Romania’s first mixed-use development, Iulius Town Timisoara, developed by real estate investment trusts Atterbury Europe and Romania-based Iulius, will open on August 30.

Atterbury Europe CEO Henk Deist on Monday explained that the companies had entered into a 50/50 joint venture in June 2017 to accelerate the development of Iulius Town Timisoara, besides other developments.

“Our partnership with Iulius is delivering powerful results as can be seen in the impressive first phase of the mixed-use retail, entertainment and office development.”

The significant multifaceted precinct has created a city within downtown Timisoara urban regeneration project area, built around the existing 71 000 m² Iulius Mall. It is part of Iulius Town’s 120 000 m² of retail premises, which includes 450 shops, cafés and restaurants, as well as a 12-auditorium cinema.

“Iulius Town is Romania’s biggest retail area outside of Bucharest. It also has the country’s biggest fitness centre, complete with a semi-Olympic swimming pool and playground.

“Soon, it will also boast Romania’s tallest building at 155 m and 27 floors high,” said South-Africa-headquartered Atterbury group CEO Louis van der Watt.

The new high-rise icon on the Timisoara skyline will be the fourth building in the United Business Centre regional commercial hub. The first three are home to multinational information technology and automotive firms.

Together, the quartet of buildings offer 100 000 m² of A-grade offices catering to 13 000 employees.

The first phase of Iulius Town also includes an ultramodern conference centre, as well as a 3 000 m² medical hub.

Additionally, the local municipality has donated the investment necessary for a dedicated traffic underpass that cuts across the complex to provide a smart solution for road traffic.

Iulius Town also has a park built atop an underground parking lot, and features a lake, double-decker carousel, playground, skating rink and several event squares.