Forum Istanbul, the largest shopping and lifestyle center in Europe was opened on November 17th in Bayrampaşa, near the center of Istanbuls European side. Generating employment for 5,000 persons, Forum Istanbul aims to draw 25 million visitors per year and a targeted annual turnover of €500 million.

Developed by Multi Turkmall, Forum Istanbul is the seventh project in Turkey and the first in Istanbul of Multi Turkmall. The construction of Forum Istanbul was completed by a total investment of €750 Million during the global economic crisis. Forum Istanbul consists of 495,000 m² total construction area, 175,000 m² rentable space, 265 national and international brands.

Speaking during the complex’s opening ceremony; Multi Turkmall CEO Levent Eyüboglu said that including the stores’ investments, the total figure for the complex adds up to 1 billion euros. The shopping center stands on an area of 495,000 square meters and will employ 6,000 people. “We had never made such an effort as we did to build this shopping complex,” he said. “I doubt we can ever do anything better and more beautiful than Forum Istanbul.”

In good news for rental property investors, Forum Istanbul intends to play an important role also in the cultural, artistic, entertainment and social life of Istanbul, and has already started to host national and international events. The “50 Years with Barbie and Lego Exhibition”, featuring hundreds of Barbie dolls and giant sized Lego installations which is exhibited in more than 40 cities has opened in Forum Istanbul. The exhibition, which will remain open until January 24th, 2010.Another is the Fish in Color Exhibition. This will remain open until December 17th, 2009, and showcases the work of Sculptor; Server Demirtas and his team.

Meanwhile, Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay said that Forum Istanbul is a very suitable investment for the city and he added that The ministry will continue to give full support to “forum” projects that are being constructed all over Turkey.

On his part, Bayrampaşa Mayor Hüseyin Bürge said he had always dreamed of his district being remembered for something other than the Bayrampaşa jail. “Finally, with this project, my dream has become real.”

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 29th, 2009 at 1:37 am and is filed under LoftyVistas, Real estate market in Turkey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.