South-African investment fund New Europe Property Investments (NEPI) and Carrefour Property will open a new commercial center in Ploiesti, Romania, which will include the existing Carrefour hypermarket in the city. The new commercial center has a total leasable area of 55,000 sqm, 2,200 parking places, and will be opened in November 2012.

Ploiesti Shopping City includes the 14,700 sqm Carrefour hypermarket, a 22,500 sqm area dedicated to fashion and accessories, while 6,500 sqm will include restaurants and a 'fun' zone. The commercial center will also include the biggest cinema outside Bucharest, with 12 screens, operated by Cinema City.

Over half of its surface is already leased, announced the company.  Retailers such as Zara, Pull and Bear, Berska, Sephora, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Orsay, Office Shoes, Benvenuti, Lee Cooper, Mohito, Altex, will be present in the commercial center. The number of stores is expected to increase to up to 100.

“Expanding the commercial center of Ploiesti, through the development of over 40,000 sqm, is proof of Carrefour’s ongoing involvement in Romania,” said Anca Damour, General Manager Carrefour Property Romania.

NEPI Group acquired land adjacent to Carrefour’s operating hypermarket in Ploiesti in Romania in 2011 and reached agreement with Carrefour Property to redevelop the combined properties into a regional shopping center. The construction work started in December last year.

NEPI also acquired recently the City Business Center in Timisoara, which has three existing office buildings totaling 25,000 sqm. The sellers were businessmen Ovidiu Sandor and his partners. Sandor will continue to develop the office park, adding two more buildings and taking the project to 43,000 sqm, according to Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), which acted as the exclusive adviser on behalf of the vendors. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

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

(photo source: Carrefour)