The 10-floor building in Herzliya Pituah that Microsoft is vacating will have 15 more floors added on top it, sources inform "Globes." The building in question is part of a business site owned by Bayside Land Corp. Ltd.(Gav Yam) (TASE: BYSD1) that has six buildings of 10 storeys each. The Tel Aviv District Planning and Building Commission in the Planning Administration yesterday deposited the plan submitted by Bayside Land for expanding one of the buildings, which is currently occupied by Microsoft.
According to the deposited plan, 17,700 square meters of business space and 940 square meters of commercial space will be added to the building along its facade on Shenkar Street. The plan also adds 1,500 square meters of public space to be registered in the name of the Herzliya municipality and used for health, welfare, education, the municipality's offices, and so forth.
The plan also includes two passages for employees at the site and visitors from the bus stop on Highway 2 to the site, and another passage connecting Shenkar Street with the site. Part of the shaded passage will have commercial businesses, such as cafes.
Microsoft is expected to move from the building to the new building being constructed for the company by Acro Real Estate, Tidhar Group, and Israel Canada ITR) Ltd. (TASE:ISCN) on a lot near Herzliya Pituah. Bayside is expected to look for a large tenant to rent the enlarged tower after Microsoft leaves it.
The District Planning and Building Commission noted that the plan, which does not add a single parking space to the existing facilities, encourages the use of public transportation and a reduction in the use of private vehicles to reach the site by providing continuous passage for pedestrians from the bus stop on Highway 2 and the bus stops on Shenkar Street. The plan also encourages the use of bicycles, through both a connection with the Ofnei-Dan national bicycle network and a connection with the local bicycle network planned in the entire business zone. Showers and storage for bicycle riders are also planned.
Danny Ohana from the Moshe Tzur Architects and Town Planners firm drew up the plan, and the urban building plan was written by Birkat Klimshtein Levy from the Hoshen Project Management firm.
The building is not the first for which a plan for 25 storeys has been deposited. The first such plan to be deposited for objections was Beit Amron by Jerusalem Economy Ltd. (TASE:ECJM) (JEC), which is planned for 25 storeys and multiple uses. The Herzliya municipality wants to put new life into its industrial zone by adding uses other than offices, such as residences and hotels.
Tel Aviv District Planning Commission chairperson Daniela Posek said, "The plan will upgrade the Bayside site and turn it into an advanced industrial zone with broad public spaces for the benefit of employees and visitors to the site, in addition to access to public transportation."
"In the early 1990s, we planned an innovative project with a horizontal conception that would properly present the Herzliya Pituah industrial zone on the coastal road facade," architect Moshe Tzur said. "Today, we are finally managing to complete it."
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on January 24, 2018
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