The Tel Aviv District Planning and Building Commission in the Planning Administration approved for deposit a plan for demolishing the Mor Institute in Bnei Brak and rebuilding it with twice the space in the four-storey building next to two towers with 45 and 55 storeys, which will be added to the BBC industrial zone. The land is owned by Lodzia Rotex Investment Ltd. (TASE: LODZ) and Clalit Health Services, plus a number of small private owners, who will now benefit from a spurt in the value of their holdings. The 12.3-dunam (4.075-acre) lot previously housed industrial buildings that were removed, including the Lodzia textile plant and the well-known Mor Institute operated by Clalit, which is still active.
Fewer parking places because of the light rail
Under the plan deposited for public objections, Mor Institute, a metropolitan medical center currently operating in an old building in need of expansion, will be demolished and replaced by the towers and the new Mor Institute building facing Jabotinsky Road. The plan includes a connection between the northern tower and the new Mor Institute.
The plan, designed by Yasky Mor Sivan Architects, provides for 110,000 square meters of business and commercial space, including 8,650 square meters of public space within the towers registered in the name of the Bnei Brak municipality, 7,600 square meters of main space for Mor Institute, 1,375 parking spaces for the two office towers, and 200 parking spaces for Mor Institute. Since the lot is located near the light railway route, the Planning Administration's policy is to approve a reduced parking standard aimed at encouraging the public to use public transportation and reducing the use of private vehicles.
A building permit on a more limited scale has already been issued for the northern lot with 775 parking places according to the old standard. With the depositing of new rights, the tower did not receive additional parking spaces. No permit has been issued yet for the southern lot, which therefore includes a limited parking standard of one parking place for every 240 square meters of business space; the tower will therefore have 600 parking spaces.
Under the plan, the new Mor Institute will be constructed first, before the old building is demolished, in order to maintain the continuity of Mor Institute's operations. Once the new building is completed, the old one will be demolished and the two new towers built in its place.
The plan also includes a parking area south of Mor Institute and construction of a municipal plaza at the intersection of Jabotinsky Road and Masada Street, as well as easy access to the light railway and a bicycle parking lot.
"Increasing health institutes in the district"
Up until now, Lodzia and Clalit had trouble reaching agreement on the project. In the framework of the plan promoted by the district planning office, the owners' representatives were summoned to the District Planning and Building Commission and reached an agreement. In its decision, the Commission stated that it regarded Mor Institute's development as important, given the demographic forecasts and the need for a substantial increase in health services in metropolitan Tel Aviv. Lodzia CEO Zorik Rotlevy initiated the plan in cooperation with the Bnei Brak municipality. Lodzia Rotex Investment, which was the real estate arm of the Lodzia textile company, was separated from its parent company and was left with the lot on which Mor Institute is located.
Tel Aviv District Planning and Building Commission chairperson Daniela Posek said, "In view of the drastic increase in the metropolitan population, and in the realization of future needs and demand, we are developing and enlarging all the health institutions in the district. The District Planning and Building Commission is therefore including Mor Institute, which provides specialist health services to the entire metropolis, in this plan in order to safeguard the development of this important medical institution. We are cooperating with the Bnei Brak municipality and have summoned the developers of the plan and Mor Institute for discussions, after they were unable to reach agreement for many years."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 25, 2018
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