ECOntainer Bridge wins Ariel Sharon Park competition

Yoav Messer Architects proposal won the Ariel Sharon Metropolitan Park design competition for a pedestrian & cycling entrance bridge connecting the mountain above the Ayalon river. The design features recycling of containers for an ECOntainer bridge, which fits in with the recycling stations and recycling plants already present as part of recycling the waste mountain into the park and its main theme. Far from being simply a conveyance over a body of water, the ECOntainer Bridge is an attraction unto itself. It features numerous observation points and exhibition spaces, making it into a fascinating space rather than just a way to get from one side of the park to the other. Available only to pedestrians and light vehicles, the bridge will be a tranquil structure free of cars.

Ariel Sharon Park in Israel is planned to be a stunning ecological retreat in the middle of a densely populated urban area. The site was once an enormous landfill, but today it is being turned into the largest urban park to be built anywhere in the world in the last century. One of the centerpieces of this oasis will be the ECOntainer Bridge.

A new Energy Independent Israel is born

The moment everyone has been waiting for has arrived: after more than four years of drilling and pipe laying, the flow of natural gas from the Tamar gas field, located some 90 km (roughly 56 miles) west of Haifa, has begun. The gas is travelling in pipes hundreds of kilometers south into the Yam Tatis gas field and from there will continue to an intake center in Ashdod, where it is expected to arrive in about 30 hours.

This marks a major turning point both for Israel's economy and society and will provide the state with energy independence at least until 2035. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "This is an important day for Israel's economy. On the holiday of freedom we are making an important step towards independence in the field of energy." He further added, "In the past decade we have pushed the gas industry forward and this will benefit Israel's economy as well as Israel's citizens." Upon its arrival to Israel, the gas will support the generation of electricity at power stations - owned both by the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) and private companies, as well as smaller factories - gradually allowing for prices to drop as Israel's electricity shifts from expensive, polluting and import-dependant materials, such as diesel and fuel oil, to its own natural gas. The transition will also increase Israel's competitive edge in comparison to foreign industries and increase state revenue as royalties for the gas begin to roll in.

Israel discovered two large fields, Tamar and the heftier Leviathan, in 2009 and 2010. Tamar, which is now live, holds an estimated 8.5 trillion cubic feet while Leviathan, which boasts an estimated 16 to 18 trillion cubic feet of gas, is expected to go online in 2016, the approximate time when exports are expected to begin. Energy and Water Minister, Silvan Shalom, said in response: "This is Israel's energy independence day. It is truly a historic event – Israel has received energetic freedom, and gas from Tamar will lead to a drastic decrease in the IEC's production costs, hence a future reduction in electricity costs for the average Israeli consumer."

Yitzhak Tshuva, the owner of Delek Group, which owns Delek Drilling, said: "Today should inspire pride. A vision has become reality. Today, once again, we leave enslavement towards freedom: From dependence on foreign energy sources to independence in locally-made natural gas. "This is a momentous achievement for Israeli economy," Tsuva continued, saying a "new era| has begun, which "will change the face of the Israeli market" and "open new opportunities for Israel's economy, allowing it to take advantage of the natural gas in the environmental, geo-political, social and economical spheres, turning Israel into an important international player."

The start of production at Tamar will boost the economy. Echoing other forecasters, global investment bank HSBC said this week that natural gas production can be expected to contribute at least one percentage point to Israel's gross product growth this year. HSBC predicted GDP will grow 3.3%, compared with 2.6% without gas from Tamar.

Source Ynet

Jaffa revival continues

Until just a few years ago, only extreme devotees or young people moved to Jaffa. The people who bought property deep inside the city – other than those who were pushed south for financial reasons – were usually bohemian types enchanted by the sandstone, the muezzin's call and the sound of the waves. Once they arrived, the radical became the conventional, and Jaffa's north, on the border of Tel Aviv, put on a friendly face for families and couples strolling by. New businesses filled the flea-market area and Yefet Street, and the completion of the boardwalk between Herzliya and the renovated Jaffa Port further increased the traffic. At the same time, residential projects got under way, aimed at people who wanted to enjoy the magical surroundings without the hassle of renovating a property. Some of these new homes were sensitively integrated into the neighborhood; others displaced the population and created enclaves in the city. Most designers wanted their projects to become part of Jaffa's exotic mix and incorporated oriental designs.

But a little further south, on Jerusalem Boulevard near Bat Yam, this social change wasn't being felt. It wasn't until four months ago that the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality approved a new residential neighborhood – 1,000 units on the ruins of the Maccabi Jaffa grounds east of the boulevard. And nearby another neighborhood of similar size is being planned. Over the coming weeks, construction will begin on the first project, called Jaffa on the Boulevard. The project, designed by architect Ilan Pivko's office, contains around 140 apartments, each with three or four rooms. This is perhaps the city's first mass construction project that doesn’t try to offer "Jaffa-style" living. Instead it targets people who see the city as a direct continuation of Tel Aviv. "The high demand and momentum have surprised me … this is a critical mass that will significantly change the area," says Pivko. He's also surprised by the clients the project is attracting; they're an "Alpha Tel Aviv crowd" looking for quality accommodation near transportation routes.

The new addition is comprised of two elongated buildings, each five stories high, on poles. Behind them will be four 12-story buildings. A driveway will connect the buildings, and there will be space for a small park or playground. Stylistically, the project doesn't boast overly decorative features, drawing inspiration instead from the International Style and the White City. More than anything, the project has been influenced by the many large buildings being put up in the north of the boulevard. And yet Jerusalem Boulevard is much different than the avenues in Tel Aviv proper, both in terms of character and size. Compared to residential Tel Aviv boulevards such as Ben Gurion, Nordau and Chen, most pedestrian traffic on Jerusalem Boulevard takes place on the sidewalks, where the shops and restaurants are, not in the special paths inside the avenue. Despite this, Pivko doesn't think attracting pedestrians to the new project's businesses will be a problem. He mentions Rothschild Boulevard, which attracts pedestrians all day long.

Naturally, the new project – and others to follow – will increase prices in the area. But it's hard to argue that the existing community will be displaced (at least during the first few years of the new construction), since the project's large space stands empty. And though this is a dense project with high occupancy rates (that developers will profit from), it has the potential to create a fitting urban space that will also serve the current residents. "This is a place worth being in: There are a lot of students, the infrastructure is in place, there's business and the vitality of a city. And soon, with the light rail, there will be convenient public transportation,"says Pivko, who has been living in Jaffa for nearly 30 years. For him, the municipality and probably the people who wind up living in the new buildings, this is the beginning of the new Jaffa.

Source Haaretz

80% of Israelis to live in Tel Aviv Area by 2025

Israelis are moving to the country's central region in such large numbers that experts predict 80% of Israel's population will be living in the greater Tel Aviv area by 2025. The past decade saw continuous movement from the country's periphery to the center, according to statistics from the Bank of Israel and Central Bureau of Statistics. The result is that the southern and northern districts have suffered negative migration over the years, while the central district has enjoyed positive migration at their expense. "The Israeli nation is congregating on the central plain, in the greater metropolitan Tel Aviv area," says Arnon Soffer, professor emeritus of geography and environmental sciences at the University of Haifa. "There are many figures attesting to Jews leaving the Galilee. All the development towns in the periphery are emptying." "Currently 30% of Israelis live in the periphery, and it is estimated that by 2025 80% of all Israelis will be living in greater Tel Aviv, in the region bounded by Hadera, Modi'in, and Gedera," Soffer continues. "The watershed lines of the periphery are now moving further afield to Kiryat Gat and Zichron Yaakov because of the highways."

About half a million Israelis move every year, and half of those move out of town, according to statistics from the Bank of Israel and the Central Bureau of Statistics. Most are between the ages of 20 and 34, and most relocate to areas relatively close by. The tendency to move, greater among people with more income and education, declines with age and then rises again upon retirement, figures show. Few Israelis live out their entire lives in the same locale. Most of the people who move apparently do so for better jobs and housing. For others it boils down to better schools or a more suitable social scene. Whatever the reason, such population shifts can greatly affect cities' demographics: Cities such as Beit Shemesh, Rosh Ha'ayin, Jerusalem and Yavneh, towns such as Mitzpeh Ramon, and many kibbutzim are among those that have undergone considerable change in recent years due to an influx of newcomers.

Read the rest at Haaretz

Home prices up 1.7% in January

The real estate market is continuing to heat up. Home prices rose by 1.7% in January 2013, the biggest monthly gain since June 2010, according to Central Bureau of Statistics data published on Friday. The Bank of Israel takes account of the Central Bureau of Statistics' Prices of Dwellings Index when deciding monetary policy.

January was the seventh consecutive month in which home prices rose; the cumulative gain was 6.8%. January was also the third consecutive month in which home prices rose by 1% or more: the rise was 1% in November 2012 and 1.1% in December. At the Bank of Israel Monetary Committee in late February, members expressed concern about the rise in real estate prices. The minutes of the meeting, published last week, state, "Home prices have continued to increase at a rapid rate in recent months. Committee members emphasized that monetary policy acts primarily on the demand side, while the required steps are supply-side steps that have the ability to lead to an increase in the inventory of homes while reducing prices, and such steps are not expected before the new government is constituted and the budget is passed."

Home price rose by 8.5% in the 12 months through January, and have risen by 77.4% since the surge in prices began in May 2007.

In the rental market, meanwhile, the average rent in Israel rose 4.9% in 2012, according to the Housing Ministry. The sharpest increases in home rental costs were felt in Tel Aviv, to an average of NIS 4,790 a month, where they rose 6.7, and in the southern region and Haifa’s northern suburbs, where rents were about 7% higher than in 2011. Since January 2008, the cost of renting in Tel Aviv has soared 50.3%. In the Gush Dan region and the Sharon, the rise was nearly as steep at 48.4% and 47.4%, respectively. The national average over the five years was a rise of 42.7%, ministry figures showed.

Behind the sharp rise in rents is the rise in home prices in recent years. Property investors, who had grown accustomed to returns of 8% and 10% on homes they rented in cities like Be’er Sheva today are getting return closer to 5% and need to raise rents just to meet this benchmark. The outlook for rentals is for more increases because the number of investors buying homes is shrinking, putting pressure on the supply of rental apartments. Last year, according to treasury figures, they accounted for only 23% of all purchases of homes, down from 30% in 2009.

In terms of the number of monthly salaries it takes to buy a home, the figure remained unchanged in 2012 from the year before at 131. However, last year’s figure comes after a steady rise in previous years, from 103 months’ salary in 2008 to 116 in 2009.

Source Globes

The new Tel Aviv Tayelet is coming

Work on the new Tayelet in Tel Aviv has just started. The major upgrade that has been in the pipe for a couple of years now and whose objective is to make the beach promenade more attractive and in line with the upgraded Tel Aviv Port (Namal) is now in motion. You can find below images of the works as well as some renders of the expected result.

Enjoy!

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

While not everyone is happy about the changes, most rational people agree that the new design will definitely be a plus for Tel Aviv, its residents and the tourists.

Property market continues to overheat...

The Bank of Israel is concerned at the rise in real estate prices. "There is a renewal of the rapid rise in housing prices, alongside a fall in building starts and a rise in the number of transactions and the volume of mortgages," the protocol of the discussion on the interest rate decision for February by the central bank's Monetary Committee states.

According to the Bank of Israel, the housing item in the Consumer Price Index rose by 3.3% in the year to December, compared with 2.8% in the year to November. In October-November, housing rose 1.1%, compared with a 0.7% rise in September-October. In the twelve months to November, home prices rose 5.7%, compared with a rise of 4.1% in the twelve months to October. Meanwhile, the number of housing units started in the period January to October was 20% lower than the number for the corresponding period of 2011, and land sales by the Israel Land Administration also slowed sharply. Further evidence that the housing market continues to overheat lies in the statistics for mortgages granted in January released by the Bank of Israel today. Mortgages totaling NIS 3.97 billion were granted last month, a figure that is 2% higher than the average for the past twelve months. Although it represents a fall of 15% in comparison with December, it must be recalled that December is traditionally a very strong month. In comparison with January 2012, the figure is 30% up.

The mortgage statistic reflects a market that is still at boiling point, despite a series of restrictions on mortgages that the Bank of Israel has imposed. The Monetary Committee protocol also reveals that members of the committee acknowledged that the measures introduced by the Bank of Israel on mortgages were mainly aimed at preserving financial stability, and that their moderating effect on the housing market was on the demand side only. The committee members believe that "an important factor in the current rise in home prices is the fall in the rate at which land is zoned and sold," according to the protocol, which goes on to state that "dealing with home prices should focus on expediting planning procedures and boosting land sales, especially in high-demand areas, leading to a rise in the supply of residential units."

The Bank of Israel blames the government, which has "the tools for raising the supply of housing units, which can act to moderate the rise in home prices without hurting the level of activity in the industry." And what of the expected developments in the near future? Mortgage industry sources estimate that the boom in mortgages will continue, unless there is some dramatic change, such as a reform instituted by the new government. The reason for that is that there are several factors behind the current trend, chiefly the low interest rate, a lack of attractive alternatives for investment, and genuine demand for real estate. "The Bank of Israel's restrictions on the level of financing will probably have only a limited effect, and mainly on buyers for investment. In any case, it will only be possible to assess the effect of the restrictions in several months' time," a senior industry source said.

Source Globes

Agreement reached on Carmel Market renovation

This morning, representatives of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality and Carmel Market traders signed an agreement in principle for the market, and the Tel Aviv Local Planning and Building Commission has approved the plan. The plan will now go to the Tel Aviv Regional Planning and Building Commission's objections committee. Now that the traders' main objections have been settled, the plan will probably be approved.

Under the Carmel Market renewal plan, approved by the Tel Aviv Regional Commission in 2009, Carmel Street will be rezoned for commerce, and the Carmel Market, the Meat Market, and the Western (Gaza) Market will be rebuilt. The renewal plan includes additional residential, hotel, and business space, and the construction of an underground four-level public parking garage with 1,000 parking spaces. The market will be covered, its infrastructures rebuilt, and a logistics center will be built.

After the plan was approved, hundreds of Carmel Market traders raised objections, which delayed further discussion of the plan by the planning commission. Subsequent negotiations between the parties focused on recognition of the stall owners' property rights. Under today's agreement, the Carmel Market traders will receive 49-year leases with an option to extend for another 49 years. Rent for a stall up to seven square meters will not exceed NIS 200,000. Owners of stalls which will be vacated for renovations will receive either financial compensation or an alternative stall under the terms set out in the agreement.

The Tel Aviv Municipality's Engineering Administration and the Axelman Grobman Architects firm prepared the Carmel Market plan. Renovations are due to begin in 2014. "This is a historic step toward settling the planning for the area and turning the Carmel Market into a modern and attractive market," said Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai. "Since I took up office, I set the goal of preserving and renovating the assets and symbols of Tel Aviv, one of which is the Carmel Market. I welcome the progress in the plan with the traders' agreement and cooperation, and I am sure that the renovations, which will preserve the market's authenticity, magic, and character on one hand, while making the site an inviting and modern place for the public on the other hand, will benefit the traders, and revive the whole area."

Source Globes

Israel: the new destination for hedge fund managers

Keinan, an Israeli fund manager, was ready for the question he’s always asked when he met with investors in New York in October: Why put your money with a manager whose country Iran has threatened to obliterate? “We tell them ‘if the Iranians attack, the worst thing that can happen is you lose your money manager not your money,'” Keinan, chief executive officer of Tel Aviv-based KCPS & Company, which oversees $1 billion in assets, replied. “The notion is trade global markets with global assets and clients, but just do it from Israel because of the concentration of talent here.”

Israel is becoming a magnet for hedge fund managers as lower operating costs, the world’s highest number of Ph.D.s and hi-tech startups per capita overshadow concern that Israel may be attacked by missiles from Tehran. As a matter of fact, the number of funds has grown to 60 overseeing about $2 billion from 13 in 2006, according to a survey of the local industry published in July by Tzur Management. And Israel may be on track to replicate the growth that propelled Singapore’s industry from fewer than 20 managers in 2001 to 320 overseeing $48 billion in 2009, says Yitz Raab, founder and managing partner of the Tel Aviv-based fund administration company.

Brevan Howard Asset Management, Europe’s second-biggest hedge fund, opened an office in Tel Aviv at the end of 2005. Sphera Funds Management, the country’s largest hedge fund, raised money in 2007 to start a global health-care fund which now has about $235 million under management. WorldQuant LLC, based in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, has a research and development team in Israel.

Israel, which was nicknamed “Start-Up Nation” in the 2009 book by Dan Senor and Saul Singer, has 54 companies traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market, the most of any country outside the U.S. after China. The nation is also home to more startup firms per capita than the U.S., and the same people who drove that development in Israel’s technology industry are in place to develop quantitative models for hedge funds, Keinan said. “In order to raise capital in unique locations, you have to offer something that is a lot stronger than what the average hedge fund offers,” Don Steinbrugge, the managing partner of Agecroft Partners LLC, a Richmond, Virginia-based firm that advises hedge funds and investors said.

While global hedge funds are cutting trading costs amid a decline in volumes and deteriorating performance for the $2.1 trillion industry, available talent and lower operating costs are attracting investors to Israel. Israel has the highest percentage in the world of engineers in the workforce and the highest ratios of university degrees and academic publications per capita, according to the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology. About 135 people per 10,000 have a Ph.D., according to the Finance Ministry, 1.3 times the average of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Israel’s cheaper prices also are a lure. The total office occupancy cost in Tel Aviv is $56.25 a square meter, less than the 82.30 pounds ($134) a square meter in London’s City area, according to a July report from CBRE Global Research and Consulting. In New York’s midtown, office space costs $114 a square foot. The average annual starting salary for a Tel Aviv-area MBA graduate is the equivalent of $78,300, according to a survey by Israel’s Interdisciplinary Center Herzylia. The comparable starting salary in the U.S. is $169,000 and 106,000 pounds in London, according to a 2011 salary survey conducted by eFinancialCareers.

By assets under management, Israel’s hedge fund industry is still small, but Israeli hedge funds are outperforming peers this year with nine returning an average of 12.2 percent while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index added 3.3 percent. Eurekahedge Pte., a Singapore-based compiler of hedge-fund data, said in an e-mailed statement that five Israeli funds it tracks returned an average of 13 percent since 2005. The global financial collapse in 2008 benefited the industry, leading some executives to give up living in New York and London for Israel. One-third of Israeli-based hedge fund managers have previously worked for international institutions, including UBS Global Asset Management Holding Ltd. (UBS) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), according to Tzur’s survey.

“Israel doesn’t have any natural resources -- it’s all about brain power,” said Keinan. “There is nothing to keep the hedge fund industry from expanding. It is happening.”

Source Bloomberg

Sheinkin Street renovation is now complete

The renovation of Sheinkin Street, the mecca of Tel Aviv style was completed this week, earlier than scheduled, along ith catwalk fashion shows featuring 20 models, music performances, 3D street games and a graffiti wall.

The renovation project began in November 2011, and the total cost is estimated at 30 million. It has a separate bicycle trail connecting the Nahalat Binyamin and Carmel Market with Rothschild Boulevard and Yehuda Halevi Street which is part of the new green road network.

Major changes are a new sewage infrastructure, the renovation and expansion of the pedestrian sidewalks, relocation of Tel-O-fan stations, installation of new illuminated signage and decorative lighting poles, new street furniture and trees on both sides of the street.

Ron Huldai, the mayor of Tel Aviv, said “Over the years, the city of Tel Aviv–Jaffa created many institutions and cultural venues that represent the open and creative spirit of the city. One of these is Sheinkin Street that has became much more than a street and turned into a significant landmark of Tel Aviv. Sheinkin Street renovation, done in cooperation with local residents and merchants, was designed to upgrade the infrastructure of the street, giving the street a new look and feel. I hope that the street upgrade will create prosperity similar to that experienced by all those places and streets in the city which were renovate in recent years. ”

The first section of the renovated street (Allenby Street – Melchett) was done in April 2012, several months ahead of schedule. Early completion was made possible by an incentive scheme initiated by the municipality and allowed residents and merchants to benefit from the new infrastructure much earlier that would have been possible otherwise.

Hat tip Israel Projects

Tel Aviv ranks second worldwide for Tech Startups

The Startup Genome released the first half of its massive 160-page report on the world’s top startup ecosystems. The ambitious, collaborative R&D project was created by three young entrepreneurs, Bjoern Herrmann, Max Marmer and Ertan Dogrultan, who set out to take a comprehensive, data-driven dive into what makes startups successful.

The comparative analysis, produced in collaboration with affiliates from UC Berkeley, Stanford and Telefónica Digital, covers a host of topics, including how the landscape of startup ecosystems has begun to extend beyond Silicon Valley to become somewhat of a global phenomenon. The report compiled a global ranking of startup ecosystems based on a 50-variable, 8-component index, which includes Startup Output, Funding, Company Performance, Talent, Support Infrastructure, Entrepreneurial Mindset, Trendsetting Tendencies and Ecosystem Differentiation.

Unsurprisingly, atop the rankings sits Silicon Valley, which remains the mecca of entrepreneurship and was used as a baseline from which to compare the rest of the list. Coming in second is Tel Aviv, followed by Los Angeles, Seattle, New York City and Boston, before crossing the Atlantic to London — which ranked as the largest ecosystem in Europe. But even developed ecosystems such as New York and London have more than 70 percent less risk capital available than Silicon Valley for Startups in the early, ”PreProduct Market Fit” Stages of the Startup Lifecycle.

Interestingly, the report also notes that entrepreneurs in Tel Aviv have a hard time adopting new technology trends, as more than 80 percent of startups use the historically popular programming languages of PHP, C++, Java and .Net, despite a number of those languages rapidly falling out of fashion in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, in favor of Ruby, Python and Javascript, for example.

Still it's amazing to see that Israel’s Silicon Wadi beat out the places commonly thought of as startup hotbeds, such as Los Angeles (Silicon Beach), New York (Silicon Alley) and Seattle (Silicon Rainy)!

17 Arlozorov wants to set new sales record

Tel Aviv's luxury real estate market has been booming for quite some time, with the past 3 years seeing records broken each quarter for each new project being built up into the sky. A new record is now attempted with the 850 square meter penthouse in the new Arlozorov 17 tower hitting the market for 200 million NIS ($53m), i.e at a price of just about $60,000 per square meter. Time will tell however if Dan Group, the developer, can get this price.

Arlozorov 17, which will be located on Arlozorov Street in the Old North neighborhood of Tel Aviv between Ben Yehuda and Dizengoff Streets, is one of a number of luxury high-rise projects currently under construction. Dan Group said that the new luxury residential tower built on top of the former Dan Garages is now expected to be completed by 2015. The tower will include a spa and an olympic-length swimming pool.

Walking through the streets of Tel Aviv one cannot help but see the real estate boom, with cranes and building sites dotting the city in each and every quarter. Tel Aviv's origins point to its modest low-rise buildings, many earning UNESCO protection for its Bauhaus and International style architecture, but finding premium living spaces was hard to come by. In the past decade, however, luxury projects have been churning out by the dozens, offering discerning buyers from Israel and abroad to take part in the action. While the city for most of its history did not offer high-end homes, today this problem is but a distant memory, with a great number of luxury properties currently available for sale in almost each quarter of the city.

Arlozorov 17's asking prices range from 50,000 to 200,000 NIS per square meter ($13,000 to $51,000) for the other units and is priced well above Tel Aviv's average of 30,000 NIS per square meter. Luxury properties in prime locations in Tel Aviv command well above the 40,000 NIS per square meter mark however. With over 15 other projects of its kind in the works over the next couple of years, we can expect to see asking prices soar even more. The real estate market in Tel Aviv looks like it's in for some exciting days ahead, with the city finally ascending to the level of a true global city, offering top-notch property for buyers from all over the globe.

Master Plan 38 finally goes ahead

After years of foot-dragging by the Tel Aviv municipality, the local planning and building committee has hammered out a program to add two and a half stories to apartment buildings throughout the city. The move comes after years of delays in implementing National Master Plan 38 for reinforcing apartment buildings against earthquakes. The plan will breathe new life into property development and investment in the city. The plan encourages apartment owners and developers to renovate and reinforce older buildings, with rights to build new apartments above the roofline or in empty space on the ground floor. This would be an incentive to builders in lieu of cash. The program allows for an extra two and a half floors in buildings in Jaffa and the city's east and south. But the plan allows up to seven and a half new floors in buildings on Ibn Gabirol Street, as well as the demolition of buildings in the White City district not earmarked for preservation. High-rises would be built in their stead. The plan wasn't exactly met with enthusiasm at City Hall, and officials led by Mayor Ron Huldai had misgivings.

The plan's third amendment is meant to add incentive for implementing the plan. Since its original approval in 2005, the plan has faced many problems, and the amendment increased the extra building rights from one floor to two and a half, while relaxing other conditions. The champions of the move - including deputy mayor and head of Israel's Green Party, Pe'er Visner - prepared for an all-out battle going into last week's meeting of the local planning and building committee. For two years Visner pushed several programs for reinforcing buildings in the city, but to no avail. City councilor Meital Lehavi also didn't intend to back down, especially considering the many drawbacks she saw in the municipality's original proposal to the committee. They are both pleased with the approved version. "The committee meeting lasted over four hours and dealt mostly with removing barriers to the city's urban renewal proposal," says Visner.

"But the program included many restrictions and didn't show any promise. Our duty was to simplify the process, and that's what we did. In a long discussion we lifted at least 90% of the restrictions. This represents a breakthrough for urban renewal, good news for developers, and presumably a burst of building reinforcement work, flooding the city with new apartments." According to Lehavi, "We remarkably changed the professional team's recommendations. It was a very serious battle. After all, this wasn't the committee's meeting on the master plan, so many committee members insisted we do away with the conditions that emptied the national master plan of any meaning. And they were canceled." Was the municipality really so opposed to the plan? Gvuli told the panel that 190 requests for reinforcing buildings have been approved, mostly in the city center and north. And another 600 additional requests are in the pipeline. After Wednesday's decision, the municipality is expected to be flooded with many more requests. "I assume thousands of requests will shortly reach the local committee," Gvuli says.

But before the committee and city engineer handle requests for building reinforcement, they need to iron out the discrepancies between various plans that have been approved. The main one is for Tel Aviv's White City - the UNESCO World Heritage Site - which was recently sent to the district committee to hear any objections. That plan contradicts the national plan's third amendment and prevents the reinforcement of buildings in the area, canceling out the main incentives provided by the master plan. "If the plan is sent then it's impossible to issue construction permits that don't comply with it by building higher than six and a half stories," says land appraiser Arie Kamil, a former appraiser for the local committee and manager of the city's assessment department.

"And there is now a master plan for Tel Aviv - Tel Aviv 5000 - that was recommended in March 2012. This plan also contradicts both plans and says buildings in the White City buffer zone will rise no higher than eight stories. We must make clear which plan is being followed so construction in the city won't come to a halt." According to Gvuli, "The program presented to the local committee didn't include any barriers or restrictions. Each area has its own rules, and that's what the professional team addressed in the original proposal. In most cases they allowed the building of two and a half floors, but with conditions. In the meeting, I stressed the importance of reinforcing buildings without any preconditions. The municipality is being portrayed as having totally objected to the plan for reinforcing buildings - and this isn't true.

"I have been misquoted in the press on this subject. I've always said that any decision needs to be reasonable, and indeed in the past few years we've promoted several projects, in moderation. We're subject to government decisions, regardless of our opinions. We have a role - responsibility toward the residents - and now we'll implement the reinforcement plan even in the sensitive sectors. We'll apply the master plan the best way possible in all parts of the city in cooperation with UNESCO." Increasing rights on Ibn Gabirol Street and west of Menachem Begin Boulevard to up to seven and a half stories and permission to work in the White City can bring significant changes - though nothing is final yet regarding the latter area. The municipality plans to appeal to UNESCO to let buildings rise to six and a half or seven and a half stories rather than the five stories now typical.

Source Haaretz

Space-age rapid transit to debut in Tel Aviv

If all goes as planned, within two years Israelis will be the first people to try out a futuristic rapid transport system designed by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. The skyTran uses two-person modules that drive along a guide rail suspended from existing power lines. Magnets in the vehicle create a magnetic field around the metal coil inside the rail, causing the vehicle to lift up and glide 60 miles per hour on a cushion of air. The system uses very little energy and potentially could be powered entirely by solar panels. The first route, on which construction could begin next spring, would run from the high-tech center in Atidim through the Tel Aviv University train station to the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Port. Another installation might be placed on Netanya’s congested east side and a third would take people into and around Ariel Sharon Park, a huge public “green belt” in central Israel.

Personal rapid transit (PRT) alternatives are in hot demand worldwide – especially in big countries such as China and India — as a means to relieve traffic jams and energy consumption. Underground solutions are expensive and street-level solutions just add more congestion. “We are the most sophisticated PRT on the market … and also the least expensive, greenest and most efficient,” asserts Sky Tran CEO Jerry Sanders.

“People often don’t use mass transit because they don’t like to share vehicles, they don’t like having to get to a station and they don’t like to follow someone else’s schedule,” Sanders says. With skyTran, riders order a vehicle by tapping an icon on their smartphone. Once inside the pod, the passenger chooses a destination from an on-board console. The cost of implementing skyTran is estimated at $9 million per mile, as opposed to $100 million per mile for a light rail system and $20 million per lane for buses. The fare will probably be competitive with Tel Aviv’s shirut (taxi van) service, says Sanders. And maintenance costs would be remarkably low.

“The vehicles don’t encounter resistance like wheel-based systems do, so there is no wear and tear from wheels hitting pavement or track,” says Sanders. “When the vehicle comes to a station, it rests on little rollerblade wheels.” A former Wall Street lawyer and serial entrepreneur who teaches a graduate business seminar at Oxford University, Sanders was contacted by NASA to provide direction to the Ames engineering group that had pioneered the skyTran concept.

Sanders has found that Israel’s bureaucracy “is not as onerous as in some other Western countries. It’s a ‘two-telephone call’ country. Once the government knows about something and is interested in it, they find a way to clear the bureaucratic hurdles and that is what is going on with us.” When he predicts that Israel will become the center of the skyTran world, he is not only talking about passengers. While right now the modules and support poles are mass-produced in the same Austrian factory that manufactures aluminum parts for Mercedes-Benz, Sanders believes they could be made in Israel. In addition, the job of continuously upgrading the programming could be done by Israeli software engineers.

“Right now Ames is the headquarters for the company, but if and when we start a pilot in Israel, without a doubt we will train and qualify many local engineers and blue-collar workers working with local companies. Israel will become a base of knowledge for the skyTran system and if the first is system built here, people will come from all over to learn about it,” Sanders says.



Source Israel 21c

Global Dynamism Index: Israel tops the tech list

When it comes to Science and Technology, Israel is considered the most dynamic country in the world according to the latest Grant Thornton 2012 Global Dynamism Index survey. As a matter of fact, Israel ranks in 4th position overall, above the US that sits in the 10th position and the UK which is 32nd in the list.

The Grant Thornton Global Dynamism Index (GDI) 2012, the second annual GDI survey, ranks 50 of the world's largest economies across 22 indicators of economic dynamism, examining five key areas: business operating environment; economics and growth; science and technology; labor and human capital; and the financing environment. This year’s survey looks at the progress each economy has made over the past 12 months, and indicates of the strength of each economy as a place for dynamic businesses to flourish. Singapore, Finland, Sweden, Israel and Austria occupy the top five spots for most dynamic economies in the world. The United States ranks 10th (of 50), and China ranks 20th (of 50).

According to the report, Israel offers the most dynamic science and technology environment by some distance, due principally to the large proportion of GDP which is spent on R&D (4.3%) – the aspect of science and technology business leaders identified as the most important. In the 1990s, Israel welcomed more than a million immigrants from the former Soviet Union into the country, many of them highly qualified scientists and engineers. The government capitalised on this influx of highly-skilled labour by creating a number of tax incentives for venture capital funds and business incubator programmes, to develop its hi-tech industry.