Mixed residential, commercial and office use, with an emphasis on demolition and rebuilding: the Tel Aviv Planning and Building Commission has announced that it will deposit a plan for the renewal of Ibn Gabirol Street, one of the city's main thoroughfares.
The plan covers 198 dunams (49.5 acres) on both sides of the street, and includes the addition of 2,500 housing units along its length. "The plan zones the land along the street for a mix of residential, commercial, and office use, requires an active commercial front facing the street and above it an office and commercial floor, and also allows the use of space below ground level for commerce and offices," the announcement says. The plan was initiated by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Local Planning and Building Commission, and was drawn up by Danny Lazar Architects.
The proposed volume of construction on the street varies. Where it is outside the White City conservation zones, the plan allows for demolition and rebuilding of up to eight floors, plus a partial roof floor. Within the White City zones, the plan has two renewal tracks: demolition and rebuilding up to six floors, plus a partial floor on the roof, or adding one floor in the style of the existing building, for a total of five floors, plus a partial floor on the roof.
Small apartments
The plan also stipulates that at least 50% of the new construction should be residential, and that 25% of the housing units should be small, 50 square-meter apartments. It also incorporates public services such as clinics, daycare, kindergartens, workshops and fitness studios, and allows for hotel use.
"The plan is important in the way that it increases the volume of construction on this main street and adapts it to the planning of the Green Line of the Tel Aviv Light Rail that traverses its length, and to the policy of the District Planning and Building Commission on mixed-use development along mass transit routes, including a zero parking standard along the street and a reduced parking standard on side streets."
One of Tel Aviv's most important streets
Ibn Gabirol Street, which is named after the eleventh century Spanish Jewish poet and philosopher Solomon Ibn Gabirol, is one of the most important streets in central Tel Aviv. It was constructed along the road that, before the foundation of the State of Israel, led from Jaffa to the area of the Arab village of Sumeil. That area is now one of the most prestigious parts of the street, close to Century Tower, which is also known as the Sumeil site, and on which 2,000 housing units are planned.
The street divides the "Old North" of the city and the "New North", and is the eastern boundary of the White City as declared by UNESCO, featuring Bauhaus architecture. It is characterized by a mixture of commercial and residential use, and along its length are important sites such as the London Ministore Mall, Rabin Square, the Tel Aviv Municipality building, and the Gan Ha'ir Mall. The Green Line of the Tel Aviv Light Rail, connecting Rishon LeZion and Herzliya, will run underground along its length, and it will be intersected by the Purple Line running along Arlozorov Street.
Tel Aviv District Planning and Building Commission chairperson Eran Nitzan said "The plan allows for the renewal of this main street while preserving its special character, and giving priority to pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport lanes."
Architect Erez Ben-Eliezer, planner for the Tel Aviv district at the Planning Administration in the Ministry of the Interior, said, "The plan encourages the renewal of Ibn Gabirol Street in such a way as to continue to support its urban character, while lowering the priority for private vehicles and providing a mix of varied housing and commerce, all with the required quality and sensitivity given the location of part of the plan within the declared area of the White City."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 22, 2022.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2022.