‘Building with no outer wall’ emerges at urban renewal site

ISTANBUL

Locals in Istanbul’s Avcılar district were surprised when they saw a building that has been existing in their neighborhood for decades after a building next to it was pulled down as part of urban renewal.

Two buildings were constructed adjacent to each other, but due to a gentrification project, one of them was demolished by heavy machinery.

Following the work, a building adjacent to the demolished one that had no outer wall emerged and neighbors could see the inside of all the 10 apartments in the building.

All the occupants covered their apartments’ walls with bricks in a week, except one.

An old lady had gone to Bulgaria before the start of the urban renewal work. As none of her neighbors know her number, they couldn’t contact her.

Her apartment is now the only one with no wall. “The weather is rainy and the apartment has been gathering dust ever since. She will have pecuniary loss and intangible damages,” Orhan Koçak, a neighbor, told Demirören News Agency.