Bucharest – skyline transformation 2025: One option? Or more united temptations?

28 decembrie 2020

8 minute citire

ONE UNITED PROPERTIES is one of the most active real estate developers of residential, office and mixed state-of-the-art projects in Bucharest. To deliver the highest exclusive residential towers in Bucharest is just one of the market targets.

What projects from your strategic portfolio will be finalized in 2020-2021 and can be considered an upgrade for the urban structure of the capital?

Mihai Paduroiu, CEO, One United Properties | Office Division: The company has six ongoing construction sites in Bucharest at present: One Floreasca City, One Verdi Park, One Cotroceni Park, One Herăstrău Towers, Neo Timpuri Noi and Neo Floreasca Lake.

Published in an exclusive, investment destination – oriented, market tour: “Bucharest – the skyline transformation by 2025” – Read: here

One Floreasca City is a benchmark for Bucharest real estate market and has a residential component – One Mircea Eliade, with 247 exclusive apartments, and an office component – One Tower office tower, with 24,000 sqm gross rentable area (GLA). The development is to be delivered by year end. One Floreasca City is the first real estate project in Romania to hold a prestigious international prize – the best international project in the category “sustainable residential development”. So far, no other real estate project in Romania has won such a prestigious international distinction. From the very beginning, One Floreasca City was designed as a community-oriented project organically integrating landmark design apartments, contemporary offices and common spaces dedicated both to residents and the entire community as well.

One Mircea Eliade is an expression of world-class modernism, sustainability and neighbourhood integration. The mixed-use compound is an urban regeneration project as it gives back to the city and its community an area abandoned in the last 20 years. One Mircea Eliade has 247 exclusive Design Apartments in 3 towers (GF+15, GF+15, GF+20). Part of a larger mixed project, it will offer its inhabitants and those who will work there amazing views, green spaces, high-end offices, a concept food hall, restaurants, gym with a pool, all bordering Floreasca Park.

One Tower is the iconic gateway to One Floreasca City, which is the Romania’s first sustainable Mixed-use development. The building provides Class “A” office accommodation served by a basement of approximately 15,136 sqm built area in 3 underground levels. The building is leased to law firms, media & advertising or real estate companies and will host one of the most spectacular co-working spaces in Bucharest at the last floor, offering a panoramic view over the parks and lakes in the area.

One Cotroceni Park is one of the largest urban regeneration projects in Bucharest, currently the construction works are being carried out at the first phase of approximately 41,000 sqm – offices and a retail gallery. The project is built on the former Ventilatorul platform, of 5.8 hectares in the immediate vicinity of the Academia Militară metro station. This autumn, the construction of the first phase reached ground zero, the delivery being scheduled for the last quarter of 2021. The project is leased to companies in fields such as IT, FMCG or logistics, also going to host a co-working space.

One Verdi Park. Located near Verdi Park in northern Bucharest, in Floreasca neighbourhood, One Verdi Park developed by One United Properties is outlined as a landmark project on the local real estate market. With its two 77-meter-high towers, the project is one of the most exclusive buildings in Bucharest. One Verdi Park offers exclusive design residential units and a commercial component and has all the premises to be the landmark residential development that will be delivered in Floreasca area in 2021.

One Herăstrău Towers represents the new gate towards Herăstrău, with a boutique commercial and office concept. One Herăstrău Towers, the newest sustainable project developed by One United Properties, provides multiple street entrances, 2 towers with 148 residential apartments, penthouses with infinity pools, and an area designed for commercial boutique galleries and offices. Its location, between Herăstrău and Aviației area, offers the perfect panoramic view over Herăstrău Lake and the Northern part of the city. The project continues the Herăstrău trilogy that the company developed in the area and provides future tenants with a unique commercial concept focused on small and design office spaces and boutique commercial galleries with individual street access, a very important aspect in the pandemic context. This urban regeneration project will be delivered in December 2020.

Neo Floreasca Lake. Continuing to evolve and firm up the neighbourhood, Neo Floreasca Lake will be a high-end residential development with a beautiful panoramic view of Lake Floreasca. It is an exclusive boutique residence developing on the edge of Lake Floreasca.

Neo Floreasca Lake project is designed as a contemporary small residential complex, offering a unique selection of 50 stylish apartments, with a height of GF + 5 floors. With an original and elegant architecture, Neo Floreasca Lake offers top-of-the-line apartments that fit within the boutique conceptual line of the „Neo” division. The residential complex will offer a diverse range of apartments and a limited collection of penthouses with spectacular views over Lake Floreasca, in a quiet and exclusive area.

Neo Timpuri Noi. Situated on a 3,835 sqm urban land, in the 3rd District of Bucharest, Neo Timpuri Noi is part of the „Neo” brand developed by One United Properties. This compound will benefit from an elegant contemporary design with high quality finishes, plus the advantages of green buildings. The project will have 8 floors with 108 dwelling units (65 two-room apartments, 31 three-room apartments, 12 four-room apartments), commercial spaces and underground and exterior parking. The development will be delivered in March 2021.

Which is the height of the towers or of the projects finalized? What position will they occupy in the tallest buildings ranking?

Beatrice Dumitrascu, Vice President, One United Properties | Residential Division: The two 77 meters high residential towers at One Verdi Park together with the largest tower at One Mircea Eliade (the residential component of One Floreasca City) will represent the highest exclusive residential towers in Bucharest. At 70 m height (2 UG+ Ground floor + 16 floors), One Tower is an imposing property in Floreasca – Mircea Eliade area, ensuring both high-visibility and unparalleled views for its tenants. One Cotroceni Park will be a medium-height property with three buildings (3UG + GF + 9 / 11 floors), the tallest to reach 52 m. The property will offer a beautiful view towards the old Cotroceni neighbourhood and its emblematic villas.

Which are the most important technical specifications / features, innovations, facilities and technologies introduced for future proofed buildings?

Mihai Paduroiu, CEO, One United Properties | Office Division: The office division was set-up with the clear target to innovate the classical real estate developments on the market, all the new properties being part of mixed-use projects with numerous facilities and amenities. Also, part of the developer’s strategy, all the properties will be green certified, with a focus on the wellbeing of the occupants. One Tower was pre-certified LEED v4 Platinum by US Green Building Council Award, one of the highest ratings for environmental impact and performance. The latest improvements to LEED v4, designed to be flexible and improve the overall project experience is based on materials, performance-based, smart grid and water efficiency.

One Cotroceni Park targets LEED PLATINUM certification and is also to be WELL certified, with emphasis on the employee experience, level of health, and happiness. Tenants will also benefit from an increased level of comfort due to the 3 meters clear height in all office areas as well as the latest implemented technologies of LED, energy recuperating HVAC & Elevators, and openable windows. The future of office building certifications in particular is WELL certification. This certification given by the American WELL Institute focuses on the employee and the employee’s benefits at work – such as air quality, access to sports, mental comfort, light, water quality, comfort at work, access to healthy food, etc. One United Properties is currently in the process of WELL-certifying all its office buildings under construction. BREEAM and LEED certifications focus on the sustainability of buildings and their impact on the environment. These are standard and you can practically no longer build office buildings without these certifications. In terms of residential developments, One United Properties was the first real estate company in Bucharest to green certify a residential complex – One Herăstrău Park – and since then it continues to certify with the Romanian Green Building Council (ROGBC) all residential developments under construction and completed.

Which are the most important facilities, services, functions – attractions, accessible also to the general public, to the small adjacent communities or features that can represent „mini destinations” for recreative, and urban lifestyle activities?

One Floreasca City offers a place to meet, to entertain, to share and look for opportunities to collaborate. The project will be activated by restaurants, storefronts, dynamic offices, and exclusive apartments. Between the buildings, a pedestrian area will exhibit a variety of lush landscapes that create diverse microclimates and allow the building’s programs to extend outdoors. One Cotroceni Park is set to accommodate a community of over 12,000 people living and working together. On a total land surface of 5.8 hectares, the project will have 74,000 sqm of office, 20,000 sqm of total retail area, and 754 apartments. One Cotroceni Park is an L shaped office layout offering anything from 1,000 sqm to contiguous 4,800 sqm to 9,000 sqm. Lucky guests on upper floors can enjoy real rooftop gardens. The project is designed under the Live/Work/Play holistic approach, offering to both employees and residents integrated amenities from food to fitness and services to outdoor running and biking tracks. One Cotroceni Park will be built under the global underground parking concept, with over 10 access and exit ways, thus allowing the ground level to be used for green spaces and facilities.

Which are your prognosis in terms of real estate development in the capital and new projects until 2025? Which are the main recommendations for the central and especially the local administration to support an international identity and create business potential in the new economic paradigm, for Bucharest, in CEE?

Bucharest was already well positioned as an IT hub, due to the combination of skilled human resources and infrastructure. In the current pandemic context with a focus on digitalization from many industries worldwide, we believe Bucharest has even better chances to grow as an IT destination, together with the infrastructure to sustain this expansion. The private real estate developers are highly active with numerous investments set to transform Romania’s Capital City. Infrastructure investments by authorities are critical to have a lively, well-connected city.

ONE UNITED PROPERTIES is one of the most active real estate developers of residential, office and mixed state-of-the-art projects in Bucharest. The company’s portfolio includes more than 2,000 exclusive residential units and Class A+ office spaces. One United Properties is an innovative company dedicated to accelerating the adoption of construction practices for energy-efficient, sustainable and healthy buildings. All the company’s buildings have superior certifications of durability, energy efficiency and wellness, and the developer is awarded at numerous galas and conferences in the field. One United Properties is the first real estate developer in Romania to be awarded internationally with the “Best Sustainable Development” award in the world at the International Property Awards 2019-2020.