Anchor Grup, the constructor of the first mall-type shopping complex on the Romanian market, Bucuresti Mall, will start construction works on a 15 million-euro office building this autumn. This is to be located next to the current mall in the southern area of downtown Bucharest. This is an area that is rather lacking in new office buildings, as most investors go for northern Bucharest.
“Once we have opened Plaza Romania, our second mall-type shopping complex, we will begin construction works on a Class A office building located close to the car park of Bucuresti Mall,” explained Ali Ergun Ergen, Anchor Grup general manager.
The building will offer more than 20,000 sqm distributed over 11 storeys.
“The estimated investment is worth 15 million euros and I believe the building will be finalised by the autumn of 2005,” the Anchor Grup official added. He says that companies from the Turkish Fiba Group, the majority shareholder of the Anchor Grup, will use half of the available space.
“This building will host Anchor Grup, Finansbank, Finansleasing and Gima, with the other half of the available space to be rented,” Ali Ergun Ergen specified. The Turkish company is due to open its second mall-type complex, Plaza Romania, located in the Lujerul area of Western Bucharest, this October.
The officials say more than 90% of Plaza Romania’s retail space has already been rented. Initial plans had allowed for nearly 80,000 sqm of space, but very high demand led to it being increased to 100,000 sqm.
“We are already exploring possibilities for a third mall, again located in Bucharest, but we are also contemplating the possibility of opening such complexes in the provinces. In any case, we are taking it one step at a time. We are now waiting for the second shopping complex to open, which needs to position itself on the market before we start work on the third,” the Anchor Grup official stated.
Plaza Romania will include more than 150 shops and over 25 restaurants, cafes and bars. The big names that have chosen to enter the Romanian market via this complex include the Zara store chain and Movieplex, a multiplex cinema operator. Plaza Romania will entail an investment of more than 35 million euros and occupy one of Ceausescu’s unfinished “temples of hunger” (a type of standardised building intended to sell foodstuffs. The name comes from its shape, and from the scarcity of food in stores at the time). The Turkish group bought this building and the one that houses the mall in Vitan in a $6 million package deal.
ionut.bonoiu@zf.ro