In Istanbul, the only city in the world to offer addresses on two continents, most overseas interest in real estate has focused on the historic, European side, rather than on the newer, Asian one.
That preference may change, though, thanks to a combination of government policy, population growth, demand for new earthquake-proof housing and the increasing difficulty of commuting from one side of this rapidly expanding city to the other.
Taking advantage of these needs is a major new residential and commercial development at Atasehir, on the Asian side of the city.
Five towers of the Varyap Meridian, which will echo Istanbul’s historic skyline of domes and minarets, will house 1,500 apartments and a luxury hotel; there also will be three office centers. The entire project is expected to be complete in 2012.
The development boasts the latest in green construction — covering just 10 percent of its 37-hectare, or 92-acre, site.
And strong early sales of its apartments illustrate how the city’s residential housing market is bouncing back from a decline that followed the global financial crisis.
With a booming population — there is no official count, but estimates are 13 million to 15 million — demand for housing continues to be strong because around 60 percent of all residents are younger than 30.
As the economy recovers — the government expects 3.5 percent to 5.5 percent G.D.P. growth this year. “Lower prices from the downturn are again attracting investment in the residential segment,” said Andrew Rohr, a real estate specialist with Colliers International’s Istanbul office.
And now the Turkish government is backing plans to move all the major financial institutions still in the capital city of Ankara to Istanbul’s Asian side.
“Three state banks, the central bank, the capital markets board and the banking supervisory and regulation agency have all bought their land here,” said Erdinc Varlibas, chief executive of the Turkish developer Varyap, nodding toward a muddy building site in Atasehir, a self-governing region off the main highway to Istanbul’s newest airport, Sabiha Gokcen.
With a new financial center at its core — the move still requires an act of Parliament, which the government promises this year — Atasehir looks set for takeoff.
“Around five million people live on Istanbul’s Asian side, with several million of these traveling to work on the European side every day,” said Mr. Varlibas.
“On a bad day, it can take four hours to get home in rush hour. These people don’t have to be tortured by traffic if they live and work in Atasehir,” he said.
Also, many residents of this earthquake-prone city have been looking for apartments that meet building codes introduced after the 1999 earthquake in Marmara, Turkey, that killed more than 17,000 people.
Yet, even with the advantages, Varyap decided it would take a special effort at Atasehir to attract buyers.
Its solution was to commission RMJM, an international architectural firm originally from Edinburgh, to come up with a design for the Varyap Meridian that would rewrite the rules for Istanbul’s tower blocks.
“We started out by taking the silhouette of the city,” said Chris Jones of RMJM’s Istanbul office. “You get a carpet of low rise across the seven hills, punctuated by minarets. Topkapi Palace, the seat of the Ottoman sultans, is also a very green building, naturally ventilated with shade built in and wonderful views.”
Taking all this into account, the Varyap Meridian’s curving towers use solar and wind power, and the developers have applied independent Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification to verify the project’s green building credentials.
For example, the glass, steel and concrete all come from within the surrounding 800 kilometers, or 500 miles, a LEED requirement.
The project’s apartments range from 54-square-meter, or 580-square-foot, studios, selling for 289,000 Turkish lira, or $195,000, to a 232-square-meter four-bedroom apartment, selling for 1.2 million lira.
The apartments are being sold in three phases: the first, being built now, is all but sold out, while 60 percent of the second phase is sold. The third phase, a 200-meter, or 655-foot, tower — expected to be the highest structure on the city’s Asian side — is not yet on the market.
“We knew we needed to do something truly iconic,” Mr. Varlibas said. Born in 1978, he represents a new generation of Turkish developers who are internationally aware and looking to meet — if not surpass — the best global design standards in residential buildings.
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