Global crisis triggers early flat sales in UpCity
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Reeta Paakkinen
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 07, 2009 00:00
Sales of flats in Teknik Yapı’s UpCity project in Istanbul’s Kartal district will start six months earlier than expected due to the global financial crisis. The 50 million-lira project consists of 340 flats and a shopping mall and targets first-time buyers
Sales of flats in Teknik Yapı’s UpCity project in Istanbul’s Kartal district will start Jan. 9, six months ahead of schedule due to the global financial crisis, the firm announced yesterday.
UpCity project consists of 340 flats in five blocks and a shopping center across 12,000 square meters on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. The location, Kartal, is one of the fastest developing real estate markets in Istanbul, if not in Turkey. Most of the complex is made up of one- and two-bedroom flats, varying from 50 to 92 square meters in size, and targets first-time buyers.
Apartment sales start six months ahead of schedule
Teoman Metehan, chief executive officer of Teknik Yapı, said the ongoing global finance crisis had prompted the firm to start sales of UpCity six months ahead of schedule.
"The UpCity project is suitable for those looking for reasonable real estate prices in the current economic environment," Metehan said. "We have also noticed that in Kartal there is a need for smaller flats and this is a demand we are trying to address."
Only 30 of the flats in the complex have three bedrooms, the prices for which vary from 206,700 Turkish lira to 236,000 lira. Prices for two bedroom flats vary from 137,400 lira to 190,000 lira and for one bedroom flats from 79,700 lira to 128,200 lira depending on the size of the flat.
All flats are equipped with theft, fire and gas alarms, as well as cookers, ovens, washing machines and kitchen ventilators. The average price per square meter of an apartment currently stands at 1,550 lira.
The complex, which is expected to finish by December 2011, also features an outdoor swimming pool, walking areas, a tennis court, children’s play areas, a basketball court, a fitness center and a closed car park.
"The shopping center at UpCity will include the biggest hypermarket in the Kartal area that still lacks notable retail developments. With its cafes, banks, clothes, furniture and white goods stores, the shopping area of UpCity will enliven the Kartal area as a whole and attract activity there," Metehan said. He also believed UpCity would become a center of entertainment and recreation.
Teknik Yapı expects income from the retail space to cover some of the 50 million-lira investment in the project. The retail spaces at UpCity vary from 50 square meters to 4,000 square meters.
Nazmi Durbakayım, chairman of Teknik Yapı, said the firm was well prepared to manage in the current turbulence. He keeps his hopes high while at the same time remains realistic. "This crisis is something that everybody and every sector have been waiting for two to three years. Any company in the construction industry should prepare well in advance to face this kind of turbulence," he said.
Facing the storm
with a moral duty
Durbakayım touched on the effects of the current slowdown in the construction industry and mentioned firms in the industry also have a moral duty to look after their employees in times of crisis.
"We see ourselves as a boat that the captain should not allow to sink in the face of a storm.
Many of our employees left their hometowns to work for us. They send money regularly to their families at home. Therefore, we cannot just stop projects because of the crisis. If a firm cannot look after its employees in these circumstances it should not enter the construction industry at all. Peoples’ living is just something that should not be played with," Durbakayım said.
UpCity project consists of 340 flats in five blocks and a shopping center across 12,000 square meters on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. The location, Kartal, is one of the fastest developing real estate markets in Istanbul, if not in Turkey. Most of the complex is made up of one- and two-bedroom flats, varying from 50 to 92 square meters in size, and targets first-time buyers.
Apartment sales start six months ahead of schedule
Teoman Metehan, chief executive officer of Teknik Yapı, said the ongoing global finance crisis had prompted the firm to start sales of UpCity six months ahead of schedule.
"The UpCity project is suitable for those looking for reasonable real estate prices in the current economic environment," Metehan said. "We have also noticed that in Kartal there is a need for smaller flats and this is a demand we are trying to address."
Only 30 of the flats in the complex have three bedrooms, the prices for which vary from 206,700 Turkish lira to 236,000 lira. Prices for two bedroom flats vary from 137,400 lira to 190,000 lira and for one bedroom flats from 79,700 lira to 128,200 lira depending on the size of the flat.
All flats are equipped with theft, fire and gas alarms, as well as cookers, ovens, washing machines and kitchen ventilators. The average price per square meter of an apartment currently stands at 1,550 lira.
The complex, which is expected to finish by December 2011, also features an outdoor swimming pool, walking areas, a tennis court, children’s play areas, a basketball court, a fitness center and a closed car park.
"The shopping center at UpCity will include the biggest hypermarket in the Kartal area that still lacks notable retail developments. With its cafes, banks, clothes, furniture and white goods stores, the shopping area of UpCity will enliven the Kartal area as a whole and attract activity there," Metehan said. He also believed UpCity would become a center of entertainment and recreation.
Teknik Yapı expects income from the retail space to cover some of the 50 million-lira investment in the project. The retail spaces at UpCity vary from 50 square meters to 4,000 square meters.
Nazmi Durbakayım, chairman of Teknik Yapı, said the firm was well prepared to manage in the current turbulence. He keeps his hopes high while at the same time remains realistic. "This crisis is something that everybody and every sector have been waiting for two to three years. Any company in the construction industry should prepare well in advance to face this kind of turbulence," he said.
Facing the storm
with a moral duty
Durbakayım touched on the effects of the current slowdown in the construction industry and mentioned firms in the industry also have a moral duty to look after their employees in times of crisis.
"We see ourselves as a boat that the captain should not allow to sink in the face of a storm.
Many of our employees left their hometowns to work for us. They send money regularly to their families at home. Therefore, we cannot just stop projects because of the crisis. If a firm cannot look after its employees in these circumstances it should not enter the construction industry at all. Peoples’ living is just something that should not be played with," Durbakayım said.