Co-Op bought 4,000 sq.m. for $4 million. Super Pharm will pay 4.9% of turnover.
Developers David Dankner and his son Gil have to date sold and leased 10,000 sq.m. in the Castra entertainment center under construction at the southern approaches to Haifa. The income-yielding area of the project is 14,000 sq.m. The project is scheduled to open on the eve of the Jewish New Year in the fall.
The largest transaction was with Co-Op Blue Square, which purchased 4,000 sq.m. for $7 million, or $1,750 per sq.m.
Other transactions included:
A kosher tourist restaurant rented 900 sq.m. at 7%, with a minimum of $33 per sq.m. per month, index-linked, under a seven-year lease with a seven-year option. The rent will be raised by 10% if the option is exercised.
Super Pharm rented 500 sq.m. at 5% (only 2.2% for paper products), with a minimum of $30 per sq.m. per month, index-linked. The lease is divided into a number of periods, lasting up to 25 years.
The Papagayo restaurant rented 250 sq.m. at 5.5-8% of turnover, depending on earnings, with a minimum of $30 per sq.m. per month. Another restauranter rented 180 sq.m. for two coffee shops at $50 per sq.m per month.
Promoter Ben Zeidel rented 210 sq.m. for an entertainment area at $30 per sq.m. per month.
Avi Mizrahi rented 100 sq.m. for the Galilee Artists Gallery. He will pay 10% of turnover, with a minimum of $25 per sq.m. per month.
About 40 boutiques and shops of various kinds rented 25-50 sq.m. each. They will pay 7-8% of turnover, with minimum rents of $30-40 per sq.m. per month.
The Castra Center will have a total of 80 businesses, including 24 art galleries, the leasing of which is currently getting underway.
Dankner is building the Castra Center on a 23-dunam (5.75-acre) site purchased in a Haifa Municipality tender in 1997 for $6 million, including development. Total investment is $30 million, including the land. The Mercantile Bank, together with Israel General Bank, are providing financial coverage.
The Castra Center features paintings and sculptures by Austrian-Jewish artist Erich (Arik) Brauer.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on May 14, 2000