Hoping to cash in on growing interest among GCC investors in Turkey, Rotana yesterday announced a venture to build a 30-storey hotel, apartment and office tower on the outskirts of Istanbul.
The Abu Dhabi-based hotel chain said that it had agreed to work with the Turkish developer Mar Yapi to build Tri G, a 38,500 square metre glass and steel tower in the Günesli neighbourhood on the European side of the city.
The project, which won a Mipim property-show award in 2013 for its design when it had been intended as a 35,000 sq metre office building, will comprise a 152-room hotel operated by the Rotana brand Centro, alongside 153 apartments and 2,500 sq metres of shops and offices.
Rotana said that along with its partners it would own 40 per cent of the new project while Mar Yapi will own 60 per cent. It did not say how much the project would cost to build.
The project is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2016. It is located on the Basın Ekspres Yolu link road which connects the busy D100 and TEM motorways and links Atatürk International Airport to the city. It is estimated that about 200,000 vehicles a day travel along the road.
Rotana officials were unable to give the prices for the apartments when asked by The National.
“We expect investors in the Gulf markets to comprise a sizeable segment of apartment owners at Tri G,” said Münir Özkök, the chairman of Mar Yapi.
The news comes amid increasing Middle East investment in the Turkish property market since the passing of a new law in 2012 which made it easier for foreigners to acquire real estate in the country.
Turkish real estate projects were some of the main overseas exhibitors at last week’s Cityscape exhibition in Dubai.
Besides increasing the maximum size of real estate a foreigner may buy from 2.5 hectares to 60 hectares, the law also abolished the so-called rule of reciprocity under which only citizens of countries allowing Turks to own property could buy real estate in Turkey. The rule’s removal opened the door to many Arab investors.
According to figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute, sales to foreigners in Turkey rose 60 per cent year-on-year during the first six months of 2014, totalling 8,507 property purchases.
“Istanbul has certainly been a winner for us this year,” said Julian Walker, the director at Spot Blue International Property. “Interest has been strong from Middle Eastern buyers in particular, with most buying one or more buy-to-lets in the mushrooming suburbs of the city, such as Beylikduzu and Bahcesehir.”
The news comes just 18 months after Rotana announced its first foray into the Istanbul market, when it signed a deal with the Turkish developer Dap Yapi to manage twin hotels the Tango Arjaan by Rotana and Burgu Arjaan by Rotana in the Maltepe area of Istanbul, which together will comprise a total of 410 rooms.
Rotana manages more than 100 properties in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and eastern Europe.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
Follow The National's Business section on Twitter
