After treating patients at its Zamenhof clinic in Tel Aviv for 75 years, Clalit Health Services has sold the property to a developer for $5.3 million. The Zamenhof clinic was one of Clalit’s best-known symbols. The four-storey building had 4,700 sq.m. of built-up space, including a 500-sq.m. basement. The property was recently offered for sale by tender, which attracted a great deal of interest, although only three bids were ultimately submitted. Under the Urban Building Plan, the property is zoned for public use, with 225% building rights, which are fully used.
The winner of the tender can build either a public structure, such as a college or community center, or rezone the lot for residences. The existing structure probably cannot be demolished, since it classified for preservation without severe restrictions, which means that internal structures can be changed.
Clalit is expected to vacate the clinic by the end of 2006, and possibly sooner. It is now examining two sites for two new clinics in areas with better access to public transport and parking.
Clalit also plans to sell by tender its clinic on Haro’eh St in Ramat Gan, transferring services to new sites in the city. The building is worth an estimated $3.2 million, or $900 per sq.m.
Clalit said it was negotiating with Housing and Construction Holding Co. Ltd. (Shikun u'Binui) (TASE:HUCN) subsidiary Secom Ltd. to rent 4,000 sq.m. in the BSR Towers in Bnei Brak. Clalit will probably pay $11 per sq.m. per month in a long-term lease. Secom owns the lower six floors in the 31-storey building, which has now been completed at the corner of Abba Hillel St. and Ben Gurion St.
Clalit manages over one million sq.m. of property.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on July 19, 2005