HaTachana: The old train station is new again

Tel Aviv-Jaffa's old train station has been renovated into a stylish complex that houses shops, restaurants, arts shows & classes, two weekly markets and lots of other events. After 5 years of conservation and development work, HaTachana officially opened in 2010 to the public. The Tel Aviv Municipality beautifully preserved the original design of the buildings while creating open, pedestrian-only spaces for visitors to enjoy the atmosphere.

An old railcar sits on train tracks in front of the station's original building, greeting visitors as they walk into HaTachana. It's a fun tribute to what used to be and shows how Tel Aviv embraces its past while moving forward and evolving as a modern city.

Markets

Every week, HaTachana hosts "UNIQUE", a designer/artist/craft fair on Thursday evenings from 7:00pm-midnight. Fridays from 8:00am-2:00pm is "Orbanic", an organic fruit & vegetable shuk that also showcases eco-friendly household & beauty products.

Check HaTachan's website (www.hatachana.co.il) for current information on additional markets and special events. Most recently was the Beer Festival where 20 Israeli private breweries offered their unique beers to the public for tastings.

Restaurants

It's easy to spend an entire afternoon or evening wandering through the complex's 16 different buildings and public spaces. Here is a listing of the currently open restaurants and shops.

Cafe Tachana: This charming cafe serves a varied menu including breakfast, sandwiches, pastas and quiches and is located in the original station building that was built in 1892.

Shushka Shvili: Serves tapas plates, breakfast all day, and 100 types of beer from around the world. Housed in an old templar's home, diners can sit inside at the bar or outside at a pleasant rooftop table with a view of Jaffa.

Italika B'Tachana: Southern Italian fare specializing in fish and seafood with indoor & outdoor seating in the main courtyard.

Vaniglia: Grab a cone of freshly made ice cream and take a seat in the main courtyard for some fun people watching.

Cafe Greg: The reliable coffee-shop chain is a good place to grab a drink or quick snack and browse the neighboring bookstore.

Shopping

Specialty stores: Made in TLV, AHAVA, Gaya - Art of Thinking, Sofi.

Fashion boutiques: American Vintage, Shoofra, Yosef, Charlie Paloma, Hella Ganor, Studio Noah, Bellinky Oolalaa, Naama Bezalel, Razili, Butterfly, Ido Recanati, Shika, Tamarindi, Ronen Chen, Elise, Harraca, Efrat Cassouto.

How to Get There & Additional Info

HaTachana is located at the south end of Neve Tzedek next to the IDF History Museum and across from the Mediteranean. There is a parking lot for the crazy people that choose to drive a car around Tel Aviv, but it's most easily accessible by the Dan bus lines 25, 10, 8 and 100. The address is 1 Koifmann St, Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv Top 10 Things To Do This Summer

Tel Aviv port to be transformed into luxurious marina

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz has instructed his office to renew the naval activity at the Tel Aviv Port within two years. The minister appointed a special committee, headed by Transportation Ministry Director-General to prepare the port for the transition together with the Tel Aviv Municipality.

According to the plan, the port's depth will be extended, wharfs will be laid and its entrance will be rebuilt to allow the new marina to take in 100 large yachts measuring up to 10 meters (32 feet) in length. Particularly large ships will be able to dock outside the port.

The Tel Aviv Port was officially opened in 1938. The last ship docked there in 1965 following the opening of the Ashdod Port. After the State of Israel's establishment, the government considered turning it into Israel's main port alongside the Haifa Port, but the plan was shelved following the construction of the Ashdod Port.

About 10 years ago, the Otzar Mifalei Yam and Atarim companies came up with the idea of turning the port into a recreation and culture area. Today, it is home to more than 60 businesses in the food, fashion, health and communication industries, as well as banquet halls and clubs. A huge hotel and supermarket are also planned in the area.

Tel Aviv currently has two active marinas, one in the Jaffa Port and one at Atarim Square. "It's a tourist attraction for foreign yachtsmen as well," says Minister Katz.

Is there room for another marina in the city? According to Itamar Shimoni, CEO of the Atarim company (owned by the Tourism Ministry and the Tel Aviv Municipality), "There definitely is, and we are ready to take this upon ourselves using our experience.

"There is no room at the Tel Aviv marina, and the marina in Herzliya is overcrowded. The Tel Aviv Port with its recreation area is ideal for a luxurious marina, and the potential is definitely there."

Source Ynet

Meier on Rothschild continues to rise higher...

A foreign resident has bought a 145-square meter apartment on the 15th floor of the Meier on Rothschild, a building under construction at the corner of Rothschild Boulevard and Allenby Street in Tel Aviv.

The price was NIS 7.5 million ($1.95m), or NIS 52,000 per square meter. Prices in the project range from NIS 40,000 ($10,000) to NIS 80,000 ($20,000) per square meter.

The latest purchaser from overseas joins Nathaniel "Nat" Rothschild, who has bought a 500-square meter triplex in the building for over NIS 60 million ($15.5m).

Berggruen Residential Ltd. said that half the space in the Meier on Rothschild building had been sold.

Last month, the Tel Aviv Local Planning and Building Commission allowed Berggruen Residential, owned by Nicolas Berggruen and his partner Hagag Cohen Investments, to increase the height of the 27-storey building to 37 storeys. In practice, the building will have 32 residential floors topping the 13-meter high lobby.

Source Globes

Neve Tzedek – the Pioneers’ Preserve

Twenty-two years before the founding of Tel Aviv, Jews left the walls of Jaffa and built in nearby Neve Tzedek. These beautifully restored houses and streets preserve the romance of the early days of Jewish urban settlement.

Jews lived outside the crowded confines of Jaffa even before the founding of Tel Aviv – 22 years before, to be exact, in a neighborhood called Neve Tzedek. Today this picturesque area is bursting with boutiques, galleries, stylish cafes and restaurants; known for its culture and lifestyle, Neve Tzedek commands some of the highest housing prices in the city.

A walking tour of Neve Tzedek is a must for romantics, history lovers and fans of small winding alleys. This is where the city’s first cinema was built in 1914. The Nahum Gutman Museum is located here in the home of the artist who immortalized the early days of Tel Aviv and Jaffa landscapes in his colorful paintings. Here you can also find the unusual Rokach House, now a private museum of sculpture and family history established by sculptor Lea Majaro-Mintz, the granddaughter of the home’s builder and the first head of the Neve Tzedek community, Shimon Rokach.

In the early 20^th century, Neve Tzedek was home to many famous writers, artists and spiritual leaders, including the Nobel Prize laureate, writer S.Y. Agnon, and Tel Aviv’s Chief Rabbi Avraham Kook. Founded by wealthy Jewish families that came from North Africa, the neighborhood was nicknamed “Little Paris” because of its eye-opening architectural innovations. Today, the most outstanding site is the Suzanne Dellal Centre, a bustling dance and theater complex. How romantic to sit in the cafes and browse in the boutiques and designers’ shops, to see how a charming historic neighborhood survives surrounded by the skyscrapers of progress enveloping a preserve of Jewish pioneering.

21st floor flat in White City Residence sold for 7m

A 130 sqm apartment on the 21st floor of the White City Residence project was just sold to an Israeli couple from the hi-tech sector for NIS 7 million ($1.8 million). The flat has a balcony of 13 sqm and if you take into account 50% of that surface as is the current practice, it brings the price per square meter to NIS 51,000 ($13,000).

The project, whose construction began recently is located along street Isaac Elchanan and is owned by Eurocom Real Estate, Hammerman and a group of investors from Belgium.

Companies have reported that so far 66 apartments in the project were sold for a total of over NIS 300 million. Buyers are mostly businessmen from Israel , Switzerland , Venezuela, France and England.

The project includes a residential tower of 40 floors with about 160 apartments all with sea view. In addition, another five-story building will be built that includes loft and duplex apartments. On the ground floor boutiques will be built.

The project is unique thanks to a special deal with "Armani Casa" which will allow the promoters to sell the apartments with furniture from the famous designer from Milan.

Source The Marker

Eyal Ofer buys Israel's most expensive apartment

Eyal Ofer, the son of Sammy Ofer and the brother of former Israel Corporation chairman Idan Ofer, has bought Israel's most expensive apartment. He paid NIS 115 million ($30 million) for a duplex penthouse in a 20-story seafront building in Tel Aviv owned by his family's firm, Ofer Brothers Properties.

The building is at the corner of Daniel Street and Herbert Samuel Street, opposite Tel Aviv's seafront promenade.

Eyal Ofer broke the record for Israel's most expensive apartment, which was held by Russian oligarch Valery Kogan, who bought a project in the Sea One seafront project down the street in Tel Aviv in 2009 for 110 million ($28 million).

Eyal Ofer handles Ofer Holdings Group's international real estate business. He has been involved in a number of projects in recent years, including the purchase of headquarters of drug company Alteria LLC in 2007, and the construction of residential high-rises in Manhattan.

Eyal Ofer's family resides in London, and he splits his time between London, New York, and Israel, though he spends little time in Israel. He owns a number of homes, including in Herzliya Pituah, New York, and London.

Source Globes

After Hertzliya, Ritz Carlton coming to Tel Aviv

Rothschild Boulevard, home to some of the priciest dwellings in Tel Aviv is about to get a Ritz Carlton Hotel as well. Migdal, the insurance company, is teaming up with Tidhar, a construction company owned by Gil Geva and Arye Bachar.

The two companies have signed an agreement to buy the site on 10 Rothschild Boulevard, on the corner of Herzl Street, stretching through to Lilienblum Street, on which the hotel (and some stories of residential apartments ) will go up.

Adi Strauss, a member of the Strauss family that owns the food company Strauss Group, is also expected to get into the deal.

Realtors expect the companies to face an outlay of $50 million, even though the deal is a "combination" - which means the owners of the land accept a relatively low price, in exchange for receiving some of the residential apartments built on the site. They can live in the apartments or sell them.

At present, however, the land in question houses five iconic buildings earmarked for preservation, which means the developers will have to include them into the project.

That said, the site is zoned for the construction of a 28-story hotel and residential tower.

The project will be planned by architect Rani Ziss.

Tidhar and Strauss already have a deal with the Ritz Carlton. A year ago they signed an agreement to build the chain's first hotel in Israel. It's going up at the Herzliya marina and is expected to open in 2012.

Source Haaretz