The 2024 Readers’ Choice Realty Awards, part of the prestigious Real Estate & Construction Forum and Awards Gala, once again highlighted the outstanding achievements in the Romanian real estate sector. Held by Business Review, this event has a long-standing tradition, now in its 23rd edition, of being “The Voice of Romanian Real Estate.” Over the past two decades, the forum has been a cornerstone in discussing and celebrating the country’s remarkable strides in real estate and construction.

Instituted in 2022, the Readers’ Choice Realty Awards diverge from the traditional formats, focusing instead on the preferences and opinions of the Business Review readership and social media community. These awards highlight the best-performing companies based on their coverage in news articles, stories, analyses, profiles, or interviews from the past 12 months.

Ten exceptional companies were honored with the 2024 trophies, celebrating their innovation, sustainability, and strategic excellence. Here are this year’s winners:

CPI Romania – Real Estate Portfolio Integration Award

This award recognizes CPI Romania for their exceptional success in integrating and managing a diverse and expansive portfolio of office and retail properties, establishing themselves as a dominant force in the Romanian real estate market.

“Thank you very much, Business Review, for this award. It honors us and makes us very proud and extremely happy. It’s me on the stage this evening, but I really feel that the entire CPI Romania team should be here and receive this trophy. It is them who made the achievements of the past year and a half possible. Thank you again, Business Review, for granting us this award which I am very humbly receiving on behalf of the company, and further on I’m dedicating it to our team who manages an impressive portfolio of over 600,000 sqm in both office and retail properties.” Said Andreea Cotiga, Head of Leasing Office at CPI Romania, when presented with the award.

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Dan Petrisor, One United Properties: key speaker at Real Estate & Construction Forum & Awards 2024

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ARQA – Community-oriented Luxury Residential Project Award

Arqa is celebrated for their commitment to creating the most luxurious, community-oriented residential project, featuring high-end amenities like a heated swimming pool, cigar lounge, zen terrace, and extensive underground parking.

“It’s an honor and privilege to be here in front of you. This award represents a team effort, but we should also honor the company owners who created this team and are very implicated in every aspect of our business. Thank you very much!” Declared Alexandru Radulescu, Chief Sales Officer at ARQA.

Vastint Romania – Green Innovation in Real Estate Award

Vastint Romania receives this award for their groundbreaking project, Timpuri Noi Square Phase II, which pioneers the elimination of fossil fuels in construction, setting new standards with renewable energy and green certification goals.

“Thank you very much, it’s a great pleasure and honor. This award motivates us to take our developments to the next level. We have a long way ahead, but we are very well prepared and we will deliver!” Antoniu Panait, Managing Director at Vastint Romania, said onstage when receiving the award.

One United Properties – Innovative Residential Concept Award

One United Properties is recognized for the One Verdi Park project, showcasing a new and innovative residential concept that blends modern living with luxury and functionality.

“Thank you very much, Business Review. This is a team effort, it’s an honor to be here and we look forward to receiving even more awards!” Dan Petrisor, Capital Markets and Transactions Director at One United Properties, told the audience while receiving the trophy.

Teleperformance Romania – Back to Office Adaptability Award

This award acknowledges Teleperformance Romania for their exceptional ability to swiftly adapt to return-to-office challenges, successfully transitioning over 1,000 employees from the work-from-home model back to the office. Leonard Crisean, COO at Teleperformance Romania, received the award and stated:

“I could start with a catchphrase from a very famous rapper: „I thank myself for this award!” But I will not do that. First of all, this is dedicated to the team back home that made everything possible. Last but not least, I would like to thank you all here tonight, keep on building sustainable structures, bigger and more competitive office buildings so that you can support our businesses to keep growing, and for us to support your development plans!”

Genesis Property – Real Estate Pioneering in Sustainability Award

Genesis Property is honored for their unwavering commitment to sustainability, driving innovative practices that set a benchmark for environmentally friendly construction in the real estate sector.

“Thank you very much for this award, it’s an honor to receive it. It’s a recognition to our shared commitment to a sustainable future. This award belongs to our sustainability task force in our company and I assure you that tomorrow we will celebrate this trophy with lots of champagne. Thanks to our team, to our visionary leader, Liviu Tudor, who made all this possible, and thank you Business Review for this initiative. Keep going!” Said Marcela Stancu, Community Director at Genesis Property.

Speedwell – Eco-Community Synergy Award

Speedwell receives this award for their Glenwood Estate project, which embodies the perfect synergy between ecology and community, integrating timeless design, sustainability, and flexible delivery options.

“Thank you, Business Review! Everything we do at Speedwell revolves around sustainability, but our team and our designers in particular have taken it to a different level. Glenwood Estate has 70,000 sqm of green spaces, every villa has solar panels, and heat pumps. It’s really green living at the next level!” Said Didier Balcaen, Co-Founder & CEO at Speedwell, while receiving the award.

Hagag Development Europe – Heritage Restoration & Renewal Award

Hagag Development Europe is recognized for their efforts to preserve, restore, and renew the historical monument Stirbei Palace on Calea Victoriei, repurposing it into Romania’s premier luxury shopping destination, enhancing the country’s high-end retail experiences.

“Thank you, Business Review, for recognizing our efforts into bringing back to life one of the most emblematic historical monuments in Bucharest. I am absolutely positive that H Stirbei Palace will be one of our flagship projects, and a flagship project for Bucharest, because it represents a new step for the Romanian retail market. As Colin Lovering said in his wonderful presentation, we’re going to put Romania on the map of luxury shopping experiences!” Andreea-Maria Ciobanu, Chief Marketing Officer, Hagag Development Europe, said in front of the audience when receiving the trophy.

Iulius – Excellence in Mixed-Use Development Award

Iulius is celebrated for their outstanding strategy and execution in developing premier mixed-use projects. Their visionary approach to integrating residential, commercial, and recreational spaces creates vibrant and sustainable communities. The trophy was picked up by Marius Persenea, Chief Operating Officer at Iulius Group. He declared:

“Thank you, Business Review, for the award and for the invitation at this very nice event this evening. This award is very dear to us because it emphasizes our vision which started almost 15 years ago, when the group decided that our future core assets would be mixed-use projects. Looking back in time, 15 years ago sustainability was almost an unknown word and between the various services and uses that we included in our projects were the green areas. The parks became the core of our assets since then. Today, we are happy and proud that we had this vision. Meanwhile, in our projects across Romania we received 70 million visitors per year, proving once again how attractive they are in terms of concept. There are about 35,000 employees working in these projects and about 1500 companies are active in our mixed-use projects. All these wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts our our entire team, therefore this award is dedicated to the entire Iulius Group!”

InteRo Property Development – Innovation Pioneer in Real Estate Award

InteRo Property Development is honored for introducing Romania’s first technology-driven real estate showroom concept with Pajurei 3 Residence, revolutionizing client experience through immersive 3D virtual reality, next-level luxurious customer experience, and cutting-edge design. Receiving the award, Alexandra Dumitrescu, Sales Manager at InteRo Property, stated:

“I would like to accept the *Innovation Pioneer in Real Estate Award on behalf of InteRo Property Development and the innovator, Ashton Topolinski. Ashton unfortunately is out of the country but she sends her appreciation. Today marks one year since we officially opened the Showroom Concept for our clients. We always put our clients first and with this, Ashton decided to innovate a new way of interacting with clients during showings and meetings. InteRo has developed the first innovative client-focused Showroom Concept in Bucharest. Our clients have first-class showings with a next level customer experience – clients embark on an immersive technological journey guided through InteRoVerse, our first-to-market 3D apartment virtual tours, a demonstration of our Smart Home Technology, and, finally, clients see our luxury finishes displayed in our Design Center. Considering sustainability is a core value at InteRo, our luxurious Showroom Concept is built with sustainable modular containers optimizing resources and reducing waste. Located in our Showroom Concept in Bucuresti Now, Sector 1, our Schneider Smart Home Panel demonstrates to clients our apartment’s heating, cooling and automated lighting installed in all apartments and ready for use upon move-in. We also offer clients advanced security systems, automated irrigation systems and advanced security systems including smart locks, video intercom and 24/7 surveillance. We believe that Romania, the least innovative country in the EU according to the official Innovation Scoreboard, can bring life-changing innovations to the world and specifically to Romania’s real estate development. We truly invest in building high-quality and sustainable projects to elevate the standard of living in Bucharest. We welcome clients interested in living an exclusive luxury lifestyle at Pajurei 3 Residence and earn a healthy appreciation and yield. if you would like to learn more, please come say Hi to me this evening. Thank you!”

These awards not only celebrated the achievements of the past year but also set a high standard for future developments in Romanian real estate. Congratulations to all the winners for their remarkable contributions to the industry!