Zacaria completes the 2nd phase development of Southern Logistics, Craiova, and increases its commercial position

Zacaria maintained a good pace this year, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, with new and renewed rental deals of almost 47.000 m2 in the industrial segment. The Romanian real estate developer fully leased their industrial park in Craiova, whilst its newest project in Sibiu is close behind, with a 93% occupancy. At the same time, Zacaria took a further step into the commercial segment, signing two additional major players in the home & deco sector, Naturlich and Jysk.

Lease operations

Zacaria, one of the leading industrial real estate providers in Romania, approaches the end of 2020 having signed new lease agreements for square meters similar to that of the previous year despite the COVID-19 situation.

“2020 has not been as spectacular as we hoped it would be, but we’ve seen steady growth throughout the year, and we end 2020 in a better condition than we expected earlier in the year. At the beginning of the pandemic we reassessed our 2020 sales targets and adjusted our approach for the year. Fortunately, our business model proved to be effective to the extent that we surpassed the revised targets we had set. I believe that our success during 2020 is namely due to a close working relationship with our clients by finding reasonable solutions for the ones that suffered, resilience, and being able to adjust quickly to the market changes”, said Jonathan Diamantino, Zacaria’s Chief Executive Officer.

• Craiova

With six new clients in 2020, the two buildings from Southern Industrial Park with a total area of 40,000 square meters, are now fully rented. This industrial park hosts 17 companies from various fields, from transport and production to e-commerce. “We are very pleased that Southern Industrial Park has evolved from just an idea on paper to one of the most successful projects in our portfolio and to one of the most successful development projects in Craiova. We continue to focus to better serve our existing customers while channelling our efforts to start the works on the third Class A industrial building”, said Marius Moga, Sales & Marketing Director of Zacaria. This warehouse will have a utilisable surface area of 13,200 m2 and Zacaria is looking to secure a high-profile client for a built-to-suit project. “Craiova has not yet reached its maximum potential. We expect a considerable economic growth in the area, especially after the completion of the Craiova-Pitești Express Road, which will open opportunities for new investments in the area and will consolidate the existing one “, added Marius Moga.

• Sibiu

One of the more interesting deals Zacaria closed this year is with the client ASOLO. The renowned Italian outdoor footwear manufacturer signed a lease for a 3.600 m2.  The company will begin production in their new unit, located in Network Industrial Park, at the beginning of 2021.

This industrial park, located in the East Industrial Zone of Sibiu, is currently 93% rented and it is expected that by the end of Q1 2021 it will be fully leased.

In addition, Imperial Industrial park located on the west side of Sibiu, which has been modernised into a retail park, has done very well during 2020 mainly due to the signing up of clients such as Naturlich and JYSK. As a result, the entire industrial park has become a shopping destination particularly for home and deco, garden and landscaping.

• New developments

“We expect a good start for the new year, as a result of current market activity and the demand for Class A industrial spaces. So, we plan to expand our Southern Industrial Park with a third building and start the works on a new industrial park in Pitești, where we plan to pre-let units that can be tailored to any company’s individual requirements”, said Marius Moga.

Residential projects

During the last quarter, despite the economic situation and resulting restrictions, the company was able to maintain steady sales in its 182 apartment Valletta Residence project in Baneasa and successfully reach the year-end target which was, „zero apartments left to sell”. Happily, sales for the project American Village also remained steady as demand for villas with Gardens grew during 2020. This gated community located in Pipera still has several villas available, besides which development of 6 apartment blocks, located in the same area, is expected to start by the end of Q2 2021.

2021 will also see the start of the construction of a new residential project located in the historical centre of Craiova. Construction of „Valletta Towers” a 250-apartments project with 2 levels of underground parking plus a Boutique Mall will commence in Q3 of 2020. It’s worth mentioning that the boutique mall will be located inside of a refurbished, protected historical monument which has beautiful and unique architecture. If all goes to plan, residents will have direct access to the boutique mall via an underground passage to which only they will be able to use. The boutique mall is expected to have various well-known retailers, fast food chains, a supermarket as well as many other daily necessity suppliers.

Implications of the global pandemic

The company’s operations have not been disrupted by the pandemic, and it has remained fully operative during the entire year, always there to offer support to its clients, and ensure sustained growth and existence during this difficult time. “This year has been a rigours test for many companies and Zacaria is proud to have so successfully passed the test, more certain now than ever before that Zacaria will withstand the test of time and any challenge”, concluded Jonathan Diamantino.