Budapest braced for big changes?

Hungary’s Capital is in the throes of Europe’s biggest makeover, providing unique opportunities for overseas investors, in particular District VIII also known as Józsefváros (Joseph’s Town)….

Józsefváros, a centrally located district known for being culturally diverse with high Jewish and Roma (gypsy) populations, has pockets which have remained untouched since they were built in the early 1900s. The District has side streets where 60% of the apartments are smaller than 17m², where 80% have neither an indoor bathroom nor indoor toilet and where high unemployment exacerbated by the fall Communism has led to decline and disrepair.

As early as the 1960s the need for regeneration was recognized, but it wasn’t until 1997 that the city government and local authorities joined together to coordinate the regeneration with the then-called ‘Corvin-Szigony’ project as the centrepiece.

Fresh and unpolluted

Adam Godwin, Marketing Director of Dream Homes WorldWide comments: “The focal point of Corvin-Sétány is a pedestrian Promenade which will be the widest in Budapest and connect the popular Corvin cinema with Orczy Park, one of the largest gardens in Budapest with over 100 species of trees.

“This Promenade is set to have a Parisian vibe with salubrious Bars, shops, offices, hotels, entertainment, restaurants and a 1,500m² Wellness Centre with gymnasium, swimming pool and beauty Salon. Traffic will be redirected underground into 5,000 new parking spaces leaving the air fresh and unpolluted.

“Investors who participate early in this ground-breaking urban rehabilitation will be rewarded in years to come as District VIII is put back on the map, but this time for the right reasons.”

Europe’s biggest project

100 billion forints (405 million euros) have been set aside to breathe new life into this 4million m² area making it Budapest’s, and indeed Central Europe’s, biggest regeneration project.

Of the 2,500 apartments within the project zone, 1,100 may have miraculously survived two wars but are beyond repair and have or will be bulldozed whilst the remaining 1,400 are to be renovated – all of this by 2010.

Budapest’s new Metro 4 underground route began construction in 2006 and the first section is expected to be ready in 2009.