Hotel Plan for Fire Station Area in Sarıyer: IBB's Objection on Fire and Transportation

The change of use for the 6,141 square meter public land designated as a fire station in Ayazağa, Sarıyer is on the agenda. The land, which was declared a "Reserve Construction Area" on July 20, 2026, is subject to a plan change that allows for commercial functions such as hotel, shopping mall, office, and market. Various units of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) want to preserve the existing fire station area.

It is important to make a significant distinction here: At this stage, there is no confirmed hotel investment, investor, brand, room count, or construction schedule. The news concerns a plan change that could also allow hotel use. Therefore, presenting the development as "a new hotel is coming to Sarıyer" would be a claim beyond what the current resources support.

IBB Fire Department Wants to Preserve the Area

According to information reported by Tourism Güncel, the IBB Fire Department stated that the Ayazağa and Cendere area is dense in terms of fire incidents and that there is no other fire station in the region, requesting that the existing area be maintained for the same function.

The IBB City Planning Department's assessment highlights the intense construction, transportation conditions of Cendere Valley, fire risk, and disaster response capacity. The Zoning Branch Directorate also stated that the proposal is contrary to Article 8 of the Zoning Law No. 3194. The Transportation Planning Directorate warned that commercial functions could increase vehicle traffic and transportation demand in the area.

These opinions do not yet mean a judicial decision or final plan cancellation. They should be considered as institutional objections and technical evaluations regarding the plan change from IBB units.

Plan Narrowed Compared to Initial Version

In the first phase of the plan change, it is reported that neighboring parcels 842 and 487 were also included within the project boundaries. Following the General Directorate of Forestry's notification that there is actual forest presence in these parcels, it is stated that the project area has been narrowed.

This detail shows that in large tourism and mixed-use investments, not only the main parcel to be invested in but also the surrounding properties and their status are critical.

A tourism investment may have positive financial feasibility; however, planning constraints such as zoning, forestry, transportation, disaster infrastructure, or public service function can completely change the investment schedule and feasibility.

“Hotel” is Only One of the Plan Functions

This is the aspect of the news that should be read most carefully from the perspective of the tourism sector.

The inclusion of hotel use in the new plan does not mean that a hotel will definitely be built in the area. The plan change defines one of the potential uses of the land as a tourism accommodation function.

No investor, hotel operator, international brand, bed capacity, investment amount, or project start date has been disclosed in the current resources.

Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish three phases in investment news:

1. The zoning plan allowing a specific use.

2. Concrete project development by a specific investor.

3. Transition to construction, licensing, and operation phases.

The development in Ayazağa is currently related to the first phase.

Why is Hotel Demand Possible in Ayazağa and Cendere?

The addition of hotel function to the plan is not entirely surprising considering the existing structure of the region.

The Ayazağa-Cendere line has been one of the areas where office, residential, shopping, and mixed-use investments have concentrated in recent years. Its proximity to the Maslak business district and Istanbul's north-south transportation connections create potential for corporate travel and city hotel operations.

However, the commercial viability of hotel investment does not mean that the parcel is the most appropriate public use for a hotel.

In urban planning, the economic value created by the investment cannot be measured in the same way as the public value provided by fire, health, transportation, and disaster infrastructure.

A hotel can generate income, employment, and taxes. The economic return of a fire station cannot be calculated directly from room revenue or rent. In contrast, it can prevent much higher economic and social losses by shortening the response time during fire and disaster situations.

Fire Infrastructure is Especially Important for Hotels

There is another dimension to the issue from the perspective of the tourism sector.

Hotel operations are buildings with high visitor density. The fact that many people are sleeping in the same building at night, along with kitchens, laundries, technical areas, electrical systems, and parking lots, makes fire safety one of the fundamental risks of hotel operations.

Therefore, an increase in hotels and other high-density commercial functions in an area does not reduce the need for emergency response infrastructure; rather, it can increase it.

When planning new constructions, it is not enough for the buildings to have their own fire systems installed according to standards. The location of the fire station, road access, and response time at the city scale are also part of the safety chain.

For this reason, the Ayazağa discussion should not be seen as an urban planning issue that can be viewed outside of hospitality.

Traffic is the Hidden Operational Cost of Hotel Investment

In the IBB Transportation Planning Directorate's objection, it is stated that vehicle traffic in Cendere Valley could increase with new commercial uses.

For hotel investors, the traffic issue is not just about the time it takes for guests to reach the facility.

Employee shuttles, taxis and transfer vehicles, product deliveries, laundry logistics, waste collection, and organizational traffic are also dependent on the road capacity in the area for the daily operation of the facility.

Especially in large-scale city hotels, the vehicle load created by events such as weddings, meetings, and conferences occurring at the same time can be significant.

Therefore, in location evaluation, "central location" alone is not a sufficient criterion. Accessibility, traffic density, and alternative transportation options should be included in the investment feasibility.

Planning Uncertainty Increases Investment Risk

In tourism investment, land price and construction cost are usually the first variables calculated. However, if the plan change is being developed in a contentious area, legal and administrative processes can obscure the project timeline.

Plan objections, litigation processes, or new institutional opinions can delay the start of the investment. While financing costs rise, the investor may not yet be able to generate income.

Therefore, investors should not interpret the information that "zoning function is suitable" as meaning that the project is completely secure.

Especially in projects intersecting with public lands, reserve construction areas, forest boundaries, coastal areas, and disaster infrastructure, the basis of the plan and institutional opinions should be examined in detail.

Stafflink's Opinion

In our view, the most important aspect of the discussion in Ayazağa from the perspective of the tourism sector is that even in the absence of a concrete hotel project, the planning decision creates the possibility of investment.

This situation may seem like an opportunity for investors; however, the new commercial capacity created at the expense of public infrastructure could exacerbate the region's own safety and transportation problems in the long term.

Especially businesses with high human usage, like hotels, directly benefit from strong fire and disaster infrastructure. Therefore, tourism investment and public safety should not be seen as alternatives to each other.

A healthy investment environment depends not only on the project's feasibility but also on its ability to work together with transportation, disaster response, infrastructure, and the surrounding urban fabric.

It is premature to conclude that "a hotel will be built" without an investor and a concrete hotel project being announced in the Ayazağa process. For now, the verifiable development is a plan change that includes hotel use and the technical objections from IBB units against it.