Definition Consulting

Positioning > Process > Profit

Case Study: Oradea Plaza

Oradea Plaza, Romania (2007/08)

oradea-plaza-all-phases

Task
Rapid re-design, branding and letting campaign for (when complete) 35,000sqm mixed use development.

In 2007 and early 2008 I acted as interim and part-time Romania Country Director for leading CEE commercial property investor and developer Portico Investments. In addition to addressing organisational issues such as the site finding and acquisition process, the main development challenge was this site in Transylvania, near the Romania/Hungary border.

Principal obstacle
On being asked to market the development, I argued successfully that the existing design was unlettable, especially in a city filled with Baroque and 19th century architectural riches.

oradea-unlettable

New Architects
A team from Aedas’s Warsaw office was brought in and a new outline scheme devised in just a few weeks. However, the local authority, having had hopes for the site raised and dashed several times, was extremely sceptical. Winning it over involved a series of meetings, much very fast, hard work on the minutiae and a lengthy audio visual presentation to the full council, in public session. Speaking in Romanian, I introduced this presentation and my team.

Result
Permission was won and Phase 1 of the scheme is now nearing completion. Being small in comparison with typical UK mixed-use sites, it will always be relatively inefficient, but it will look good, has proved highly attractive to tenants, will attract shoppers and will work in a way that the old design could never have achieved.

More information on Portico Investments can be found at http://www.porticoinv.com/

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