Romanian developer IULIUS announced that it secured a syndicated loan facility amounting to over EUR 305 million for its Palas Iași mixed-use complex. The financing is provided by a consortium made up of Erste Group Bank Austria, BCR, Raiffeisen Bank Romania, and Raiffeisen Bank International Austria.
The loan will support the remodelling of Palas Iași and provide capital for other IULIUS developments currently underway.
Palas Iași, opened in 2012, is Romania’s first large-scale urban regeneration project and one of the most visited mixed-use complexes in the country, recording more than 22 million visits last year.
“For this project, IULIUS got a refinancing of more than EUR 305 million, representing the first unitary loan granted to a portfolio of multiple buildings with various functions – retail, office, entertainment, events center – integrated into a mixed-use project,” reads the press release.
The refinancing follows a year of significant fundraising for the company. In 2025, IULIUS attracted over EUR 700 million in total financing, including a EUR 400 million green loan for the RIVUS Cluj-Napoca development announced in May.
The developer has begun work on a major redesign of Palas Iași, based on a concept by Foster + Partners. Plans include reconfigured retail spaces, expanded store formats, new brands, improved natural lighting, and a reimagined connection with the nearby Palace of Culture.
The retail area will grow to 80,000 sqm, while the outdoor Palas Garden will be upgraded with new promenades, water features, and leisure zones. The complex’s events center, Congress Hall, will be relocated and rebuilt with four halls and a capacity of 1,000 seats.
Work has also begun on revamping the esplanade of the Luceafărul Theatre, one of the main access points to the complex, which will become a greener public space with restaurants, terraces, an outdoor amphitheater, and family amenities.
Underground extensions will allow for additional retail areas directly linked to the mall, the company said.
Palas Iași remains the largest real estate investment in Romania’s northeast, valued at more than EUR 320 million and bringing together retail, offices, hospitality, and leisure facilities around the city’s Palace of Culture.
IULIUS operates mixed-use projects and shopping centers in Iași, Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca, and Suceava, and is working on two major new regeneration schemes in Cluj-Napoca and Constanța.
irina.marica@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: the company)
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