www.business-review.eu Business Review | April 2022
COVER REAL ESTATE STORY 17 14
“Cosmopolis represents a benchmark for the local real estate industry” Ozan Tuncer, the new CEO of Cosmopolis, the largest private residential district in Bucharest, spoke to Business Review for the first time and provided insight into the company’s new expansion plans and the uniqueness of the city with turquoise roofs. By Aurel Constantin
ABOUT Ozan Tuncer became the CEO of cosmopolis in March 2022. Previously, since 2012, he had been the Chief Financial Officer of Cosmopolis. Earlier, he served as CFO at Synergy Construct, a top general contractor in Romania, from 2009 until 2012. He was also part of the top management of Meteksan Turkey and Meteksan Romania.
new, but this is what allows us to be better and create a better product for our customers and neighbours. We have been on the market for 15 years, and we plan to expand the project for at least 15 more.
You have been in Romania for over 15 years now. How would you describe the development of the local market?
lighted the value of living in a community in Romania is mature, and we are enter-
What are your investment plans for Cosmopolis?
Ozan Tuncer: The Romanian real estate
ing the stage where there is an increasingly
The positive experience of the last two years,
market has evolved tremendously over the
strong segment with homes being bought as
when plenty of voices were predicting a drop
past 15 years. Today, customers are seeking
investments to be rented out, resold or shared
in sales and changes in customer behaviour
value for money, doing their own research,
through Airbnb.
that would affect the real estate market, has
like Cosmopolis. Today, the real estate market
asking for testimonials from friends, and they prefer large residential projects with a
made us really optimistic. We did our homework. 2020, the year of covid, was an ex-
the right boxes. It’s a city in itself in the north
What were the main challenges of turning Cosmopolis into the biggest private neighbourhood in Bucharest?
of the capital, featuring countless facilities,
I think you really get the feel of a project
30 million euros. This confidence comes from
and while it’s extremely close to the vibrant
when you are a customer. Right now, all of the
the quality of Cosmopolis and the fact that we
Pipera and Aurel Vlaicu areas, it’s built in a
company’s top management lives in Cosmop-
are a benchmark for the real estate industry.
way that allows people to start a family, as
olis. We are among the 14,000 people who
Anyone who’s looking for a home in the north
they are protected from all the hustle and
call Cosmopolis home. Last year, we felt the
visits Cosmopolis. We are now picking up
bustle in Bucharest. Customers are no longer
need to expand the road infrastructure of the
the pace because we have 14,000 residents
satisfied with virtual presentations of resi-
neighbourhood, so we opened an additional
and there is demand for a commercial area as
dential projects that are due to be completed
access road to and from Tunari. The commu-
well. We will expand the strip mall into a real
someday, somehow. Those times are over.
nity is growing, and so are the children who
retail park, with more than 15,000 square me-
At the same time, the desire to become a
have been born here, so we have become the
tres for rent. We are also going to have a Lidl
homeowner, to turn a house into a home, has
only private neighbourhood with a medical
store soon, and we’re going to further expand
not disappeared. The pandemic has high-
clinic on site. Every day brings something
the road infrastructure.
clear track record—and Cosmopolis ticks all
tremely good year, 2021 was even better, and in 2022 we’re planning a record investment of