{"id":12987,"date":"2011-07-15T14:18:44","date_gmt":"2011-07-15T11:18:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/?p=12987"},"modified":"2024-02-17T01:31:22","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T22:31:22","slug":"gigantic-zorlu-center-raises-stakes-and-eyebrows-in-istanbul-12987","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/gigantic-zorlu-center-raises-stakes-and-eyebrows-in-istanbul-12987\/","title":{"rendered":"Gigantic Zorlu Center Raises Stakes and Eyebrows in Istanbul"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Zorlu
Zorlu Center stirring controversy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Only a few real estate projects have seized on the contrasts of being part West and part East as the foundation of a development philosophy.<\/h1>\n

Zorlu Center, a mixed-use extravaganza rising in city-central Zincirlikuyu, on the city\u2019s European shores is an example. This four-tower, five-function and two-theater gigantic project aims to provide the city\u2019s most luxurious apartments as well as entertainment for people without a lira to spend.<\/p>\n

The Center, scheduled to open by the end of 2012, also feflects the continued dynamism of Istanbul\u2019s high-end real estate market \u2014 and of Turkey\u2019s robust economy, hardly affected by the global downturn and debt crisis that has crushed its neighbor, Greece.<\/p>\n

Zorlu Center Project : Total Investment of Turkish Company \u00a0$2.5 billion<\/h2>\n

The Center site, which totals 102,000 square meters, or almost 1.1 million square feet, was bought in 2007 for $800 million by Zorlu Property, part of the Zorlu Group, now one of the largest conglomerates in Turkey and in Europe. When the project is complete, Zorlu Property says, the company will have invested more than $2.5 billion. (In Turkey, top-end real estate generally is priced in U.S. dollars.)<\/p>\n

The residential units in the Center, which will vary from 117 square meters to 733 square meters, are selling at $9,500 to $18,000 per square meter, depending on the type of apartment and the view, although the developers think demand will push prices for the best units to $20,000 per square meter by the time the apartments are ready for occupancy at the end of 2012.<\/p>\n

If the prediction is accurate, that would put the Center\u2019s top prices at the low end of the world\u2019s most expensive residential range. Knight Frank real estate states that, for January 2011, luxury prices in Hong Kong were $30,677 per square meter; in London, $26,328; and in New York, $22,614.<\/p>\n

The development seems to be affecting surrounding areas, too. Data from Colliers International real estate brokers show that districts around the Center now command $7,500 to $10,000 per square meter in next-door Etiler and around $6,000 per square meter in nearby Levent.<\/p>\n

Zorlu Center stirring controversy<\/h3>\n

However there is also the dark side of the medallion. Financially well affected areas seem to have benefitted from Zorlu Center, but some urbanists claim the bulk of Zorlu Center will affect the climate and natural fabric of the Ortak\u00f6y Canyon, shadowed by Zorlu Center’s bulk.<\/p>\n

Istanbul chamber of architects and Besiktas municipal\u00a0administration argue with eachother over Zorlu Center’s site and it is claimed that at least 4 floors of the gargantuan centre is being built illegaly.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil recently, we\u2019ve all been wondering how far up prices could go,\u201d said Mehmet Even, an assistant general manager at Zorlu Property. \u201cIstanbul has been basically a wealthy place for hundreds of years, although admittedly, the last century has been a bit quiet. Now, though, it\u2019s definitely taking off again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project, so far advertised only by word of mouth and its towers\u2019 growing outlines on the city skyline, has sold 30 percent of its residential units since pre-construction sales began in October 2010.<\/p>\n

Location, of course, is everything. Zincirlikuyu is a place where a jumble of highways from Asia and Europe intersect, before heading off again into the central business district, the upmarket residential region of Etiler and the older commercial and residential venues of Nisantasi, Taksim and Besiktas. Jammed traffic already a problem will become a gigantic problem, after construction will be completed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do here is create a private place that is also very much a public part of Istanbul,\u201d said Mehmet Emre Zorlu, a board member of Zorlu Property Group who, born in 1984, also is a good example of the growing number of youthful businesspeople in this ancient city.<\/p>\n

To achieve that goal, the architects Emre Arolat and Murat Tabanlioglu \u2014 the Turkish winners of an international competition for the design \u2014 have created a south-facing terrace overlooking the Bosporus, partly as a level surface for construction and partly as a public gathering area. On this terrace, \u201cwe have a hard shell that evolves into a soft and green hill,\u201d Mr. Arolat said.<\/p>\n

Four towers rise from the terrace, including the residential development, a $175 million Raffles Hotel and spa, and around 22,000 square meters of office space. There also will be a shopping center, with parking and access roads created below ground level at a cost of $100 million.<\/p>\nError, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 9)<\/span>\n\n

Istanbul, Turkey, Turkey Istanbul, Zorlu Group, Zorlu Center Istanbul, Zorlu Center, Istanbul Residence,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Only a few real estate projects have seized on the contrasts of being part West and part East as the foundation of a development philosophy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":562,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135,80,63,51,17,118,895,174,184,194,173,1165,14],"tags":[1700,15313,6745,16506,77182,347,7874,16505,7791],"class_list":["post-12987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-football","category-breaking-news","category-daily","category-economy","category-europe","category-hot","category-life","category-turkey-daily","category-turkey-economy","category-turkey-general","category-turkey-headlines","category-turkey-life","category-world","tag-besiktas","tag-besiktas-jk","tag-istanbul","tag-istanbul-residence","tag-turkey","tag-turkey-istanbul","tag-zorlu-center","tag-zorlu-center-istanbul","tag-zorlu-group"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/562"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12987"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78638,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12987\/revisions\/78638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalturk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}