Izmir

A Turkish company, in partnership with a Russian-based firm, has launched an all-service shopping mall project in Turkey's third-largest city İzmir.
Construction on the mall, to cover a 54,000 square meter area, will start within the first quarter of 2009 and is expected to be finished by the end of 2010.

Sitting right in the city center, the project is designed to unify the two sides of the Agean city. Tekfen-OZ Real Estate Development Co. Inc., founded by Tekfen Real Estate Development Co. and the U.S.-based Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, a global institutional alternative asset management firm with approximately $30 billion of assets, and Renaissance Construction, an international construction company founded in 1993 in Russia with Turkish capital, are equal participants in the joint venture, the Tekfen-OZ Renaissance Shopping Mall.

With expectations of 12 million visitors annually, the project includes a shopping center, offices, houses, cultural areas, cafes, restaurants and a 2,600 vehicle parking lot.

“This is the largest real estate development project in Izmir that is being processed under a single project,” Mehmet Erktin, board chairman of Tekfen-OZ Renaissance, said at a press conference in Istanbul yesterday.

“Despite having a considerable shopping center potential, there is a lack of real estate investments in Izmir. The city will receive a living quarter that it deserves through our project,” Erktin added.

The project includes a 60,000 square meter leasable shopping center area and a 60,000 square meter area for residences and office blocks, for a 200,000 square meter total construction area.

“Turkey ranks below the world average in terms of shopping centers, but Istanbul exceeds that measure. There is a shopping center deficit in İzmir in spite of the fact it is a large city when European standards are considered. We aim to make up that deficit,” said Erktin.

The project aims to provide wide and spacious open air areas, compatible with the Aegean lifestyle and climate, rather than the classic closed door shopping mall concept.

At the shopping mall, set to be the largest in the region, Izmir residents will have easy access to various services, including cinemas, cultural activities, offices and houses. The project is expected to provide employment for 5,000 people and is valued at nearly $250 million.