The Apartments and Offices Boom in Orhideea – Politehnica Area

Over 1,600 apartments are being built in the Orhideea-Politehnica area and adjacent. Office spaces will appear in the area that will accommodate over 20,000 new employees by 2018

The offer of new apartments in residential complexes located in the Orhideea-Politehnica area has exploded, as the plans announced by the developers of office space have started to take shape. In the Orhideea-Politehnică area, there are eight large office projects in various phases of approval and construction, developed by CA Immo, Forte Partners, Sema Parc and Vastint (Ikea) which will total over 170,000 sqm of office space and will be ready on stages, starting in the second half of 2016 and until 2018, according to data analyzed by ESOP.

Deliveries of business centers 2016-2018 in the Grozăvești – Orhideea area

 

And the list will be completed along the way, projects such as that of the Swedes in Skanska will join office space deliveries in the central west.

Home deliveries in the Orhideea – Grozăveşti area

The central-western area is a business pole that will experience accelerated growth in the period 2016-2018, with the Grozăvești – Orhideea perimeter as the spearhead.

“The development of the center-west area – initially started in 2006 and postponed due to the crisis – is a natural one, given that we are talking about a location located near the Polytechnic, an essential university environment for most IT & C companies (companies involved in 47% of office transactions in 2015), and also near the most significant student campus in the country, Regie. It is also a beneficial development, which will contribute to the rebalancing of the Capital, actively developed in the last 5 years exclusively in the northern area and a rather small perimeter, Barbu Văcărescu, with increasing difficulties in terms of accessibility “, says Mirela Raicu, Manager of the Corporate Offices Division at ESOP Consulting | CORFAC International.

Along with a strategic positioning within the city, relatively close to all three major landmarks of Bucharest – Victoriei Square, Universitate and Unirii, the center-west area has an excellent connection to the airport, through the two essential routes – Basarab Passage and Bridge Grant, and in principle, all the prerequisites to attract many companies, especially in the IT field, but not only.

The first large tenant to opt for this new office pole in the Orhideea Semănătoarea area is the IT&C Misys operator, which pre-leased an 8,000 sq m office space in the Orhideea Towers office building, the transaction being concluded earlier this year.

The second large tenant announced for this area is BCR, which has pre-leased almost 20,000 sqm in The Bridge complex.

The rents of office spaces in the Orhideea-Grozăveşti area vary between 14-16 euro/sqm for class A spaces and respectively 12-13 euro/sqm for A-/B+ quality spaces.

Among the most significant advantages of the area is the proximity to the university campus and the Polytechnic, where IT&C companies recruit their staff, but also easy access to all types of means of transport – the new office area being served by three metro stations – Grozăveşti, Petrache Peonaru (former Semănătoarea) and Politehnică. Another advantage of future office buildings is that they belong to international developers, whose reputation guarantees the quality and state-of-the-art facilities of next class A office spaces.

In the next two years, the stock of new homes will exceed 2,500 units in the area.

The employees of the companies that will move to these office spaces will have to choose homes close to the office, from a total of over 1,600 units already under construction in various stages of development in the area of ​​Orhideea – Grozăveşti – Vasile Milea, in seven large residential complexes – 20th Residence, Onix Residence, Exigent One, Cotroceni Residence, Politehnica Park, Grozăveşti Splai Residence, and Novum Invest Residence. To these are added over 200 other apartments for sale in smaller projects, on streets adjacent to Splaiul Independentei.

The rental offer includes a stock of 500-600 new homes bought by investors in recent years (out of over 1,000 units, put into use in several other projects, including Orhideea Gardens, 19th Residence, etc.).

Most apartments for sale are part of the First House program.

Most apartments under construction and for sale have small surfaces and medium finishes, are studio or two-room, primarily compartmentalized for young people. Prices start at 43,900 euros + VAT (a studio with a surface of ​​43.9 sqm built in one of the residential complexes). However, there are also penthouse apartments, over 150 sqm, located on the top floor, which exceeds 200,000 euros + VAT.

A new studio, fully furnished in this area, is rented for 300-400 euro/month, a new two-room apartment between 400 and 700 euro/month, and a three-room apartment between 500 and 800 euros/month. At the moment, the offer of new studios for rent is very low, much higher being the offer of 2 and 3-room apartments.

New opportunities for developers?

The development of the office market through such projects, which is suitable for large companies’ demands, opens up new opportunities, including in the residential market.

“If so far most of the projects have been structured either luxury – in the Orhideea-Plevnei area, such as Orhideea Gardens, or considering the client-student, in the Polytechnic area, this year a new category of buyers will come to the developers’ attention, namely young people who work in corporations, with higher demands and greater financial possibilities than students, but who have predetermined budgets, most of whom fall into the First House program,” considers Alexandru Petrescu from ESOP Consulting | CORFAC International.