Immochan, the real estate division of the retail group Auchan, has started building its Coresi Shopping Center in Brasov, on the premises of the former Tractorul industrial site in the Central Romanian city.

Work on the center started following a delay of two years from the initial announcement and is set to be finished in 2015, following a EUR 60 million investment into the first phase of the project.

When finalized, the project will include a 13,000 Auchan store and a 32,000 sqm shopping galleria. Among companies interested in becoming tenants is the fashion group Inditex, with its brands Zara, Stradivarius, Pull and Bear and Berska, according to local media.

The center will also feature a 6,000 sqm amusement area, which will include a multiplex cinema and restaurants.

“We hope to create an urban development in Brasov, not just a shopping center. The plot is about 8 percent of the city's usable area, and we intend to create a new neighbourhood, not just a shopping center,” said Tatian Diaconu, managing director with Immochan Romania said, referring to the ongoing negotiations with a developer for low cost housing.

So far, Immochan intends to use 24 of the 100 hectares of land it owns in Brasov for the Coresi retail project.

Work is under way on the structure, with construction companies Bogart and Conarg in charge. Other construction companies will join the project, with several parts of the work currently being tendered.

Immochan currently runs nine shopping centres in Romania, following the takeover of Real shopping gallerias, and has another project under development, in Bucharest's Drumul Taberei neighbourhood, on the former Tricodava industrial site.

editor@romania-insider.com