The Bat Yam Local Planning and Building Committee has recently approved a 'vacate and build' urban renewal plan in Ramat Hanasi neighborhood and passed it on for the approval of the district committee, which will meet in a few weeks.
The plan is being developed by the Shapir Civil and Marine Engineering Ltd. (TASE: SPEN) subsidiary Shapir Residence and Construction. As part of the plan, six three-floor long apartment buildings with several entrances will be demolished in 19th- 23rd Dalya St., 28th-32nd Kaf Tet Benovember St. and 31st-37th Rav Maimon St. There are currently 168 apartments in this complex. The houses were built about 50 years ago, and most of them are in a bad state of repair, without an elevator or a security room.
Ramat Hanasi is considered an old neighborhood, with lower demand, but in the past few years, due to construction plans, it has enjoyed significantly higher demand. Prices per square meter in the neighborhood are about NIS 18,500, NIS 1.2 million for a three-room, 65 square meter, apartment. In 2011, the average price for an apartment in the neighborhood was NIS 895,000.
The new plan includes the construction of four towers, about 30 floors each, and five additional 4-14 floor buildings in Kaf Tet Benovember St. and Rav Maimon St. Overall, 950, high-end, apartments will be built in the neighborhood, above an underground parking lot. The area has been planned around education facilities and kindergartens, alongside green areas and parks. Each building will have an added space of 30 square meters, a sun balcony, underground parking, a security room and rich amenities. The project will include an upgrade of municipal infrastructure in the neighborhood and contains rights for public areas which the municipality could expand in the future.
Shapir Residence and Construction VP Gad Gershon said, "Shapir Residence has been actively promoting the Ramat Hanasi project in preparation for its approval in the District Building and Planning Committee, in order to turn it into a green lung in Bat Yam." Shapir Residence, mainly known for its parent company Shapir Engineering, is currently involved in 10 vacate and build projects, with overall rights for 7,500 homes in Bat Yam, Netanya, Petah Tikva, Rehovot, Tel Aviv and Holon. Shapir Group is a traded company with an annual turnover of NIS 2.5 billion. Bat Yam Mayor Yossi Bachar said, "We continue realizing our vision of urban renewal. Dozens of vacate and build and Tama 38 earthquake retrofit plans are currently being promoted, and will add thousands of housing units to the city in the few years."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 17, 2016
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