A family legacy built on quality and innovation

The road to success in business may not always be easy, and not many investors have the determination, resilience, and strength needed to prevail. Michael Topolinski, InteRo Property Development and MetaWealth co-founder, talked to Business Review about his family business and how it has remained committed to operating ethically in Romania.

By Anda Sebesi

What is your leadership style and how does it support your company’s performance?

The Topolinski family, meaning my children — Michael IV (31), Tyler (29), and Ashton (27) — and I, are all also business partners. Each of us plays a key management role in our business endeavours, coordinating teams, supervising projects, and managing client and business partner relationships.

As a father and business leader, I do my best to mentor my adult children and encourage them to become leaders on their own, build their own brands, make decisions, have initiative, and take on large projects. They do the same with their immediate teams, promoting the entrepreneurial spirit that is in our DNA, and the sound family values that make our company strong, resilient, and trustworthy.

This is the Topolinski Family Difference, for sustainable and responsible business. We approach each project with this family mindset, with the end objective being to represent homebuyers’ and investors’ best interest.

InteRo Property Development is known for its high-quality, technology-driven, and efficiently designed projects that promote higher living standards and develop wellness communities. We are concerned with our impact and legacy—our ambition is to make a large impact on Romania through tokenization and real estate development.

What were your main professional achievements in 2023?

Last year we kicked off Pajurei 3 Residence and SunLight Residence with a EUR 90 million investment. Pajurei 3 Residence is our first luxury ESG-driven project, while SunLight Residence is the best value residential project in Tunari. More than 25% of both developments have been sold. ESG is important to InteRo and our new projects contribute to lowering carbon emissions. Pajurei 3 Residence is a sustainable community with nZEB and BREEAM certifications and Smart Home Technology. We are also proud of our first technology-driven Real Estate Showroom Concept in Romania, which introduces Pajurei 3 Residence. Our showroom is a luxury space with an immersive platform, InteRoVerse, allowing clients to see our portfolio and experience a 3D apartment walkthrough.

One year into its launch, MetaWealth has exceeded our most bullish expectations. The revolutionary investment platform has sold almost USD 13 million in tokenized apartments. In February we closed the largest tokenized Real Estate deal in Spain, worth USD 3.6 million. The first phase of USD 1.2 million attracted unprecedented interest from 190 investors from all over the world, almost 60% of them from Romania.

What were the biggest challenges your business sector faced last year and how did you navigate them?

We all faced the challenges of global inflation, higher interest rates, higher costs, and the war in Ukraine. The political factor was also significant, with the newly implemented fiscal measures. Like most developers, we are still facing considerable bureaucratic delays in receiving building permits. The impact on InteRo’s sales volume and transactions has been limited because our portfolio includes finished projects NorthLight Residence and New Confort City, and our investors receive an exceptional ROI. Investors and homebuyers understand the value of Pajurei 3 Residence considering our project is revolutionising the real estate market with top amenities, luxury finishes from Europe, and a standard Smart Home Feature Package, which is included in the price and the design.

Goals for 2024:

Kick off more than EUR 170 million’s worth of investments in Northern Bucharest
Further invest in sustainable, innovative, and progressive construction technologies
Get MetaWealth to 10,000 investors from 26 countries and USD 100 million in AUM