April 22, 2019

A 3 million-square-foot mixed-use development was unveiled in Romania last week.

The project, dubbed Silk District, features 1 million square feet of office space, 1.35 million square feet of mid-rise residential, including 2,500 units and 750,000 square feet of retail, student housing, a 160-key hotel, fitness facilities, a private medical facility, and a Pre-K school.

For the Silk District, Epstein is providing master planning, architectural design and MEP engineering services and features a collaboration between our Chicago and Bucharest offices.

The project was carefully planned to allow development to occur in phases. Furthermore, each building was meticulously considered and designed to ensure they were both cost and energy efficient, and also respectful of the local real estate market conditions. As a result, we were able to help ensure a maximum return of financial investment for our client, while still providing an attractive and environmentally-sustainable product for the end buyer.

The Silk District development is being designed as a modern neighborhood, aimed to attract young people with healthy lifestyles. From its inception, the development was imagined as not only pedestrian friendly, but also as car free; providing a vision of a sustainable future, free from urban sprawl. The complex will also host summer markets, mini-festivals, alfresco films and other entertainment, enabling patrons to achieve the perfect work-life balance.

"Silk District is an important project, designed so that the community can grow organically, providing new opportunities and creating space to enjoy life. The Silk District will be self-sufficient and expand according to sustainable targets," said a representative from Prime Kapital, the developers of the project.

This 200 million euro development is located on the site of the former Tomiris garment manufacturing campus and, as such, is the inspiration for the name.

During our time in Romania, Epstein's architects, engineers and construction staff have provided a wide variety of professional services for clients in the industrial and commercial market sectors. Our Bucharest office has also been responsible for delivering large manufacturing and office facilities via the Design-Build delivery method, proving our ability to serve as a one-stop shop for clients looking for a single firm to provide site planning, design and construction services.