The claim of turning a villa project into a university campus stirred up Arnavutköy

The construction of a villa in Arnavutköy, which was claimed to have been converted into a university campus with a renovation plan, has sparked controversy in Arnavutköy. According to the claim, the construction of the private Arnavutköy University planned to be established in Bolluca, Arnavutköy, was carried out in violation of the building permit and zoning regulations. Hikmet Altunkalem, the lawyer of a group of volunteers from Arnavutköy who claim that there are 17 curtain concrete walls and 12 beams missing in the construction, stated, “Due to the fact that the load-bearing columns and static project are not suitable for a possible Istanbul earthquake, it carries a very high risk.”
According to the claim, in the construction of the private Arnavutköy University planned to be established in Bolluca, Arnavutköy, unauthorized construction was carried out in violation of the building permit and zoning regulations. The buildings, previously built as villas, owned by a foundation are being transformed into a university campus planned for 10 thousand students to study. Following inspections by Arnavutköy Municipality teams, it was found that dozens of columns were not built in the structure. Additionally, it was determined that beams and curtain concretes were also not constructed. The expert report submitted to Istanbul 13th Administrative Court regarding the building, whose permit was revoked, revealed the deficiencies in the building.

“Demolition decision has been issued”
Emphasizing that the project initially started as a villa project, Lawyer Hikmet Altunkalem said, “The construction continued for the purpose of establishing a university with a renovation project before the villa construction was completed. After the changes made in the 1/1000 and 1/5000 zoning plans in the zoning plan, a construction permit was obtained and this university construction started. However, unauthorized construction was carried out in violation of the permit. There are two sealing incidents on this building. In the inspections conducted by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in 2020, it was determined that it was non-compliant with the permit and zoning regulations in four main aspects. Following this, IMM decided to stop the construction. Subsequently, in the inspections conducted by Arnavutköy Municipality, it was determined that it was non-compliant with the zoning and building permit, a report was prepared, and then a demolition decision was issued,” he said.

“We expect the implementation of the demolition decision from the authorities”Lawyer Altunkalem stated that the authorities should implement the demolition decision given, “A lawsuit was filed in the 13th Administrative Court to suspend the execution and cancel the demolition decision by the committee, but the administrative court rejected this request. The demolition decision is ongoing. As a result of the inspection conducted by Arnavutköy Municipality, it was found that 22 columns were missing, 17 curtain concrete walls were missing, and 12 beams were missing. With this situation, it is not possible to establish a university here and admit students. It carries a very high risk in the event of a potential Istanbul earthquake. It would be correct for the demolition process to be carried out by the authorities as soon as possible. The application made for the establishment of a university was rejected by YÖK in 2017 after on-site inspections revealed that it was not suitable for university establishment. We expect the authorities to implement the demolition decision. Due to not being suitable for load-bearing columns and static projects in a possible Istanbul earthquake, it carries a very high risk.”