State Wakf Board of Turkey has charged returning the land lot occupying an area of 42,000 sq m where the Zeytinburnu Stadium of Istanbul is located to the Armenian Fund "Surb Prkic" (Church of the Redeemer).
According to Ermenihaber.am, before the transfer, the area was on the balance of the Istanbul's Zeytinburnu District Administration, which had earlier disputed the decision to transfer the area to the Armenian Fund in the Court and lost the case. Head of the "Surb Prkich" Fund Petros Shirinoglu says the land lot is estimated approximately at 338 million liras (nearly $180 million). He said either a business and trade center or hotel will be built in the area. No final decision has been made yet. Anyway, whatever they built on the given land lot, the proceeds from the operation of the future facility will be spent to satisfy the needs of the Armenian community and the "Surb Prkich" Hospital, Shirinoglu.
To recall, the area was seized from the Armenian community in 1994. Then the Armenian community applied to the court without success.
On 28 August 2011, then Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Erdogan decreed that the property of the Armenian and Jewish churches that was confiscated after 1930, particularly, the hospitals, orphanages, schools and other real estate, are returned.