Realtors Eye the Bucharest Zoo for Its Top Rated Land

The six hectares on which the Bucharest Zoo stands in the prized northern area of Romania’s capital city are at the center of real-estate companies’ interest. Already a third of the zoo area had been claimed back in 2001 by former owners having their properties nationalized by the communist regime.

It may be that the Bucharest Zoo will move in Chiajna village to make room north of Bucharest for real-estate developers

The six hectares on which the Bucharest Zoo stands in the prized northern area of Romania’s capital city are at the center of real-estate companies’ interest. Already a third of the zoo area had been claimed back in 2001 by former owners having their properties nationalized by the communist regime.
Different entities have now different plans on their mind for the zoo. "
Two years ago the zoo was surrounded by open fields; now only houses are around us," said the zoo manager Anca Oprea, speaking of the frenzy with which realtors develop the northern part of Bucharest.
The zoo authorities stopped all investments on the two hectares of land claimed back by the Filipoiu and Gressian families, except for the modernization of the sewage system.
That would come in handy for the realtors managing to grab the zoo’s land.
Local authorities have plans of their own: opening the zoo on 150 hectares in the nearby Baneasa forest, where animals could run free, while people will visit them in vehicles, safari style.
But the Bucharest City Hall did not manage to strike a deal with the national company managing the state owned forest, Romsilva.
Mircea Minea, mayor of nearby Chiajna village, who incidentally is under investigation for seizing land from the rightful owners, has plans of his own too.

Luna, or The Moon, is the name of the tigress residing at the Bucharest Zoo. This is one of the most prized wild animals the zoo has.

He wants the Bucharest City Hall to fund the relocation of the zoo on the 40 hectares of land in Chiajna he cannot build on.
"Nothing was set in stone; Minea has the land available but I am not aware of its exact location. I would rather have the zoo park built at Otopeni, next to the Baneasa forest, where the safari is planned. Still, nothing was settled yet," said Bucharest deputy mayor Razvan Murgeanu.
Since the new management of the zoo took over in 2001 the budget grew every year, reaching this year 50 billion lei.
The management has a list full of things to spend it on.
"We have several projects: to widen the entrance to the zoo; to build a pet shop where visitors could buy souvenirs and also small size pets; and to modernize a section of the zoo out of the two hectares claimed back by former owners. However, the zoo management did not get approval yet from the City Hall of the Bucharest Ward 1," explains Oprea.
The price of entrance tickets will climb too, to 5 lei for adults and 3 for children, Oprea said.