Electroputere Parc shopping center , developed by K&S Developments, has reached a 92 percent occupancy rate and it is scheduled to be opened in November this year, according to real estate agency DTZ Echinox.

“The shopping centre now boosts an overall occupancy rate of 92% of the current lettable surface and has advanced negotiations for the remaining units.” said Razvan Sin, Head of Retail Department, DTZ Echinox .

Inditex has leased a surface of over 3,500 sqm and the Swedish retailer H&M has contracted a 1,600 sqm area in the new centre. Other names that have joined the project are LC Waikiki on a 950 sqm surface, Douglas, Office Shoes, Killtec, Sensiblu, Gatta, Pet Center, the Segafredo coffee shop and Elvila, a Romanian furniture store that will open a 3,000 sqm unit.

The project, an investment of EUR 90 million, was initially designed with a total rentable area of 55,000 sqm, 1,900 parking spaces and over 120 stores, but it has been extended to over 71,000 sqm. The shopping center was built on the premises of the former Electroputere factory in Craiova.

According to DTZ Research, the modern retail stock per thousand inhabitants in Romania stood at 64 sqm at the end of 2010, almost four times below the European average of 238 sqm, but notably higher than the ratio in Dolj County, that is of approximately 20 sqm per thousand inhabitants.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: DTZ echinox)