Nahalat Binyamin revival gaining traction

The Nahalat Binyamin pedestrian mall with its arts and crafts market is located in central Tel Aviv, several hundred meters from Rothschild Boulevard, near the White City and close to the prestigious homes in Neve Zedek. The street has an unusual concentration of unique architecture. It nevertheless seems, however, that the place is stuck in a time warp. The public space is neglected and rather dirty, the buildings are in a poor physical state, the backyards look like junkyards, and the businesses are outdated. Nevertheless, several new projects were completed this year, and marketing recently began of apartments in HaAmudim House at the intersection of Rambam and Tavor Streets.

The mall area drew quite a lot of public attention in 2001, when developer Ruth Speiser, who was born in the 1950s as a rent-controlled tenant in the house at the intersection of Rambam and Tavor Streets and slowly accumulated properties in the area, announced her intention of setting up a "quarter" that would include a boutique hotel and luxury apartment buildings. Speiser's ideal was innovative, because it mentioned for the first time shared management of the street. The plan included preservation and reconstruction of all the buildings marked for preservation with additional construction, demolishing buildings in the area not marked for preservation, and building new residential buildings in their places.

According to this plan, commercial space and an underground parking lot with 1,500 parking spaces would be built. One of the plan's interesting ideas was developing backyards and creating immediate access to Allenby Street. "A living dream," she told "Globes" in early 2004, "is rejuvenating the home and street on which you were born."

Not much has happened in the area in the 16 years since the heralded launch of the "quarter" plan. The large debts troubled the developers, the banks lost patience, and the buildings that Speiser and Lehi bought moved from hand to hand. In 2007, Nicholas Berggruen acquired six buildings (Michael Chernoy was previously in negotiations that did not succeed). The buildings were sold to YH Dimri Construction & Development Ltd in 2010, which sold Tamar House to French investor Gerard Bentolila for NIS 35 million in 2012. On June 9, Dimri reported that it had signed an option agreement (not for the first time) to sell three more properties on the street: one at 18 Rambam Street, one at 12-16 Rambam Street, and one at 44 Hatavor Street.

Lapid to expand zero VAT to Tama 38 projects

Minister of Finance Yair Lapid proposed today amending the zero VAT bill to include residential projects under National Outline Plan 38 or Tama 38 (earthquake retrofitting). The amendment appears in a draft of the bill published today for public comments. Lapid accepted a recommendation by the Israel Tax Authority and Israel Builders Association to include National Outline Plan 38 projects in the zero VAT plan. "The change will allow service providers in these areas to deduct the inputs tax in invoices issued to them for retrofitting services, thereby increasing the worthwhileness of these projects," said the Tax Authority.

The Tama 38 plan, first introduced in 2005, allows building owners to strike deals with contractors to give them additional building rights in exchange for reinforcing older buildings against earthquakes. The Pinui Binui program creates a framework for tenants of older buildings to be rehoused while their homes are demolished and rebuilt, with the contractor receiving building rights for apartments he can sell. Under the new proposal, work done under either plans would benefit from exemption from the 18% VAT either for construction or demolition work.

Namal Tel Aviv to turn into a real port

Namal Tel Aviv is to receive a NIS 100m investment over the next 5 years that will turn it into a port once again and for the first time since 1930.

Also included in the investment is a major expansion of the already very popular destination. The project will add new shops, 4,000 sqm of new office space, a large gym, a ferris wheel similar to the one that is so popular in London, a boutique hotel with 45 rooms as well as cinemas. And out of the NIS 100 million investment, NIS 30 million will be dedicated to turn the port itself into a marina with 120 berths.

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.

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.

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.

Earthquake retrofit regulation to accelerate renovation

It will now be possible to add 2.5 additional floors to buildings as part of National Outline Plan 38 or Tama 38 (allowing retrofitting of existing structures to make them earthquake-proof in exchange for additional building rights), after the ministerial committee for internal affairs and services today approved the third amendment to the plan. The National Planning and Building Commission approved the amendment three weeks ago.

Under the amendment, it will be possible to add up to 2.5 floors to existing buildings retrofitted to withstand earthquakes, and obtain building rights to another lot in exchange for the retrofit. The amendment originally allowed the addition of 2.5 floors to buildings in poor areas only, and 1.5 floors in wealthy neighborhoods. But following the recommendation of the investigator who heard the objections to the amendment, the government decided to apply the new rules uniformly nationwide.

The Ministry of Interior says that the amendment will further encourage the renovation of old buildings.

Source Globes

Renovation spree continues in Tel Aviv

Garlic cloves hung from the front door at 9 Bialik Street in Tel Aviv as a harbinger of good luck for the new owners. Last year the residential building was completely renovated. Its historic features were preserved, three underground floors were added, the facade was painted and the windows replaced. Now it is a bright, polished home that looks as though plastic protective wrappings were just removed from it. But the main change is that what was once a building of apartments will now serve as the private residence of the Gertler family from Britain, which has developed a small hotel empire in Israel. Thus 9 Bialik Street has joined a group of historic structures in the city that over the past decade have been transformed from apartment buildings to private townhouses owned by the wealthy.

The most conspicuous example of the trend is the Pagoda House on King Albert Square, at the corner of Nahmani and Montefiore streets. For years the building stood in a state of disrepair before being purchased in the late 1990s by Swiss-Jewish billionaire Robert Weil, for $5.5 million. Weil funded a lavish renovation, and the Pagoda House turned into one of the city's most eye-catching structures. Not far away, on the corner of Nahmani and Goldberg streets, the deserted Lodzia factory, known as the Red House, was purchased by businessman-philanthropist Roni Duek. It too is slated for thorough renovation. Marius Nacht, one of the founders of Check Point Software, purchased a historic dwelling in the city's Neveh Tzedek neighborhood. Attorney Dan Lahat, son of legendary Tel Aviv Mayor Shlomo Lahat, lives in a three-floor villa on Karl Netter Street.

No. 9 Bialik Street was built in 1928, when the eclectic building style was reaching its peak in the country. Architect Pinchas Philip Huett designed an opulent structure replete with Parisian balconies and art deco stairwells. Particularly conspicuous is the decorative rooftop that caps two columns in the building's entrance area - a unique feature of Tel Aviv's architectural repertoire that looks like a small temple. For years 9 Bialik Street served as an apartment building, but due to a lack of adequate maintenance its condition deteriorated. The Gertler family purchased the entire building and hired architects Gidi and Tal Bar Orian to design a renovation plan. Gidi Bar Orian explains that the new design caters to the family's needs: The ground floor features a living room, kitchen and communal area; the second floor is divided into children's bedrooms; and the parents' bedroom is on the third floor. The building can be divided into a number of self-sufficient living units, each equipped with a kitchen and bathroom.

During the renovation, space was dug out for an underground parking lot and a large hall to house the family's art collection. A pergola sits on the building's roof and will function as a kind of summer living room. The building's total area is 1,100 square meters - about six times the average size of an Israeli home. "We made an effort to preserve as many of the home's original components as possible in the renovation," explains Bar Orian. "For instance, we preserved the building's decorative flooring. The renovation created an interesting combination of old and new. It was important not to turn the building into Disneyland and so we chose subtle colors for the exterior. The big challenge involved the interior design: The trick was to create a sense of a private house, and overcome the staircase, which is the sort that is ordinarily used in an apartment building."

The renovation at 9 Bialik Street contributes to a renewal process in this street that has been going on for the past three years. The Tel Aviv municipality invested considerable sums to upgrade street infrastructure. Electric cables were installed underground and Bialik Square was renovated. Two years ago Beit Ha'ir, a museum and cultural facility located in the old municipality building on the square, opened. The nearby Reuven Rubin Museum will apparently add a new wing, and at the end of the same street a small Bauhaus-style gallery opened in a building owned by billionaire Ronald Lauder.

This renovation spree has clear real estate implications: real estate agents estimate that prices on Bialik Street are 10 percent higher than those on nearby roads. Will Bialik Street turn into a thoroughfare for the rich only, and will more of its buildings be converted into exclusive villas for wealthy home buyers from Israel and overseas? One senior official at the Tel Aviv municipality dismisses the trend as a small-scale phenomenon. "It's better that it happens here rather than somewhere else," he says, referring to the city taxes that will flow into the municipality coffers from the pockets of the new homeowners.

Source Haaretz

Sarona hoping to compete with Neve Tzedek

At the end of the summer the Ganei Sarona project is expected to open to the public - a new complex for commerce, recreation and entertainment located in the area of the 140-year-old Templer colony that has become part of the urban fabric of Tel Aviv. Sarona is not another ordinary commercial project, but the development of a significant and central piece of the city, 190 dunams (47 acres ) in size. Around the historic buildings and streets there are plans to build about 10 high-rise buildings that will include tens of thousands of square meters of housing, hotels, commerce and a convention center.

The 33 original houses of the colony, or what remains of them after over 60 years of ownership by the State of Israel, will be carefully preserved and used for new purposes: 27 will serve as shops, restaurants and cafes, and the other six will become a visitors' center, two museums and a unit to be leased to the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The preservation and development work now in full swing includes the rehabilitation of the local flora and the preservation of the mature trees that lend the place a special atmosphere. A new underground road will connect the main arteries surrounding the complex with underground parking lots and the Hashalom train station, along with a future light rail station on Yehudit Boulevard that will enable easy access via public transportation.

The project is being developed simultaneously by the Ganei Sarona management company, which operates under the aegis of the municipal Ahuzot Hahof corporation, and two groups of entrepreneurs: the Irani-Rogovin partnership and Ganei Sarona Ltd. (which is composed of several private companies and investors). In a discussion this week, the entrepreneurs expressed their hope of creating a unique urban complex that will grant added value to the shopping experience and will also succeed in attracting Tel Aviv residents - a "hard nut to crack," according to one of them. Ganei Sarona is based on the "lifestyle center" model, a new type of retail center developed in the United States during the 1990s that constitutes a kind of counterreaction to the closed malls. These centers were built for the most part near well-to-do suburban communities. They have a well balanced mix of commercial and recreational uses, and include a large number of squares, manicured gardens, fountains and well designed public spaces - and attempt to provide an experience of enjoyable loitering that will encourage visitors to linger in them for a long time. In other words, they are trying to imitate a classic urban center - but in a totally controlled, directed and supervised way. You won't see any peeling plaster or homeless people there, the corporation in charge will make sure to get rid of them within a short time.

Ran Steinman, one of the entrepreneurs, says that one of the main inspirations for Sarona is a famous lifestyle center in Los Angeles called The Grove, which was built on the area of a historic farmers' market. The entrepreneurs constructed a series of pseudo-historical buildings there, with magnificent facades in the spirit of the local architecture. It may be terrible kitsch, but the complex is considered a dizzying commercial success. "There is one building that is leased to a movie theater, one that belongs to Apple and many good restaurants. Outside they play a little music - it's an amazing thing," says Steinman. Amit Yulevitz, the CEO of Sarona, thinks that the public is seeking the open air and the experience of wandering around typical of city centers. "We don't see ourselves as competing with some mall. Those who want to do traditional shopping in malls will continue to go there, but anyone who wants high-class shopping and a different atmosphere will come to Sarona."

The Sarona marketing campaign reflects the desire of the entrepreneurs to connect to high-end businesses in Israel. Instead of large fashion chains or cafe chains, they tried to attract designer stores and chefs' restaurants. And in general, the historical legacy of the place seems to be an inseparable part of the marketing. The potential leasers have received a comprehensive file that includes, among other things, a naive illustration of the complex that shows stone houses alongside high rises, and romantic postcards that include information about each and every building. The entrepreneurs call them a "collection." At the same time, the entrepreneurs realize that the success of the complex depends not only on attracting successful businesses but also on close cooperation with the municipal administration that is responsible for Sarona.

"There is symbiosis here between the public space and the private space," explains Gadi Roitman of the Ganei Sarona management company. "The buildings cannot work without the park, while the public space cannot work without the buildings." He says that the planning of the public space between the buildings includes attention to commercial needs, such as areas for tables and chairs or the creation of an infrastructure for an air conditioning system (which due to preservation restrictions will not be placed outside the buildings ). Another reflection of cooperation between the entrepreneurs and the municipality will come in the form of various events to be held on the site throughout the year.

The close cooperation and mutual admiration between the parties is an example of proper development of public space. Sarona joins additional complexes in Tel Aviv that are based on cooperation between the private and public sectors: the Tel Aviv port and the train station complex. What the three complexes have in common is the creation of a distinct and defined urban space based on an historic site and operated by one body. This model has many economic advantages, because in effect it is run and maintained just like a mall. On the other hand, it lacks the spontaneity and heterogeneity that typifies a city center. Both the port and the train station are facing difficulties that stem from the fact that they are complexes that are not an integral part of the urban fabric. On the one hand they cater to a yuppie clientele, and on the other, during the week they attract mainly tourists.

The entrepreneurs, both from the municipality and the private companies, explain that they have learned the lesson from the other complexes in Tel Aviv and that Sarona's central location will ensure traffic of about 17,000 people daily, not including tourists. Now we have to wait for the opening to see whether they will succeed in restoring the Templer colony's intimate and charming character, in spite of the numbers of visitors, or whether it will turn into a branded and commercial product in which history serves only as a romantic backdrop for a day of shopping.

Source Haaretz

Tel Aviv Namal to be transformed into Times Square

The Tel Aviv Port is about to undergo a complete makeover at night, with live television broadcasts and advertisements on its buildings ala New York City's Times Square. Some NIS 30 million (about $8 million) will be invested in the project, which was initiated by the Atarim company, which develops the city's tourist sites and is co-owned by the Tel Aviv Municipality and the Tourism Ministry.

The company will set up a night film screening and culture complex in the northern part of the port. Atarim CEO Itamar Shimoni said that the investment in the entire compound is estimated at NIS 100 million ($26 million), while the film screening complex will cost some NIS 30 million. The first stage of the works will begin in November.

The complex is currently being tiled with a wood deck on which the port will hold concerts and multimedia events.According to Shimoni, this will be one of the biggest recreation centers in Israel. The plan is to hold cultural events, rock concerts, art exhibitions, video-art, etc. He wants to turn the complex into a recreation, culture and leisure complex for the entire family and bring more people in the morning and the afternoon, not just at night like now.

Simulation of Rothschild Blvd extension to the sea

Tel Aviv light rail project revived

Fifteen years after the project was initiated, the bulldozers are set to begin working at three sites on the Tel Aviv light rail’s Red Line today. Completion date is scheduled for 2017. In contrast to the elaborate cornerstone- laying ceremony 15 years ago in the presence of prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu (in his previous term) and then-Tel Aviv mayor Roni Milo, today's event is expected to be low-key, possibly in remembrance of the previous embarrassing ceremony.

Next to the Em Hamoshava Interchange in Petah Tikva, in a parking lot by the Sheraton City Plaza hotel in Ramat Gan, and adjacent to Beit Romano in south Tel Aviv, bulldozers will begin digging three 25-meter vertical shafts through which the mining equipment will be lowered to dig out the underground section of the lightrail line. Eight machines are scheduled to dig 10 kilometers of subway tunnels between Jerusalem Boulevard in Jaffa to Geha Interchange at Petah Tikva.

At the same time, there will be a change in personalities at NTA – Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd., the government company in charge of the project, after the Finance Ministry revoked Metro Transport Solutions’s (MTS) concession in 2010. Galit Assaf Shenhar, who has served as general manager since Yishay Dotan was ousted in June 2010, will turn over the reins to Yitzhak Zochman, formerly Transportation Ministry deputy director-general for infrastructure development .

Assaf Shenhar, 36, has accompanied the Tel Aviv light-rail project since 1998 when she was a junior worker in the Finance Ministry’s budget department. Since then she has been involved in pushing through approval for the route of the Red Line from Petah Tikva to Bat Yam via Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan and Tel Aviv. In 2006, after two years as economic adviser to the director-general of the Prime Minister’s Office she joined NTA. That year MTS, a consortium of Africa- Israel Investments Ltd., Egged Bus Cooperative, Siemens and Portuguese and Chinese companies won the BOT tender to build and operate the project for 25 years. NTA’s role was secondary: to promote the plan, clear infrastructures on the route and engage in information activities.

Over the years, NTA was criticized for wasting resources and political appointments to its senior executive positions. Most problematic of all was NTA’s relationship with Mesilot, a transportation consultancy firm. In 1998, shortly after its establishment, NTA handed over responsibility for managing the project to Mesilot, which is owned by Ami Metom. Mesilot prepared the tenders to choose a franchisee for the Red Line.

In 2006, the State Comptroller’s Office was harshly critical of the connection between NTA and Mesilot, which was supposed to last for one year but had continued for many years. Over the years, Mesilot had increased the scope of its work substantially, and its workforce had risen from 12 to 70 employees at salaries verbally agreed to with NTA. In total, NTA paid Mesilot more than NIS 300 million, and the work that Mesilot undertook for that huge amount became virtually worthless, after the government decided to nationalize the project. When former MK Michael Ratzon became NTA’s chairman, he was amazed to discover that the government company had no professional capabilities because almost all its staff and data banks were controlled by Mesilot.

In August 2010, the government decided to cancel MTS’s concession agreement, after it failed to gain bank financing for the project. In December 2010, the government nationalized the project and handed it over to NTA. The general manager of a medium-sized company, Shenhar suddenly found herself in one of the most important and prestigious management positions in the public sector. Colleagues in the infrastructures sector raised their eyebrows. “There is no doubt that she is talented,” a person familiar with the matter said about her, “but she comes without any experience in megaprojects or professional knowledge about trains. No private company would dream of letting her manage a NIS 12 billion project. This could only happen in public service.”

Looking back, even Shenhar’s critics admit that she has not done badly in the job. The project is moving forward as planned; more than 20 international tenders were issued in 2011, and the major construction tenders for building stations and digging tunnels will be published at the start of 2012. Project-management company Parsons Brinckerhoff has been hired as a senior consultant, mainly to handle the integration of the various contractors. NTA’s workforce has tripled to 100, and its operating budget has grown to NIS 30m.

Source Jerusalem Post

Tel Aviv port to finally get long awaited facelift

The 'Yarkon Peninsula' agreement for the purchase and development of the eastern port by Atarim has now been completed. The aim is to open the restored port within a year. According to the plan, the port would become the flagship tourism spot of the 'city that never stops'. Luxury hotels in the Cannes style will replace the garages and Montana ice cream, a marina will be there for docking yachts and the old Maccabiah stadium will become a family recreation center.

They will join clubs, restaurants, galleries and performance halls, a commercial center and an additional 1,000 parking spaces outside of the port area with shuttles going back and forth. A boardwalk will connect the two banks of the Yarkon River and the famous 'flying camel' statue from the historical 'Eastern Fair' of 1936 will be returned to the port's entrance.

Atarim purchased the area in a three stage deal. NIS 35 million ($9.52 million) were paid at this stage. An additional sum is to be paid, or returned subject to an updated evaluation of the property's worth – in seven and 13 years. A surveyor made the current evaluation for Atarim which determined that the value of one dunam (0.247 acres) of Tel Aviv port property is worth $6 million. Ataraim is planning to turn the site into Tel Aviv's largest and leading entertaining spot with expectations of 500,000 visitors every weekend. Atarim, the company responsible for the city's beaches, the northern port and the marina, bought the controlling stake and the properties of the Tel Aviv Development Company, who is responsible for the eastern side of the port.

The ownership of the port was divided between three companies; Atarim owns the northern side, the Tel Aviv Development Company owns the eastern side, which was sold to Atarim by the Jewish Agency and KKL, and the Marine Trust Ltd. owns the western side. The man behind the deal is the Director General of Atarim Itamar Shimoni, who is already planning the next phase: An expropriation letter against the Marine Trust which is being put together by the Harzog-Fox-Neeman Law firm based on a historic expropriation order, in order to turn the Tel Aviv port into one unified stretch of land managed by Atarim. The Tel Aviv Development Company was established in 1937. Wednesday's move, which saw Atarim take ownership of the Development Company, decreases the number of owners of the port area. The negotiations went on for four years, led by Atarim chairman Herzl Shalem, Director General Shimoni and supported by Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai.

Meanwhile, efforts are being made to complete the regional zoning plans. The goal: provide luxury hotel rooms in a city where the hotel room shortage is huge, as is the demand. Alfred Akirov has already declared his interest in building a hotel there, following the Mamilla hotel in Jerusalem as well as his Paris and London hotel ventures. The main battle will be against the legendary Montana ice cream shop, the city's main hotspot in the 1960s. Its owners will probably not give up the historic spot easily. Atarim intends to vacate the shop and an additional 70 properties, mainly garages and manufactories. "Montana can't stay," says Shimoni. "The new look doesn't fit in with such an outdated structure. The center will be completely recreation focused." Director general of the Marine Trust, Moshe Hendels said in response: "There is an expropriation decision from 1973 but nothing was done about it for 38 years. The Marine Trust has been managing the port since 1936. It fulfilled the expropriation purposes which is no longer useful. When the demand comes along, I assume tat the board of directors will convene and oppose the move."

Source Ynet

Knesset passes bill to eliminate betterment tax

"I loudly reiterate - the threat of earthquakes is at our doorstep now. We must act as soon as possible," said Minister of Interior Eli Yishai yesterday, after the Knesset passed the first reading of a bill to renew the exemption from betterment tax on retrofitting of buildings in line with National Outline Plan 38 for reinforcing structures against earthquakes. Yishai submitted the bill on Sunday.

The bill also upgrades National Outline Plan 38 from a directive, which has to be periodically renewed, to a law. The directive for National Outline Plan 38 expired in November 2010. Yishai added, "From the Knesset dais, I call on Israeli citizens who live in old building to act expeditiously to retrofit these buildings. I will seek easements on fees and taxes for people who retrofit their homes against earthquakes. The warning signs in the form of small earthquakes have already been felt. The Ministry of Interior will do what it can to lift the barriers against retrofitting buildings against earthquakes. It is not worthwhile waiting for a commission of inquiry about protecting the home front against earthquakes. We should act immediately to retrofit buildings now."

In 2007, the Knesset passed the Planning and Building Law Encouragement for Strengthening Structures Against Earthquakes (Directive) (5767-2007). The law cancels the betterment tax for retrofitting carried out as part of National Outline Plan 38. The amendment related to the exemption from the betterment tax expired in November. The new law will reduce the betterment tax for retrofitting buildings by 90%. The Knesset's approval of the bill came after months of pleading by developers about the expiry of the exemption and worries about its renewal.

Source Globes

More on the Tel Aviv Master Plan

Halfway through his third term in power, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai is promoting his most ambitious project yet: an ambitious master plan, meant to guide the city’s explosive development over the coming decades. The magnitude of the plan is difficult to overstate; the mayor himself has described it as a “constitution” for the city. Yet, try Googling the master plan and you’ll find almost nothing. Amazingly, despite the enormous impact it is expected to have on the city, the plan has yet to be released to the public in full.

While some information about the contents of the plan is buried deep inside the municipality’s website, the city’s well-oiled PR machine has made no serious effort to bring it to the attention of the general public.

The map on the left however reveals quite a lot. It displays height planning for the city, showing the location of upcoming high rises in dark and evidencing how the plan will transform the city’s skyline beyond recognition. Just click on the map to display the full size version.

While low skylines will be preserved in the centre of town and in parts of Jaffa, areas east of the city center would be transformed into a forest of skyscrapers. In a victory for real estate interests over long-standing opposition by residents, the plan would also allow for extensive high-rise construction in the south of the city, creating multiple corridors of office and residential towers, which would hover awkwardly above existing low-rise neighbourhoods.

Dolphinarium to be razed at last

The seaside space occupied by the neglected remains of the Tel Aviv Dolphinarium will be developed into a new boardwalk, the city decided yesterday. The Tel Aviv Planning and Building Council reapproved the plan to renovate the site into a public space but the city will need to buy out an 18.5-dunam area from a private lease-holder, Yossi Buchman.

In exchange, Buchman will get a 12-dunam area near the Hassan Bek Mosque on Hayarkon Street, on which he can build two residential towers and a hotel: 48,000 square meters in total built-up area, according to approved rights for the spot. Buchman is being asked to pay 31.5% of the difference in value between the land by the mosque and the land on which the remains of the Dolphinarium are situated. An appraisal dating from 2008 priced the land by Hassan Bek at NIS 500 million, while the value of the Dolphinarium land was priced at NIS 80 million. Buchman will have to pony up more than NIS 120 million, not including betterment tax.

The plan to develop the defunct Dolphinarium has been held up for more than 10 years, in part because the municipality, Buchman and the Israel Lands Administration couldn't agree on money issues. As similar plan won approval in 2002, but was torpedoed by continued haggling. Observers in the real estate sector think it may take around two years for the land deal to go through. During that time the city will continue to negotiate with Buchman over evacuating and razing the Dolphinarium.

The Dolphinarium began its life as a dolphin-centric aquarium, but was abandoned in the mid-1980s as the company running the venue stumbled into financial trouble. It was acquired by Buchman's company, Sha'ar LeYisrael. The Dolphinarium building consists of one underground story and two above ground, some of which is used for entertainment venues and some of which has been abandoned. The city of Tel Aviv wants to create a continuous boardwalk from Bat Yam to Herzliya. The Dolphinarium building was the only obstacle after certain buildings belonging to the Gordon Swimming Pool and the Reading Power Station were razed. Peer Weisner, deputy mayor of Tel Aviv and acting chairman of the local Planning and Building Committee, said he opposes the deal. "The city of Tel Aviv should revert to its previous resolution and expropriate the land from [Buchman]," Weisner said.

The Dolphinarium has an infamous reputation in Israel, after a suicide bomber attacked a line of party-goers outside a club there on June 1, 2001, killing 21 and injuring 132. Most of the casualties were immigrant teenagers from the former Soviet Union.

Source The Marker

Pedestrian bridge to ease access to the beach

The Tel Aviv municipality will construct a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Ayalon Highway, linking the Montefiore neighborhood on the western side with the developing business area in the Bitzaron neighborhood on the eastern one. The municipality said the bridge is set to become a key link in a planned green route, allowing residents of the city's eastern neighborhood to reach the beach in a 10 to 15 minute bicycle ride. The bridge is being planned by Chen Architects, together with Rokach Ashkenazi Engineers. It will be 100 meters long, 12 meters wide and divided into two tracks - an asphalt bicycle track and a wooden pedestrian walk. Separating the two would be a sitting area with specially designed street furniture. Its width would allow for at least one coffee kiosk, and it will have transparent acoustic walls on either side, protecting passersby from the noise of the highway underneath.

"The goal is to make the bridge into a place where people meet and mingle," said architect Nili Zamir-Chen. "The plan focuses on the human perspective and creates an inviting place for human interaction." Zamir-Chen also suggest that a coffee shop be set up at the western end of the bridge to mark the point where the noise of the Ayalon highway gives way to the quiet of Montefiore. The pedestrian bridge is but one of several planned to span the highway dividing the city. Tel Aviv intends to build a roof over the stretch near the Central Train Station, allowing for the construction of a new business center directly above the highway. A wide bridge is also planned near Nachalat Yitzhak, to link Emek Bracha Street with Shaul Hamelekh Avenue and the new business towers planned to the north of the Kirya government compound.

"Our idea is to reinforce the connection between the city's east and west, just like we did between the north and south," says city architect Yoav David. "We insisted the bridge would be for pedestrians and cyclists only. In the future, you'll be able to cross the bridge from Bitzron to Montefiore, continue through the south Kirya business area, Givon hill and the Cinematheque, climb up to the new Habima square, roll down Zion Boulevard and Bugrashov, and get to the sea. This kind of accessibility doesn't exist today and it's important for us to promote it." Despite the municipality's optimism, few if any sections of this route can be comfortably traversed on bicycle, or even on foot. The city architect said a planning review of Bougrahsov Street will begin soon. In the meanwhile, planning meetings in the municipality and the Ayalon highway company have already begun, and the new bridge is expected to be completed within two years.

Source Haaretz

Fancy a penthouse in Tel Aviv?

Penthouse sales have reached new levels in the last few years in Tel Aviv. Last year, for example, the penthouse in the Sea One project was sold for NIS 110 million. Even more recently, Eyal Ofer bought the top flat at Ofer Tower, also on Herbert Samuel Street, for a cool NIS 115 million.

If you fancy a penthouse too, here is a sample of what's available on the market...

NIS 33 million - USD 9 million

Location: Koifman Street

Floor: 4

Flat Size: 800 sqm

Terrace Size: 120 sqm

Landscape panoramic sea view

Maintenance: NIS 8,000 / month

The apartment's ceiling is about six feet tall, has no external walls and is surrounded by a glass wall overlooking the sea. The apartment is on one level and includes, private indoor pool, sauna and Jacuzzi. Penthouse is owned by a foreign resident who bought the apartment a few years ago and uses it as his holiday apartment. He recently bought another apartment, no less prestigious, and has therefore put this one on the market.

NIS 25 million - USD 7 million

Location: Dubnov Street

Floor: 7

Flat Size: 460 sqm

Terrace Size: 130 sqm

View: 360 degrees of full cityscape

Maintenance: NIS 300 / month

The apartment is located in the city center, but in a quiet area and close to cultural and entertainment centers. It has seven bedrooms, four bathrooms and a shower, high ceilings (3.40 meters), central vacuum and heating-floor. Apartment building has three parking spaces. 

NIS 5.5 million - USD 1.5 million

Location: Alexander Argov Street 

Floor: 2-3

Flat Size: 170 sqm

Terrace Size: 80 sqm

Landscape: a neighborhood park

Maintenance: NIS 2,200 /month

The apartment is a duplex penthouse renovated last year invested at a cost of one million shekels. It includes four bedrooms, high quality flooring, with a mosaic ceiling in the bathroom and has a living room window which provides light all day long. The apartment building  includes an Olympic pool, a jacuzzi, a sauna, a steam room and 24 hour a day maintenance. 

NIS 11 million - USD 3 million

Location: Hamelits Street

Floor: Fifth sixth floors

Flat Size: 250 sqm

Terrace Size: 70 sqm on the top floor

View: 360 degrees

Maintenance: NIS 550 / month

The apartment is in a new building next to Meir Garden in Tel Aviv. The penthouse was designed and built for a couple, so it includes only two bedrooms. All accommodation services are located on the first floor, the second floor includes two rooms, a kitchenette, a bathroom and a 360 degree balcony. The flat has two parking spaces and an private lift. The design was done by an architect specializing in the design galleries, and includes a mosaic bath, a raised black parquet in the bedroom, parquet floors, windows and closets throughout the apartment with Chinese designs in all baths. 

NIS 7.5 million - USD 2 million

Location: HaGanim Street in Ramat Hasharon

Floor: 16

Flat Size: 200 sqm

Terrace Size: 100 sqm

Landscape cityscape of Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, Ramat Gan, Netanya Sea

Maintenance: NIS 500 / month

The apartment is the highest in the region, as all the buildings in the neighborhood are up to ten stories only. The penthouse is on one level, it has high ceilings and a design made of bright shades of metallic purple mosaic. There is is a huge 50 sqm bedroom, two additional bedrooms and a study. Building has two covered parking spaces.

NIS 9.6 million - USD 2.6 million 

Location: Isrotel in Hayarkon Street 

Floor: 22

Flat Size: 194 sqm

 Terrace Size: 50 sqm

Landscape panoramic sea view, from Jaffa to Herzliya

Maintenance fees: about NIS 2,400 a month

The apartment was designed so that it includes only one bedroom with a balcony area of 10 sqm, the rest of the apartment being the living room and kitchen. The building includes a gym, a swimming pool and a convention hall lobby. The adjacent penthouse is also for sale so you can purchase both flats for a total of 316 sqm and USD 3.4 million.  

NIS 100 million - USD 27 million

Location: Corner Nehardea  & Barry 

Floor: 30-31

Flat Size: 1,000 sqm

Terrace Size : 80 sqm

View: State Square, Central Tel Aviv to the sea

Maintenance: NIS 14,000 / month 

Almost impossible to find an apartment this size in town. The penthouse was built on two floors and was designed by architect Moshe Tzur. The building is the heart of Tel Aviv and includes a swimming pool, gym, a residents club and 24 hours security.

NIS 76 million - USD 21 million

Location: Yitzhak Elhanan Street - White City Residence

Floor: 40

Flat Size: 578 sqm

Terrace Size: 115 sqm

Landscape: panoramic sea view

Maintenance: NIS 8,000 / month

The project is currently under construction. The apartment is on one level and located in the picturesque neighborhood of Neve Tzedek, about 300 meters from the beach. The apartment design is done by the Italian designer Giorgio Armani. It includes a Jacuzzi for ten people on the roof overlooking the sea.

NIS 3.6 million - USD 1 million

Location: Montefiore Street 

Floor: 4-5

Flat Size: 100 sqm

Terrace Size: 15 sqm on the lower level, 55 sqm on the top floor

Scenery: Sea

Maintenance: about NIS 450 / month

The project is currently under construction. A boutique located in the heart of the historic fabric of the White City, minutes away from the cultural center, recreation and shopping. This duplex penthouse has four rooms on the lower floor and a spacious suite on the top floor. Granite porcelain flooring, electric roller shutters equip the flat. Included in the price is an underground parking.

NIS 39 million

Location: Herbert Samuel Street - Sea One Project

Floor: 20

Flat Size: 300 sqm

Terrace Size: 30 sqm

Landscape: the sea and along the promenade - Jaffa, Tel Aviv Marina

Maintenance: NIS 4,400 / month

The project is currently under construction. The apartment includes three bedrooms, each room with a sea view. Apart from panoramic views, high ceilings are planned at a height of six meters. The residential building will also house a hotel, but with a clear separation of the two - a separate parking, separate elevators and separate entrance lobby. However, tenants will benefit from services of a five-star hotel.

Source The Marker

Tel Aviv Light Rail project back on track

The Tel Aviv area light rail project is back on the rails again - with the state paying for it. Two weeks after cancelling the tender for the MTS franchisee, the government company in charge of the planned public transportation plan, NTA - Metropolitan Mass Transit System, issued a tender on Wednesday for planning the tunnels to be dug. The new budget for the project is NIS 10.7 billion and the new date for the completion of the first section, the Red Line, is scheduled for Dec. 31, 2017.

The new tender came after the finance and transportation ministries approved changing their plan for the tunnels. The new digging method will cut the time needed for the work and not require pumping out groundwater. But there are disadvantages too. The new method will require more work on the surface during construction, which will lead to more traffic jams and other disruptions - in particular within Tel Aviv.

The 23-kilometer Red Line from Bat Yam to Petah Tikva will be divided into three sections. Some 11 kilometers will be underground from Menashiya in south-west Tel Aviv via Jabotinsky Street to Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak, and on to the Geha junction. Out of the 33 planned stations, 23 will be underground, about a kilometer apart on average.

The official approval for funding the light rail project from the state budget will only come after the Sukkot holiday, and will require cabinet approval. The original tender was for a Buy, Operate and Transfer (BOT ) project financed by the tender winner, but MTS ran into financing problems as a result of the global financial crisis.

Wednesday's tender was only for the planning of three large shafts through which the tunnel boring machine would be introduced. The proposed method for tunneling is called "cut and cover," in which the tunneling digs up the surface as it proceeds and then is covered up. This is the method commonly used in Israel for most underground projects up to now. Part of the construction of the new Tel Aviv-Jerusalem high speed rail line is using this method. The tunneling machine will be lowered into the shafts and large underground spaces, through which both building materials and the material dug up will brought in and out.

MTS had proposed "deep mining," in which almost all the work takes place underground. However, due to Tel Aviv's high groundwater level, engineering professionals were worried that not all the possible problems were taken into account in the deep mining proposal.

Source Haaretz

Committee sets height limits for Neve Tzedek

A sub-committee of the Tel Aviv district planning and building committee ruled to restrict construction in 54 dunams (13.5 acres) at the southern end of the historic Neve Tzedek neighbourhood to two-story buildings.

After years of stalemate during which all construction plans for the area were put on hold, the subcommittee approved a plan that includes preserving building facades. It also allows for development of hotels and residential and commercial construction. The move comes in the wake of controversy created by the 38-story Neve Tzedek tower on the southern end of the neighbourhood.

Several other towers are planned on the neighborhood's periphery. The subcommittee gave the green light to some three-story structures on the edges of the tract. Deputy Mayor Pe'er Visner said the plan would be appealed for being too restrictive, while the neighborhood committee in the area said the plan would still damage the neighborhood's character.

Source Haaretz