Halikarnas Gayrimenkul, chaired by Vedat Türkmen, opened Avenue Bodrum on May 31, 2013 in Konacık, the area between Bodrum’s town center and Bitez, with Türkmenoğlu İnşaat handling construction and AVM MFİ Partners managing leasing. At roughly 15,000 sqm with 50 stores and 900 parking spaces, the property positioned itself around Bodrum’s day-and-night resort lifestyle rather than a conventional retail format.
The center built its identity around outdoor entertainment infrastructure unusual for a Turkish shopping mall of this scale: an outdoor ice rink (İce Feet), an open-air cinema (Cinemarine), a pilates studio, stand-up comedy and theater programming, and a custom-designed clock tower intended to become one of Bodrum’s visual landmarks. A “Begonvillage” garden concept and installations from local Bodrum artists carry through the property’s landscaping.
Migros, Teknosa and Paşabahçe anchor the retail floor, with Mudo, Mavi and Colin’s carrying fashion, and Starbucks and Özsüt among the food and beverage tenants. Bodrum Mayor Mehmet Kocadon attended the opening personally, framing the investment as a civic asset for the district.
That entertainment-first positioning, betting on ice skating and open-air cinema rather than pure retail floor space to draw Bodrum’s seasonal resort population, distinguishes Avenue Bodrum from more conventional Turkish shopping centers built primarily around anchor department stores and hypermarkets.
