Neo Shopping Mall in Eskişehir officially opened (TR)

Eskisehir's first shopping mall has been opened by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Neo Shopping Mall, constructed by Yapý Kredi Koray Real Estate Investment Partnership and bought by Bosporus Real Estate Fund for approx. €65 million ($94 mln), will employ 2,100 employees. The mall is expected to host 7 million visitors yearly.

Built on 50,000 m², with 11,500 m² of closed space, Neo boasts a Carrefour hypermarket, over 100 shops, a movie theater with 9 screens, covered parking for 1,500 vehicles, cafes and restaurants, as well as exhibition and concert halls.

Hakan Kodal, chairman of the executive board of Krea Real Estate and head of the Bosphorus Real Estate Fond Investment Committee, said, "When talking about real estate, one thinks of Istanbul first. We have focused on projects in Anatolia. Neo is the first investment of our partner Merrill Lynch. We will continue investing in Anatolia with projects like Neo."

Neo Shopping Mall will be managed by the Reval Shopping Centers Managment and Administration Company, an affiliate of Krea. Kodal said he believes that Neo has contributed to the influx of the Eskiþehir market with new products and brands, saying these new products cause competition, which leads to better quality. He added that shopping malls have an important function in registering the retail sector formally.

Boshorus Real Estate Fund, which bought the Neo Shopping Mall, has formed a partnership with Merrill Lynch Global Principal Investments Group and its project development partner in Turkey, Krea Real Estate.

Yücel Ersöz, the general manager of Yapý Kredi Koray Real Estate Investment Partnership, said, "Neo is the biggest investment of Yapý Kredi Koray up to date. Not only in Istanbul but all around Turkey we will continue investing. The proceeds from Neo will be reinvested in other investments. With Neo, we invested for the first time in something other than the residence sector. Foreign investors are more interested in shopping malls. From now on we will invest in residential projects as well as shopping malls."

Source: Turkish Daily News

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