Israeli group to resume investment in mammoth Communist building

Israeli group Plaza Centers plans to resume the Dambovita Centre Multifunctional Complex, which will be built on the structure of Casa Radio, a mammoth Communist building, located near the Dambovita river, whose construction began in 1986 and was left unfinished in 1989. The investment is estimated at about EUR 1.5 billion, reports local Ziarul Financiar. Plaza Centers has already received the Urban Zoning Planning - PUZ to develop the complex, according to a report published on the London bourse. In the Casa Radio project, the Israeli investor holds a 75% stake in a joint venture with the Romanian state. It is the largest real estate development in the center of Bucharest. The whole project will cover 467,000 sqm. It will include a 90,000 sqm shopping center, spa centers, office spaces, a hotel and conference hall. The developer signed a partnership with the Romanian Development Ministry in 2006. It last announced its intention to resume work in 2012. Plaza Centers has recently sold two plots in Romania. It received EUR 7.25 million for a 32,000 sqm plot in Timisoara and EUR 1.3 million for a 30,000 sqm plot in Constanta. Plaza Centers is part of Israeli group Elbit Imaging, which also owns the Radisson Blu-Park Inn hotel complex in Bucharest. editor@romania-insider.com