Renaissance Residence, where hundreds of people were left under the rubble and dozens of people lost their lives, has already become one of the symbols of the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake. It was also a matter of debate who gave the necessary permissions for the construction of the 12-storey 250-apartment building, which was demolished in Antakya and left hundreds of people under the rubble. Stating that it will be built to high standards, “a square from heaven” Permissions for the residence, which is marketed with its visuals and promises luxurious living conditions, were granted by Ekinciler Town Municipality in accordance with the provisions of the Zoning Law in 2012.
The municipality was closed when Hatay was granted metropolitan status in 2014. Ekinciler Town Mayor from CHP at the time Seyfettin Yeralto T24 “We gave permission, but we were not in control. We didn’t have an inspection officer anyway. My house was destroyed too“He said. Even though the legislation at that time described in detail how the buildings would be built, it also clearly shows the lack of supervision. It was learned that the current apartment prices in the building, which was striking to be demolished by falling forward unlike other buildings, ranged from 1 to 3 million liras. “The life of your dreams has begun.” In the first sales made in 2013 with the slogan, the cost of large apartments reached 500 thousand liras.
Rescue works at Renaissance Residence have been going on since the first day of the earthquake. It is considered that many people who are still missing are under the rubble of the building.
Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Lutfi WarAccording to the information provided by , the construction permits for the residence in Antakya, the central district of Hatay, which was discussed and became one of the symbols of the earthquake, were granted in 2012. Advertisements for the building were also started at that time.
Advertisement “To be built to high standards”
The apartments in Renaissance Residence were sold quickly with advertisements “to be built to high standards”. In the advertisements of the company, the expressions “It will crown the architectural beauty of Antis Yapı, which will be built with high standards and which have social opportunities intertwined with nature, with perfect comfort”.
It first became operational in 1990.
According to the Trade Registry Gazette records, Antis Yapı, which undertook the construction of Renaissance Residence, was first established on September 20, 1990 by Mehmet Yaşar Coşkun and Hüseyin Yalçın Coşkun as Antis Yapı Merkezi Proje İnşaat Decoration and Trade Limited Company.
Continuing its construction activities, mainly in Hatay, with the partnership of two brothers, the company changed its name on 25 May 2011. The company has been continuing its activities under the name of Antis Yapı Ticaret Limited Şirketi since then. Renaissance Residence was built in 2013 as the most important project of the company. In the same year, the necessary permits were granted and the residence began in the building.
Contractor caught running away
The contractor of the residence, Mehmet Yaşar Coşkun, was caught and arrested at Istanbul Airport while fleeing abroad. The residence was also shown as the most important project of the company at the time it was advertised.
Antis Yapı moved its headquarters to Montenegro in 2017. He founded a company called Antis Montenegro Consulting in Budva. It provides technical and legal services on issues such as obtaining a residence permit and citizenship.
“Not the provincial municipality, but the town municipality”
The fact that the apartments in the residence, which were sold with the promise of security and luxury, were destroyed despite being built in 2013, brought along discussions about the zoning permit and inspection processes of the buildings.
Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Lütfü Savaş pointed to the Metropolitan Law on who gave the permissions for the construction of the building and the start of the session in the building.
In his statement to T24, Savaş reminded that the Metropolitan Law came into force in 2012 and that the town municipalities were closed with the 2014 local elections in this context, and stated that the zoning license was given by the Ekinciler Town Municipality before the Metropolitan Law.
Legislation gives the authority to the municipality
The legislation in force in 2012 also confirms Savaş. In the period when the construction permit was given to Rönesans Residence, the Zoning Law and the Municipal Law left the authority to issue construction permits to the town municipalities.
According to the regulations in both laws, provincial municipalities were authorized to prepare a “master zoning plan” at that time. This plan was put into effect after it was approved by the city council. Relevant ministries also had the authority to oversee this plan.
In line with this plan, the authority to prepare an implementation zoning plan and to issue construction permits according to the implementation zoning plan was also left to the district and town municipalities.
Turkey, which is said to have learned lessons from the Marmara Earthquake, granted this authority to town and district municipalities that had no supervisory staff until that date.
Authority in Hatay
In Hatay, which was not yet a metropolitan city at this date, the municipality was serving as the central municipality. Hatay was taken into metropolitan status by the law that came into force on 6 December 2012 and stipulating the establishment of metropolitan cities in 13 provinces, and Hatay Metropolitan Municipality was established.
Zoning plans were prepared before the Metropolitan Law.
The zoning and construction plans for Renaissance Residence were also prepared before the effective date of this law. Since Hatay was not in metropolitan status at that time, the zoning plan of the area where Renaissance Residence was built was prepared by Ekinciler Town Municipality and the approval was given by Ekinciler Municipality Council.
Likewise, Ekinciler Town Municipality gave the construction permit approval for Rönesans Residence, as the construction permit approval was also within the jurisdiction of the municipality, according to the municipal law in force at that time.
They retained their authority until the 2014 local elections.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Interior issued a circular on April 24, 2012 on the debates on the powers of the town municipalities, and with the Metropolitan law to be enacted at the end of the year, the municipalities had transferred the authorities of the towns to the governorships.
However, in this circular, the powers of the town municipalities regarding the change and revision of the zoning plan and the construction permit transactions were excluded. Thus, town municipalities retained their powers for zoning plans, construction permits and occupancy permits in non-metropolitan cities until they were closed after the local elections in 2014.
The authority to control the zoning plan is in the ministry.
The Ministry of Environment and Urbanization had the authority to supervise the zoning plans within the boundaries of the town municipalities and the central municipality.
“We just gave permission, it’s not my job to control”CHP’s Seyfettin Yeral, who was the mayor of Ekinciler Town at that time, also confirmed that the permits were given by them. Even TOKİ buildings were demolishedStating that their own house was also destroyed, Yeral said, “Now we have come to Anamur, we barely saved our lives. In fact, all of Antioch was destroyed. Not only Renaissance, even TOKİ buildings were demolished,” he said. |
From Mehmet Yaşar Coşkun’s statement: I don’t know why it collapsed either, the ground survey was done and it was in good condition.In his statement to the prosecution, Coşkun stated that he is the owner and contractor of Antis Yapı İnşaat. Stating that the other partner of the firm is his brother, Coşkun said that Rönesans Residence was built by the company of which he is a partner. Stating that Renaissance Residence consists of 4 blocks, 249 independent sections and two car parks on the ground floor, Mehmet Yaşar Coşkun explained that the building, which was started to be built in 2011, was completed in 2013. “There were no problems during the two-year construction period” “There were no problems during the two-year construction period, we finished the construction without any accident. The building has been in use for 10 years, there has been no problem during this time. No major changes were made to the building afterwards, we fulfilled all the procedures stipulated in the legislation. We carried out the reinforced concrete rough construction based in Istanbul. We gave it to a company called Yapı İnşaat. As far as I remember, this company also had two partners.” Stating that he built many buildings such as the Renaissance Residence, Coşkun argued that a building on 75. Yıl Boulevard in Antakya was also built by them, and that he was informed that there was no problem in their buildings other than Renaissance. Mehmet Yaşar Coşkun continued his statement as follows: “I don’t know why Renaissance Residence was destroyed either” “I don’t know why the Renaissance Residence was demolished either. The ground survey of Renaissance Residence was done and it was in good condition. All the licenses were obtained, the necessary samples were taken by both the municipality and the building inspection firm, and the necessary inspections were made and their controls were ensured. There were no problems at these stages. In fact, while we were building the Renaissance Residence, we photographed and videotaped its construction step by step. I think they are stored on computers. If I can, I will submit it later. There is only one thing that comes to my mind about Renaissance Residence; I think that the wavelength of the earthquake is different from all the earthquakes that have ever happened. In addition, because the earthquake was very close to the earth, a few kilometers away, there may have been destruction. Two earthquakes occurred in a row on February 6th. The second earthquake, the epicenter of which was Elbistan, was a more severe earthquake. I’m not an earthquake expert, these are my guesses.” Coşkun, who suggested that as a construction company, they also have constructions in Montenegro, claimed that they should give the title deeds of the structures here and that he had planned to go to this country beforehand. Coşkun argued that his departure to this country was delayed because his father-in-law broke his hip, “Although my flight to Montenegro was planned in advance, I bought the plane ticket on February 8th. There is no relationship between the collapse of the Renaissance Residence after the earthquake and my departure to Montenegro. I certainly did not try to go to Montenegro to avoid investigation. I was going to go. We made a construction in accordance with the plan, project and legislation. Therefore, I do not accept the blame laid on me.” said. “Metropolitan Mayor Lütfü Savaş made a statement in favor of my client” Coşkun’s lawyer Kübra Kalkan Colakoglu stated that Coşkun is a family friend. Stating that he and his client lost many relatives in the earthquake, lawyer Çolakoğlu emphasized that his client’s firm is a firm of 30 years. Lawyer Çolakoğlu, who argues that other buildings built by the firm, apart from Rönesans Residence, are sound. “My client is held responsible because a building collapsed while all the buildings he built were standing still.” said. Lawyer Çolakoğlu continued as follows: “The public is looking for a criminal, a perpetrator” “The public is looking for a criminal, a perpetrator. This perpetrator has also been identified as my client. My client was brought forward because of a news report made by a member of the press. While nothing is done about the builders of other buildings, my client is constantly being discussed in public.” Stating that Coşkun has been to Montenegro about 10 times in the last year, Çolakoğlu claimed that his client’s visit to this country was not for escape. Lawyer Çolakoğlu said: “Hatay Metropolitan Mayor Lütfü Savaş stated that my client should not be attacked too much” “Hatay Metropolitan Mayor Lütfü Savaş, in his statement to the press, stated that my client, who built the Renaissance Residence, should not be attacked too much, that he, my client, is an idealistic person, that the reason for the demolition of the buildings is not known at the moment, and that the contractors should not go too far at this stage. In other words, to summarize, the Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality, Lütfü Savaş, made a statement in favor of my client. My client’s situation has reached this stage due to the news made by the press and the investigation has started.” Çolakoğlu, who claimed that the necessary investigations would reveal that the building was built in accordance with the legislation, stated that they did not accept the accusations. CLICK | Mehmet Yaşar Coşkun, the contractor of Rönesans Residence, was arrested: “I don’t know why it was demolished either, the ground survey was done and it was in good condition” |
Tags: square heaven turned hell president gave license Renaissance Residence gave permission control personnel
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