Dâmbovița Center is an unfinished Romanian building in Bucharest, Romania, near Cotroceni, on the shore of the Dâmboviţa River. It was erected during the late 1980s by the Communist regime over the terrain which used to be the Bucharest Hippodrome before World War II, and was intended to serve as a museum of the Romanian Communist Party.[1] The balcony (which no longer exists) of the unfinished building facing Ştirbei Vodă Street was used by the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu on 23 August 1989 to watch the festivities marking Romania's National Day. It was the last Communist-style parade in Romania.
The Romanian government contracted the construction of a hotel and a mall called "Dâmbovița Center" to the Turkish company Cenk Vefa Kucuk. The project was supposed to be a $275 million investment and the largest multipurpose complex in the region. It was supposed to build a 300-room hotel, 69,000 m² of retail spaces, 16,000 m² of offices, 45,000 m² of commercial galleries and a residential complex, designed to include 200 apartments, a parking lot, restaurants and a hospital. The government, which provided the building, would get only 10% of the income.
The government canceled the contract in 2005[2] because of various irregularities regarding the auction, the company and the financing[3]. The company said it would sue to recover the money already invested[4].
In the winter of 2006, a public-private partnership agreement between Elbit Medical Imaging, an Israeli company, and the Romanian government was announced to develop Casa Radio[5]. The Romanian Government will remain a 15% partner in the scheme. Construction began in June 2007, after a decision to demolish 70% of the initial building[6], keeping only the facade and the structural framework.
The new project will consist of a mall of 100,000 m2 (1,100,000 sq ft), a five star hotel with 320 rooms, a residential area with 300 apartments and three office towers of 26, 30 and 34 floors with the last tower having 155 m (509 ft).[7]
| Dâmbovița Center Towers | |
|---|---|
| Dambovita center.jpg | |
| General information | |
| Status | On-hold |
| Type | office |
| Location | Bucharest, Romania |
| Coordinates | |
| Construction started | 2009 |
| Completed | 2015 |
| Opening | 2015 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 155.4 m (510 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 35 |
| Floor area | 100,000 m2 (1,100,000 sq ft) |
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