Bucharest, January 17th, 2024 – Forte Partners announces LEED v4 Platinum certification for U•Center 2. The certification process is part of the sustainability cornerstone of U•Center project and was coordinated by BuildGreen, leading sustainability consultancy company in Central and Eastern Europe.
“U•Center 2’s LEED v4 certification attests to the building’s sustainability and is also a validation of Forte Partners’ approach to office project development, focused from concept and design through construction and delivery on energy efficiency and the health and well-being of our tenants’ employees”, said Stephen Burke, Director of Construction at Forte Partners. “This approach is, in fact, the solid foundation on which we have built our ESG policies. Carbon reduction, smart water use and reuse, waste management, green transportation, biodiversity, health and wellness are the pillars of our sustainability vision”, Stephen Burke added.
LEED v4 Platinum certification with a score of 88 was awarded to the second phase of the U•Center project following evaluation against eight criteria, namely location and transportation, project sustainability, water efficiency, energy and climate efficiency, materials and resources used, indoor environmental quality, innovation and regional priority.
„We proudly embrace and support developers that focus on stringent factors related to sustainability, beyond the clasical certification criteria. Forte Partners is such an example, as sustainability has been part of their business strategy since Day 1. The LEED Platinum certification of U•Center 2 is pure proof and we are happy to be part of such complex achievements. The Platinum level requires a set of strict sustainable actions, equipment and technology, which imply significantly higher efforts to reach today’s climate goals” – states Răzvan Nica, BuildGreen founder and Managing Director.
In line with Forte Partners’ ESG policies and related objectives, the company is ensuring that the buildings it develops are constantly improving in their energy efficiency and carbon footprint. This procedure, aside the certification processes mentioned above, has led to U•Center 2 being a carbon neutral building in operation (S&C), incorporating, among the building’s many improvements, the sourcing of electrical energy from 100% renewable sources, reusing rainwater, weather forecasting for higher performance cooling.
Forte Partners announced in September 2023 the completion of U•Center 2, with a GLA of 35,000 square meters and that the project is ready to welcome its tenants. Currently, lease agreements have been signed for almost 30,000 square metres of space in U•Center 2. Companies that have offices in the building include Glovo, Brinel, Eurowag.
The retail spaces on the ground floor of U•Center 2 are fully leased. Auchan opened a large supermarket in October 2023 in a 2,600 sqm space. The lease transaction recently received the CIJ award in the “Best Retail Lease of the Year” category at the CIJ Awards Romania 2023. The retail area in U•Center 2 was completed in November by Manufaktura The Coffee Shop restaurant chain, which will open its eighth location, including an outdoor terrace, near the Parc Tineretului.
About U•Center
Located on Calea Șerban Vodă, with quick access to Tineretului and Carol parks, a short walk from Tineretului metro station, a 10-minute walk from Octavian Udriște metro station and easy access to
surface public transport, the U•Center office project has a retail component on the ground floor and is being developed in line with Forte Partners’ strategy to provide all the facilities and features of modern and comfortable urban living in sustainable and energy-efficient buildings with easy access to public transport, shops and other social amenities. You can also find more info on CIJ Europe website.
About Forte Partners
Forte Partners, founded in 2014 and owned by the Jabra brothers, Geo Mărgescu and Stephen Burke, is one of the most important real estate developers in Romania. The company has so far developed a portfolio of projects worth over € 550 million, both on the office and residential segments.
In the past, Forte Partners developed the Ștefan cel Mare Building, The Bridge office project, the Londra 27 residential project and finalized the Aviației Park residential project. Forte Partners has developed the Sector 0 Initiative – Millo Offices and Tandem, premium office projects for the creatives downtown Bucharest – and U•Center Phase 1 and Phase 2. Forte Partners’ projects have received national and international recognition for the quality of architecture. In October 2021, ADNBA received the highest award at the 2021 National Biennale of Architecture for the design of Millo Offices, an office building developed by Forte Partners. For more information about Forte Partners, visit the company’s website.
About BuildGreen
BuildGreen is one of the leading ESG and sustainability consultancy companies in Central and Eastern Europe. BuildGreen is specialized in sustainable design, carbon neutrality, decarbonization, audit and certification.
Founded in 2010, BuildGreen was the first company in Romania to offer advisory services for sustainable building and certification. Since its launch, BuildGreen has been recognized across Europe as an active promoter and initiator of high-standard sustainability-based strategies for real estate developers and investors – helping clients to understand their material impacts and risks, establish ESG goals and build ESG strategies that drive change.
BuildGreen’s team of in-house specialists also helps clients to calculate their Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions, set goals and develop carbon reduction strategies.The company stands out today with one of the largest number of properties assisted for sustainable development and certification across Europe – over 350 real estate developments in 18 EMEA countries, totaling over 10 million sq.m. and €10 billion investment.
