Akmerkez
Akmerkez is a shopping mall located in the Etiler quarter of Beşiktaş district in Istanbul, Turkey. As the country's third shopping mall following Galleria Ataköy and Capitol, it was opened by a joint venture of the Akkök, Tekfen and İstikbal companies on December 18, 1993.[1][2][3][4]
Location | Etiler, Istanbul, Turkey |
---|---|
Opening date | December 18, 1993 |
Developer | Akkök-Tekfen-İstikbal |
No. of stores and services | 246 |
Total retail floor area | 180,000 m2 (1,900,000 sq ft) (total enclosed area) |
Website | www |
The Akmerkez complex covers an area of 180,000 m2 (44 acres) and consists of a four-story shopping area, with two towers offering a total of 31 stories of office space,[4] 14 and 17 in two towers, and a third tower with 24 stories of residential areas. The shopping area, offering visitors 246 stores,[4] is spread over a triangular area connected to the surrounding main roads through 3 atria. The total rentable store area is 35,000 m2 (380,000 sq ft).[1] There are 41 escalators, 2 panoramic elevators and 30 elevators. The cleaning, security and general maintenance is provided by a workforce of 250 people.
In 2005, the shopping mall was converted into a real estate investment company, and 49% of the stakes were offered to the public. The Dutch real estate investment company Corio owns 46.9% of the public shares.[4]
Akmerkez is visited by nearly 36-38,000 visitors on weekdays and 50,000 over the weekends.[3] The number of visitors reached around 1.5 million per month,[4][5] or 14 million a year. It is reported that the average visiting time is with three and half hours over the world average.[2]
The shopping mall started to host art exhibitions and events with works of significants artists in 2002.[3][5]
Renovation
In 2008, a renovation project for the shopping mall was announced.[6] Between 2013 and 2014, it underwent a complete renovation, which cost more than € 20 million.[1][2][7]
References
- Cengiz, Demet (2014-10-20). "Akmerkez'in içi dışına çıkıyor". Sözcü (in Turkish). Retrieved 2015-09-15.
- "Akmerkez yakında sokağa çıkıyor". Milliyet (in Turkish). 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
- "Art comes to Akmerkez again". Hürriyet Daily News. 2007-10-18. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
- Yuve Kireçci, Satfiye (2006-05-07). "'Akmerkez'in rakibi yok'". Radikal (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
- "Turkey's largest art exhibition at Akmerkez". Hürriyet Daily News. 2005-09-21. Retrieved 2015-08-15.
- "TAkmerkez sets aside $25 mln for renovation". Hürriyet Daily News. 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2015-08-15.
- Topal, Tayfun (2013-11-24). "Bu hamle Akmerkez'i zirveye çıkarır". Habertürk (in Turkish). Retrieved 2015-09-15.
External links
- Official website
- International Council of Shopping Centers
- "Gedik Investment Securities - Akmerkez GYO" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-04-10. (282 KiB)