returning

Businessman Alexander Hergan, who developed 35 projects such
as Charles de Gaulle Plaza (the headquarters of Petrom and of
Vodafone) through Avrig 35, and Iris Shopping Center in Titan, says
he did not anticipate the collapse of the real estate market, and
that his selling properties worth around 300 million euros at the
right moment was dictated by the market.
Hergan, who had kept a low profile, attended the launch of
Avrig 35’s new real estate project on Monday – a shopping centre on
Theodor Pallady Avenue in Bucharest – where he talked about the
company’s future plans, as well as about past decisions that proved
successful.
“We did not anticipate the fall of the real estate market,”
said Hergan, who suggested that, after a very difficult 2009, the
market is showing signs of recovery, amid heightened interest from
foreign investors, as well as from international retailers, which
continue their expansion.
Hergan signed rental contracts with Auchan and Decathlon for
retail spaces in an 80 million-euro project that will be developed
on a former platform of the Sicomed group, with the company to use
its own financing resources and foreign funds, amid reluctance from
banks to finance real estate projects.