RIVUS, the flagship mixed-use project of IULIUS and Atterbury Europe in Cluj-Napoca, has moved from planning to execution, marking the start of what is billed as the largest urban reconversion development currently underway in Romania.
With an estimated investment of over half a billion euros and a record €400 million green loan already secured, the project will transform the former Carbochim industrial platform into a new urban district blending culture, entertainment, offices, retail and extensive green spaces.
Developed on 14 hectares previously used at just 30% of their capacity, RIVUS will repurpose two industrial heritage buildings into cultural and public venues and deliver the largest leasable retail area in the country, about 142,000–145,000 sqm already more than 70% pre-let.
400+ stores, IMAX cinema and a new gastro scene
The retail and leisure component reads like a regional destination playbook: over 400 shops, including national and regional firsts, Cineplexx multiplex with IMAX technology and an open-air cinema, JUMBO’s first large-format concept in Cluj, and a new Auchan hypermarket concept as anchor.
RIVUS is completed by more than 30 concept restaurants and themed cafés, mixing global brands with over 20% local entrepreneurial concepts. Office space of around 15,000 sqm GLA will complete the mixed-use stack.
52,000 sqm of park space and a new bridge over Someș
RIVUS is designed as a green urban node, with 52,000 sqm of landscaped green areas directly connected to Parcul Feroviarilor and Parcul Armătura, extending the local green infrastructure to roughly 140,000 sqm.
The landscape concept includes a rooftop garden and green façades, over 100,000 decorative plants, 700 mature trees, already acclimatised in a nursery at the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Cluj-Napoca.
Infrastructure investments include a new four-lane road bridge over the Someș River, with sidewalks and bike lanes, two pedestrian walkways to the surrounding parks, modernisation of Porțelanului and Câmpul Pâinii streets, new roundabouts and junction upgrades, around 3,200 metres of cycling infrastructure and up to 4,800 parking spaces.
For IULIUS, RIVUS extends a 25+ year track record in large-scale urban regeneration, after landmark projects such as Palas Iași and Iulius Town Timișoara, plus Iulius Mall schemes in Iași, Cluj-Napoca and Suceava.
