The Lithuanian investors who own Fosta Fabrica - the consolidation and conversion project of the former Grivita brewery in Bucharest – have signed a partnership with the local Kané Group for the development of hospitality functions on the ground floor of the Orzarie building, one of the four historic monuments undergoing a full process of restoration, consolidation, and conversion. The building's ground floor will include a restaurant, brewery, and café spaces. Kané Group includes in its portfolio the fine dining restaurant Kané.

"The future belongs to brave projects that revive parts of the city which are currently unknown. The partnership with Fosta Fabrica was born from the desire to find a location with a strong personality, ideally a heritage space, to prove once again that the past revived in a contemporary setting can become valuable," said Razvan Crisan, co-founder Kané Group. "The character of the space, the vision and the desire to be involved in the architectural and logistical development stages, which will be the responsibility of the developer, as well as the idea of reviving the tradition of a true brewery determined us to include Orzaria in our long-term development plan," he added.

According to the partnership, Fosta Fabrica will finance the development and interior designs of the spaces where the restaurant with brewery and café managed by Kané Group will operate. Thus, the developer will invest in the entire range of equipment, installations, custom-made brewing systems, and architectural designs necessary for the operation of the respective spaces, according to Kané Group's requirements.

"Fosta Fabrica will truly begin when the construction work is finished," said Lithuanian investor Mindaugas Valuckas, the project's founder (opening photo). "The majority of the buildings will remain in our property, and we will develop one of the largest local entrepreneurial communities in the field of hospitality. Even though this segment has now been severely affected in the context of the restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe that it is well worth investing in the future of an industry with a major role in the community's life," he underlined.

Ozaria is a former silo located inside the former Luther brewery, with Art Deco architecture. The building's consolidation has raised significant design challenges, and Orzaria entered a re-authorization process after the team of structural engineers led by Prof. Dr. Eng. Paul Ioan and the team of architects coordinated by architect Bogdan Babici have identified a new technical solution more beneficial for preserving the building's character.

The investment in Fosta Fabrica, worth over EUR 40 mln, is the largest consolidation and conversion of monuments carried out by a private investor in Bucharest today. The development is located in the immediate vicinity of the Basarab metro station, the Basarab passage, and Gara de Nord railway station and. Upon completion, estimated in 2022, Fosta Fabrica will include a brewery, restaurants, café, bakery, food court, farmer's market, beauty salon, vocational and professional training programs, museum elements about Luther's history, cultural and event spaces, playgrounds for children, co-working, office spaces, the first lofts in Romania, new apartments, and public spaces.

Fosta Fabrica also includes a significant landscaping and green spaces project. It will also benefit from complex security systems, but will not include fences, so that the common areas can truly be called public spaces, according to the developer.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Fosta Fabrica / Photo by Cornel Lazia)