Cordia, the residential property business of Hungarian developer Futureal, has launched its largest residential construction project in Hungary. The company laid the cornerstone of Marina City, a more than HUF400bn (€1bn) riverfront project in the north of the capital along the Danube.

The residential area is already home to a number of luxury developments. The proximity to the city centre and the Danube makes Marina Part a popular choice for families and investors alike. The first homes were erected in the early 2000s by Israel-owned Autoker.

Cordia will build more than 2,500 homes in 45- and 65-metre high buildings on the 14-hectare brownfield site in the coming years.

As the area has been legally designated a "rustbelt zone", the homes have a preferential 5% VAT rate. Cordia will build on just 30% of the area, chairman Tibor Foldi said, leaving room for large green spaces and a promenade along the river.

Within the project, the company will create public spaces as well, a green area, and a 1.2km promenade along the Danube with a HUF20bn investmen. The area will only be accessible underground from the nearby busy road, known as the Vaci corridor, which stands out as Budapest's premier zone for office development, hosting a third of total office space in the capital.

Around half of the 178 homes in the first phase of the project have been sold.  The homes, expected to be handed over in the summer of 2026, sold for over HUF2mn per sqm on average.

The recent rise in home prices was one of the steepest in Hungary within the EU in the last 10 years, as prices tripled. The average price of a new homes  was HUF1.5mn per sqm in the capital in early 2024.

Futureal co-founder Gabor Futo noted that the developer had already undertaken a number of rehabilitation projects in the capital.

Cordia, part of the Futureal group, owned by the Futo brothers, Gabor and Peter Futo, is one of the largest residential property development and investment groups in the Central and Eastern European region, with more than €5bn in investments.