It is becoming increasingly evident that increasingly populous and expanding cities need a vision of sustainable development, and the real estate sector can certainly contribute to creating a friendly living environment for its residents. We need practices that create modern, efficient and healthy buildings for those who live and work in them, an integrated approach to the idea of ​​urban life, so that people are no longer prisoners of traffic and pollution.

Mixed-use developments represent a significant opportunity for a conscious approach to urban planning and solutions for bringing communities together and reducing car dependency. Bucharest is already among the 10 most congested cities in the world, so building a well-connected city that compensates for the negative impact of traffic is more than necessary. “Multifunctional developments bring together important components of everyday life, from homes and workspaces to commercial, sports, leisure or educational facilities, thus creating a compact hub, a community that has all the necessary services and thus no longer spends hours on driving, from one end of the city to another. When the places of residence, work and recreation are not connected, but are located at a great distance from each other, in different parts of the city, the tendency of daily use of a personal car is growing. Conversely, when people have access to these services nearby or even within the same complex, they are encouraged to walk or cycle. The benefits are clear, and in this way cities can become cities for people.”– says Beatrice Dumitrescu, CEO of Residential Division One United Properties.

The developer One United Properties was a pioneer in the promotion of mixed-use real estate concepts in Romania, being the most important player in this segment in our country. Examples of such developments in its portfolio include One Floreasca City or One Cotroceni City. They help create inclusive and connected communities. In mixed-use zones, people can find housing, restaurants, commercial services, schools, green areas, cultural and entertainment facilities, etc. Proximity and community building, as well as urban revitalization and environmental protection are at the core of One United Properties’ core vision of city development.

“In our land acquisition strategy, we always focus on identifying large areas where urban-scale multi-purpose development can be designed. One of our sustainable development goals is the development of abandoned and forgotten areas that have a negative impact on the city, but which are given a chance to come back to life, to return to the public circle through the buildings that are being built here. In this way, developments such as One Floreasca City or One Herăstrău Park reopen inaccessible and degraded areas and transform them into new communities.”mentions Mihai Pedurau, CEO of Office Division One United Properties.

One city Floreaska is such an example of a multifunctional building built on the site of the former Automatica platform, which today has become a business card not only of the Floreaska microdistrict, but also of the city. The developer’s investments were directed not only to the construction of ecological residential and office buildings, but also to the reconstruction of the “Avtomatika” park, the expansion of the roadside area, the promenade area along with commercial spaces, parking in the basement of the street. project, all of which allow pedestrian access to the new community. In addition, the company also acquired the former Ford Hall building, the first car factory in Romania, which was in deep decline, and is currently restoring it to become a retail boutique with a shopping gallery and unique loft offices called One Gallery. This space will complete the range of services within the One Floreasca City development.

One city of Floreasca earlier

After one city of Floreaska

Thanks to its excellent location at the confluence of two large residential areas in the north of Bucharest, the complex One Herăstrau Towers it was conceived as a gateway to the city, designed to rehabilitate a massive, dilapidated structure that had been abandoned for more than 30 years, beginning in the 1989s, and eventually demolished by One United Properties. The urban regeneration model was based on a mixed-use development with residential, commercial and office components, thus reviving a discontinuous space in the urban landscape and bringing added value to the entire area.

One Herăstrau tower before

One Herăstrau tower after

One city Kotrochen, the largest urban regeneration project in Romania, which stands on the site of a former abandoned industrial platform, will bring value to the entire area of ​​Cotroceni. This real city within a city, a project of sustainable urban development, will cover an area of ​​more than 10 hectares. The first phase of the project is One Cotroceni Park, followed by the One Cotroceni Towers residential complex.

“Today there is a lot of talk about the 15-minute city, an urban concept that includes daily essential services that residents can reach on foot or by bike, within a quarter of an hour from home. Basically, within a radius of 15 minutes we find the most necessary: ​​infrastructure for mobility, health, leisure, work, education, recreation and supplies, including grocery stores, restaurants, offices. This is an ideal scenario where we no longer have to run from one corner of the city to another to go to the office, take the kids to school or go out to dinner with friends.”, – says Urban Arch. Simona Valianu, chief executive of X Architecture & Engineering, the architectural firm that underwrites the designs for most of One United Properties’ developments.

All these services, provided by large-scale mixed-use developments, help residents to have a deeper connection with their neighborhood and to address modern challenges such as increased traffic, pollution, urban sprawl and, most importantly, from a different perspective. resources, personal time. Therefore, the 15-minute city is a proposal for the development of a polycentric city. One United Properties multifunctional complexes are built in the best areas of Bucharest, so this concept can be illustrated by complexes such as One Floreasca City and One Cotroceni Park. By building mixed-use buildings with a complete social infrastructure that includes green areas, shops and restaurants, roads, sidewalks, services, the developer contributes to creating healthier communities and reducing the carbon footprint of the neighborhood.

Last but not least, sustainability is also supported by green building certification, with the company making a conscious transition to fully green buildings. Since 2017, all residential projects of One United Properties have received the “Green Homes” certificate from RoGBC. All office buildings developed by One United Properties are certified or pre-certified for WELL Health & Safety and LEED Platinum by the US Green Building Council.

As of December 31, 2022, One United Properties had 5,692 residential units and 34,500 square feet of office space under development. In 2022, One United Properties expanded its involvement in the restoration of iconic buildings with two new acquisitions, One Downtown (which also includes the former Hotel Muntenia) and One Plaza Athénée. In total, the gross development cost for the portfolio of restored buildings, which also includes One Gallery and One Athénée, is estimated at €189 million.

One United Properties (BSE: ONE), a leading real estate investor and developer of high-end sustainable residential, office and mixed-use projects in Romania, recently published its 2022 Sustainability Report, which can be viewed here. The report highlights the company’s progress in key areas of sustainability, covering broad environmental, social and governance issues.

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ONE UNITED PROPERTIES (BSE: ONE) is a leading real estate investor and developer of luxury residential, office and mixed-use projects in Bucharest, Romania. One United Properties is an innovative company committed to accelerating the adoption of construction practices for safe, energy efficient, sustainable and healthy buildings. It has received numerous awards and recognition for sustainability and energy efficiency. The company is traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and its shares are included in several indices such as BET, ROTX, STOXX, FTSE Russell Global All-Cap and FTSE EPRA Nareit EMEA Emerging.

Article based on One United Properties