Spanish company Hercesa Imobiliare plans to turn Bucharest''s Cismigiu Hotel into an aparthotel in an over 6 million-euro investment. The ground floor of the hotel, which has been empty for many years, used to host one of the Romania''s most famous beer houses, Gambrinus.
"The acquisition of the Cismigiu Hotel was the first transaction we made on the Romanian market. We are looking into how to consolidate the building, which has certain peculiarities considering it is part of Bucharest''s historical centre, though I believe that regardless of the solution chosen, the total investment will exceed 6 million euros," explained Alejandro Solano, Hercesa Imobiliare''s general manager.
He says he has not made a decision yet as to the space previously occupied by the Gambrinus beer house. "What''s for certain is that we will have an apart hotel here and this is also where our offices will be located. It remains to be seen what to do about the commercial space," he said.
Nationalised in the 1950s and returned to the heirs of the original owners half a century later, the hotel was acquired by Hercesa last year after having been deserted for a number of years.
The clients of the Cismigiu aparthotel, says Solano, will be foreign business people and tourists.
"There''s an increasing number of foreign business people coming to check out the market to do business in Romania. The supply of accommodation is not very large, however. This is precisely our niche, particularly because we have a location in the historical centre of Bucharest."
The investment in Cismigiu Hotel is not the only project the Spanish developer has announced for the Romanian market. Hercesa was established in Guadalajara 30 yeas ago and has signed a pre-contract with Loulis Romania for a three-hectare plot of land on which it will develop apartment buildings and retail space. The value of the deal could exceed 4 million euros, while the project could approach 40 million euros. Solano said: "We don''t have an answer from the authorities yet, but if get their consent we will begin the construction works."
Hercesa''s plans to develop a residential complex, also including commercial space, whose built area could reach 90,000 square metres. The close to 900 apartments that will be built will be aimed at the medium-income category and are to be completed in no more than two years.
The real estate market in Bucharest has been booming for a number of years. Investors have stayed away from buildings in Bucharest''s historical centre until recently, as in the case of Rembrandt Hotel, a one million euro investment developed by three Dutch businessmen on Strada Smardan using the structure of an 80-year old building.
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