Kucukcekmece, is a huge district. It spans the Kucukcekmece lake, from the old Ataturk Airport to the Mall of Istanbul. This district is home to a plethora of varying neighbourhoods, and it is also the location of one of Istanbul’s best planned neighbourhoods.
Kucukcekmece as a region grew almost inline with the expansion of the Ataturk Airport. Staff on the high salaries tended to live in premium Atakoy, and those on middle and low incomes went to the Kucukcekmece region.
The southern tip of Kucukcekmece, the region which lines the E5 and “Media” highway, is primarily older stock from the 60s-90s. As this type of stock fell out of fashion, the residents saught a better quality of life and earthquake proof housing.
As Istanbul’s wealth grew rapidly in the 90s, demand for secure compounds and better infrastructure grew. Hence the now middle class, white collar neighbourhoods of Atakent and Halkali saw rapid expansion in the 00s and 10s.
Atakent and Halkali today is home to several private hospitals and colleges, and as a result is a hotbed of middle class Turks. Turks love the region due to its organised nature, its large parks, and easy access to all parts of Istanbul. Life here is relaxing, and is a real aspirational district for Turks. Land in the region is rapidly running out.
The southern tip is now the target of real estate moguls. Older stock is being combined to form larger compounds. Formerly marshy land, deemed not fit for construction, is seeing million dollar apartments overlooking the Lake and Marmara sea. Furthermore, much land that was primarily used as storage or warehousing (along the Media Highway) is now seeing high rise office and residence blocks.
Government investment is vast, probably the highest of all Istanbul districts. Three metro lines are currently under construction in the region:
- M7 metro – direct line into the city centre at Sisli and Besiktas. This line links up key business zones of Istanbul;
- M1 metro – direct line into the old city;
- M11 metro – a high speed metro line to the new airport;
- High speed train and Marmaray – a heavy urban rail line which completed in 2019.
Kucukcekmece will continue to grow and is set to rival Sisli, Kagithane, and Atasehir as an aspirational business and residential district. Real estate prices in Kucukcekmece has seen a rapid advance, particularly in 2020 and Q1 2021. This trend is expected to continue, as no further new stock is coming to the region, yet demand for homes is one of the highest in the Istanbul real estate market.
