  
   Contact : Mete Sayici General Coordinator  Semra Taskin Info.System Manager Planning&Invertments Manager Head Office :
Inonu Cad. Vakif Han
Tel : (90 212) 251 63 36
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Background the renovator of Hagia Sophia 
Akaretler Row Houses were constructed in the second half of the 19th century, by the order of Sultan Abdulaziz,
for the accommodation of the workers of Dolmabahce Palace. This set of residences is one of the best examples of the civil architecture of 1870's with their neoclassical front design, lacking the influence of earlier Baroque and Rococo styles. The no-court plan applied in these houses reflects the effect of the nineteenth century western architecture to Turkish construction. Total construction area on the region formed by the Spor and Sair Nedim Streets is 30,000 m2. The existing houses are mostly three floors high and are stepped parallel to the slope of the terrain.
It is almost impossible to find the original plans of the buildings for the great modifications they have been subjected since their initial construction. Designed for the residence of single families, the buildings are now mostly used as lodging houses by the General Directorate of Foundations (Vakiflar Genel Mudurlugu), the present owner of the buildings. Transformation from the structure in which indoor functions have been separated to three floors to the one in which each family occupies a single floor required extensive modifications, most of which made according to the preference of the lodgers. Moreover, some portions of the buildings have been used for commercial purposes, which added to the complexity of the existing, and unique internal plans.
The housing complex, as a whole, is now given to the NET Group on a leasehold contract for 49 years as a build-operate-transfer project. The investment will be complete by the end of the year 2000, the first phase has been completed in July 1998.
When completed, the building complex will be transformed into 44 office buildings, 39 apart-hotel units with 184 beds, 34 commercial units, three restaurants/cafés, an Ataturk museum, a luxury office unit, an administration center and a club building. In addition to those above, a multi-floor car park will be constructed on the land adjacent to the site.
The project site, being located almost in the center of the business and hotel district of the city, is only a few kilometers distant to the major hotels of Istanbul such as Swissotel, Ciragan Kempinski, Istanbul Hilton, Conrad Hilton, Parksa Hilton, Ceylan Intercontinental (ex-Sheraton), The Marmara, Divan, and Hyatt Regency. It is 100 meters away from Besiktas haven, 1 km from Taksim square, and 5 kms to Bogazici Bridge and E5 Highway. It is also in a walking distance from various museums, theaters and restaurants as well as Macka Park.
 
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