The Obor area is one of the “hearts” of Bucharest. A symbolic place, which bears witness to the history and development of our city. There has always been a special spirit here – a place where traditions have perfectly merged with the Balkan spirit and modernity. And all the effervescence of life in the area comes from the largest market in Romania and in South-Eastern Europe, Piața Obor.
The airport crossed era after era, always adapted to the times and reinvented itself, writing pages of the city’s history. It used to be “Oborul de Cattle” or “Târgul de outside”, where the Bucharest business was in its prime. A colorful and dynamic place, with a melange of singing and circus and comedy shows, with the famous plum brandy and traditional delicacies – doughnuts, gingerbread, cheeses, salep, halva, sausage, etc. A place of diversity – with a fabulous mix of people of different ethnicities, social classes and traditions.
In the interwar period, Târgul Oșilor becomes an emblematic place of Bucharest – a place full of vitality, with a series of attractions: from soft drinks and beer halls with musical programs, to comic artists, Montagne Russe, Chains and the Wheel of Fortune. It has always been the place where people met, socialized and spent their free time together.
The Obor halls are a symbol of Obor always in step with the times. A modernist construction, for which an original technology was implemented: it has a welded steel structure, covered in porous concrete. Built in 1936, according to the project of the architects Horia Creangă and Haralamb Georgescu, Hale Obor remain a symbol of our national heritage.
And we come to today’s reality. “We are talking about an emblematic place for the history of our city, with huge potential, which has been neglected until now. Because there was no vision for the development of the Obor area. Although it is crossed daily by thousands of people, it was treated only as a place of transit, a place where you come on the run and do your shopping. It deserves to be more than that and reach the local markets of Lisbon, Barcelona or Amsterdam. Those attractions we like to visit, where we taste traditional food and feel the spirit of the place. It is worth investing in to restore it to its former glory and turn it into an international reference point on the map of Bucharest. A landmark for tourists, but also for Bucharest residents, who can spend their free time here. The place where you reconnect with people and have traditional culinary experiences ”, declares the mayor of Sector 2, Radu Mihaiu.
The Noul Obor project started 3 years ago, with a concrete plan, in steps, to transform and reinvent the entire area adjacent to the market – the area between Șos. Colentina – Ziduri Moși – Bd. Ferdinand – Bd. Mihai Bravu.
“And as any serious plan begins with study and expertise, we collaborated with the experts of the World Bank. They carried out an extensive urban regeneration study of the Obor area. That’s how we got the best retrofit solutions that we’re already implementing. The central parts of the project are Str. Chiristigiol, which we are finishing soon, and Aleea cu Ceas – here we open the construction site immediately after Easter.
Both are arranged in the form of shared spacewith sidewalks at road level, only paved, with a promenade area, with several green spaces and naturally shaded relaxation places for hot days”, explains Radu Mihaiu.
In parallel, the pedestrian passages at Obor are in the process of major repairs. From the moment of construction until now, they have only benefited from some superficial rags in 2008. As a result, they have reached an advanced state of degradation, due to infiltrations from the street level (especially in the area of the tram lines), which affected the pillars, ceilings and floors.
The comfort and safety of the thousands of people who transit them daily are a priority. Because they are important for traffic in the area – they ensure access to the metro and the crossing of high-traffic roads (Sos. Colentina, Calea Moșilor, Sos. Ștefan cel Mare, Sos. M. Bravu).
“At the same time, we are reconfiguring all the alleys in the neighborhood to significantly increase the number of parking spaces. In this way, we compensate for the reduction of parking spaces on Chiristigiol and Aleea cu Ceas. New parking spaces have already been set up”, details Radu Mihaiu.
It is about the new parking lots on Popa Lazar str. (67 spaces), Str. Heliade Rădulescu (58 spaces), Parc Păsărari parking lot (95 spaces), Aleea cu Ceas parking lot (73 spaces), Chiristigii str. parking lot (116 spaces) and the parking lot in the City Hall (95 spaces), which will be open to residents.
The private sector didn’t stand aside either, but entered the modernization era. The InterParking underground car park is now investing and is already arranging its accesses so that there are more parking spaces in the area.
Obor Square is undergoing modernization with social spaces and a terraced platform for dining. Similarly, the Obor Store is modernizing its facade and reconfiguring its interior space.
“The investments made by the local administration in the regeneration of the area immediately attracted the attention and interest of the private sector. This is what happens when you have a coherent investment plan. This is what happens when you have a vision for the development of a “symbol” area of Bucharest and when you know where you want to go: to turn it into an international attraction for tourists and the vibrant point of the city, where the people of Bucharest meet, socialize and taste traditional delicacies”, concludes Radu Mihaiu.
