Old Centre likely to become no. 1 in Bucharest in terms of rents

Bucharest’s Historic Centre, delimited by streets such as Lipscani, Strada Franceză, Smârdan, Șelari or Stavropoleos, is the only area in Bucharest where rents are going up, with owners getting as much as 100 euros per square metre.
The main reason investors are willing to pay between 3,500 euros and 10,000 euros for a 100-sqm space is the high traffic already secured by the over 100 bars and restaurants opened over the past two years in the pedestrian streets of the centre.
“The Old Centre area will beat Magheru or Calea Victoriei this year and will become the number one in terms of rents if the current upward trend continues,” Dragoș Petrescu, owner of Caru’ cu Bere, City Grill or Hanu’ Berarilor restaurants, with 12.4m-euro turnover in 2009, told ZF.
The lowest rent level per square metre stands at 30 euros, according to specialised websites, but on the streets that were renovated by the city hall and owners, where tens of restaurants and coffee shops have opened, rents reach 50-100 euros per square metre.