Romanian developer invests EUR 20 mln in expanding mall in Bacau

Romanian investor Ovidiu Budeanu, the developer and owner of the Arena Mall in Bacau, will invest EUR 20 million in expanding the project he opened 11 years ago. The mall opened in December 2007 and required a EUR 40 million investment. The expansion work will start in September next year and will be completed in November 2020. The developer has acquired a land plot of 13,448 sqm next to the mall’s parking lot for the expansion. The investor aims to turn the Arena Mall from a retail center into an urban destination, where visitors can also have fun and relax with family and friends. Thus, the expansion will bring more entertainment areas, a pedestrian area, indoor and outdoor playgrounds for children and a hypermarket. Its total leasable area will increase from 26,000 sqm to 42,000 sqm and a new parking lot will be added. The mall currently has over 100 shops and restaurants and gets over 3 million visitors each year. Real estate consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield Echinox is the project’s strategic consultant for defining the concept and leasing the new commercial spaces resulted in the expansion process. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Arenamall.ro)