The IDF is due to vacate the Adjutant Corps headquarters in Ramat Gan, which it has occupied for decades, within four years. The 71-dunam (17.75-acre) site is zoned for the construction of a 1,008-unit residential neighborhood and 4,500 sq.m. of commercial space, and the building plan was recently submitted to the Tel Aviv Regional Planning and Building Commission. In March 2001, the Ramat Gan Local Planning and Building Commission approved a plan for the site filed by the Israel Land Administration (ILA) and Ministry of Defense. The site is, however, a designated archeological site, and no construction will be allowed without permission from the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The building plan calls for eight high-rises of 16-28 floors each and 23 dunam (5.75 acres) of public space. The average apartment size will be 120 sq.m. and all parking will be in underground garages. A 16.6-dunam (4.15-acre) lot is zoned for a 6,500-sq.m. public building, usable as a school, college or other purpose decided on by the Ramat Gan municipality. The lot includes the existing IDF buildings, which will retained.
It is hard to explain the apparent progress in building plans for the Adjutant Corps HQ site, since it was designated an archeological site in 1964. Digs in the area have found antiquities from a number of eras beginning with the Bronze Age.
The Antiquities Authority says the site’s designation as an archeological site means it must first approve any development. Such approval is contingent on an archeological survey and rescue digs, which could take a long time. Building permits will be contingent on any archeological discoveries.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on August 6, 2006
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