The Tel Aviv Local Planning and Building Commission today approved the "Keren Hakirya" plan for the construction of an office, commercial, and residential complex at the corner of Shaul Hamelekh Street and Namir Road. The plan will include an 80-floor skyscraper - Israel's tallest building to date.
The "Keren Hakirya" plan, initiated by the Israel Land Administration, includes 540 apartments and 100,000 square meters of office space. The plan applies to the 38-dunam (nine-acre) lot at the northeast corner of the Kirya, the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv. The land is owned by the Israel Land Administration and has been used until now by the Ministry of Defense.
Under the approved plan, 240,000 square meters of office and building space will be built, including 540 apartments and 100,000 square meters of office space. The plan calls for the construction of 80-floor and 50-floor office buildings, and two 45-floor residential high rises, atop a commercial floor. The 80-floor skyscraper will be considerably higher than the nearby Azrieli Towers. The towers' roofs will be used for commercial space, as a "fifth façade". A square will be built between the office buildings. It will include commercial space, with an emphasis on cafes, and provide passage between Shaul Hamelekh Street and Begin Road.
The office buildings are designed as triangular prisms; planners have nicknamed them "the Toblerone Towers", for the form in which they will be seen by those approaching Tel Aviv's new business center along Begin Road. The project will include an underground parking garage entered from Shaul Hamelekh Street and Weizmann Street. The project is also close to the Arlozorov railway station, the Hashalom railway station, public transport on Namir Road, and very close to stations of the future Tel Aviv light railway.
The approved "Keren Hakirya" plan will be discussed by the Tel Aviv Regional Planning and Building Commission with a recommendation for 620% building rights for business, commercial, and residential space, in line with the mixed-use policy for business, commercial, and residential space. The plan was drawn up by AI Architecture and Urban Design - Yitzhak Halfon.
The "Keren Hakirya" is part of the second lot approved by the Tel Aviv Local Planning and Building Commission for the area of the Kirya North Base, which is included in the financing agreement for the light railway's Green Line. In November 2012, the commission approved the Kanarit project at the corner of Kaplan Street and Leonardo da Vinci Street on the western side of the Kirya. The Kanarit project calls for the construction of 287 apartments in two 44-storey high-rises and a rental, office and commercial building with two wings, one with six floors and the other with seven floors.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 31, 2013
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