Large plot in Istanbul’s Ataköy to be up for sale in 2 months

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

The large lot that will go up for sale in the coastal area of the Bakırköy district on İstanbul’s Eruopean side features a giant marina project of 378,000 square meters. Hürriyet photo

Some 670,000 square meters of land in the coastal area of Istanbul’s Bakırköy district, including the Ataköy Tourism Complex, will be put up for sale.

The Housing Development Administration (TOKİ) and DATİ Investment Holding have jointly agreed to sell their land in the area, as well as the commercial license and assets that go with the property, said Ali Seydi Karaoğlu, the head of TOKİ’s Istanbul Real Estate Office at a press conference on Aug. 15.
The Ataköy Tourism Complex includes the Galleria Shopping Center, Sheraton Hotel and Ataköy Marina, and was sold to the DATİ Investment Holding in 2004 by the Privatization Board. TOKİ holds simple ownership of the 138,467 square meters of land that the complex is built on. DATİ holds the commercial license for the complex for the next 26 years, Karaoğlu said, adding that DATİ also owns 10,241 square meters of property in the area. In addition to this the sale will include 144,000 square meters of land that has been leased from the Undersecretariat of the Treasury, and a giant marina project of 378,000 square meters.

670,000 square meters

“The total usage area of the property that is subject to sale is 670,000 square meters,” Karaoğlu said. The marina project has the necessary approvals, he said. He said he expects a significant amount of revenue from the sale and TOKİ may start the sale tender process within two months.

“It is a valuable piece of land in terms of air, marine and land transportation, its tourism potential. There is no dispute about the development plan, as all of the legal procedures are over. It is a very attractive location for investors, and it is very important for Istanbul. If the project materializes, it will raise Istanbul’s tourism potential to unimaginable levels” Karaoğlu said. The area has been declared a tourism zone, and it is in the public’s interest to sell the land as one package, he said.

TOKİ holds a 60-percent and DATİ a 40-percent share in the total value of the Ataköy Tourism Complex, said Gökhan Kıran, the chief executive officer of DATİ, also speaking at the press conference. DATİ was founded by 67 partners from the maritime sector, and acquired the Ataköy Tourism Complex for $200 million and a further $200 million were invested in the complex, said Kıran. “There has been [economic] difficulty in the maritime sector for four years, and there is no sign of improvement. That’s why the partners decided to sell off DATİ. After one year of talks with TOKİ, we brought up the idea of a joint sell-off,” he said.