Developer Passa Yapı has applied to build a 517-unit housing project in Torbalı, a growing district south-east of central İzmir, and the environmental impact assessment (ÇED) process for the scheme has begun, real estate news site Emlakkulisi reported on Oct. 14.
The project is planned on a plot of 10,420 square metres and is valued at about 970.2 million lira, according to the filing summarised by the outlet. The developer has applied to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, which oversees the assessment process.
What is planned
The scheme consists of two 10-storey blocks, labelled A and B. Besides the 517 flats, it includes three shops with storage units and four caretaker apartments.
Social facilities are also part of the plan: a daytime care centre, a family health centre (aile sağlığı merkezi, the neighbourhood GP clinics of Türkiye’s public health system) and two adult swimming pools. Around 1,104 people are expected to live in the complex once it is fully occupied.
Construction is expected to take around 18 months on average. A temporary site camp with container accommodation for workers will be set up and removed before the project opens. The site lies roughly 0.88 kilometres in a straight line from the İzmir ring road, giving residents quick access to the city’s motorway network.
Why Torbalı
Torbalı sits on the main road and rail corridor running south from İzmir towards Selçuk, Ephesus and the Aydın coast, and is linked to the city by the İZBAN suburban rail line. Lower land prices than in central districts such as Karşıyaka, Bornova or Konak have made it one of the main areas for new mid-market housing in Türkiye’s third-largest city.
For foreign residents and investors, outlying districts such as Torbalı tend to offer newer buildings at lower prices per square metre than the city centre or the coastal resorts of Çeşme and Urla, though rental demand is driven mainly by local families and workers rather than tourists.
Next steps
The ÇED process allows the ministry to assess the project’s environmental effects and gives the public a chance to comment before a decision is made. Construction cannot start until a positive decision, or a ruling that a full assessment is not required, has been issued and building permits have been obtained from the municipality.
The project comes as Türkiye’s construction sector faces weak demand and high financing costs, with mortgage rates still well above 40%, pushing many developers to offer long instalment plans to attract buyers.
Sources
Photo: Halit Edip Özcan / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
