The IDF and the Ministry of Defense are moving up the date for vacating some military bases in northern and central Israel. This includes the first phase of vacating the Kirya (IDF Headquarters in Tel Aviv) - the northern section, referred to as “keren hakirya,” which occupies 900 square meters. This area will be vacated earlier than expected, by late 2014. This is the first step in vacating the entire Kirya in the heart of Tel Aviv. At a later stage, another 25,000 square meter section in the northern part of the central base, will be vacated. It seems that this area will only be vacated towards the end of the decade. An 80-story apartment building is planned on the first area, which according to IDF sources will be vacated by the end of next year.
Two more bases are scheduled to be vacated by the end of 2014 to allow for residential and commercial buildings. One is a small base in Haifa’s downtown seafront area that will allow for the construction of 100 new housing units. Also, part of the Tzifin base, near Be’er Ya’akov and Rishon Lezion will be vacated earlier than planned. This area covers 15,000 square meters near Be’er Ya’akov designated for 3,500 housing units. These areas are being vacated ahead of schedule - it had not been planned to vacate them in the coming years.
These bases are being vacated are part of a broader program to vacate bases includes all of Tzrifin base, Glilot north of Tel Aviv, Sirkin in Petah Tikva, Tel Hashomer near Ramat Gan, and others. According to estimates, vacating all the IDF bases in central Israel is expected to yield 11 million square meters of land. As of today, the Ministry of Defense has been charged with planning of these areas ahead of the move and the marketing of the planned land and construction. According to estimates, these areas have construction potential for some 100,000 housing units and some 2.5 million square meters for industry and employment. The government’s anticipated income from the sale of the land, fees and taxes is roughly NIS 90 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 12, 2013
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