Bucharest Open For Business With First Class Office Space

Office space is the most sought after investment in 2006. Estimates of ESOP real-estate company show some 200,000 square meters class A new office space will hit the renting market. While experts with CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) realtors say this is a 44% increase compared with 125,000 square meters built last year.

"This is not so impressive, given that other cities in the region, like Budapest or Warsaw, develop several large scale real-estate projects every year," said analysts with CBRE.

Office space buildings to enter the rental market this year are at the North Gate Business Center, Buzesti Office Building, Millenium Business Center and Herastrau Office Space.

New projects will be developed in 2007-2008, at over 100,000 square meters each, in southern and eastern Bucharest, said the Esop study.

Bavaria Office Center is the first office building in southern Bucharest, on Metalurgiei Boulevard. Southern Bucharest is still an untapped resource, with cheaper land and less traffic, which is now showing its pluses to realtors, said Mihaela Dicu, senior official with Eurisko real-estate agency. She said Bavaria Office Center had a 5,600 square meters surface on seven floors, and 170 parking lots, providing internet and data storage services as well as housekeeping.

The City Tower building is located in the Bucharest north-east ward Pipera and totals 12,230 square meters on 12 levels. It will be completed in the first quarter of 2007, with 95 parking lots including, a bar, a restaurant and health care facilities.

In June 2007, Delenco Construct Company will spend eight million euros to complete construction to a 12,500 square meters building at the crossroad of Calea Calarasi, Delea Noua, and Matei Basarab boulevards. The building will have three distinct wings on each of the boulevards, seven, eight and ten flights up, respectively. Some 6,343 square meters will be open for rent, and 96 underground parking lots.

Translation by Anca Paduraru