The Southern District Planning and Building Commissions has deposited for public objections an urban building plan for Beer Sheva. The plan, drawn up by the Mann-Shinar architectural firm, was commissioned by the Planning Administration in cooperation with the Beer Sheva municipality. The new plan is designed to replace the current plan, which was approved in 1970.
The plan includes 13,000 more housing units in order to accommodate a population of 340,000 in the city by 2030. In addition to housing units, the plan proposes four million more square meters in industrial and business space. An industrial zone is being rezoned for mixed uses that include residences, commerce, and business. The plan also zones an area in eastern Beer Sheva for construction of a second public hospital, to be constructed near Highway 25 (Dimona Ashkelon) and Highway 40 (Beer Sheva-Tel Aviv). The hospital will be built in an special area zoned for medicine and medical research, including construction of a pharmtech center, research laboratories, and health and medical support services.
According to the plan, most of the commercial and office space will be concentrated in the city center, which will be connected to the city's main business center through Hebron Road. The plan seeks to avoid the development of remote business areas cut off from the city and the moving of commerce to the city's outskirts. The plan zones the "civil center" as the main metropolitan business center, which will include residence, commerce, offices, public institutions, culture and education, hotels, and leisure.
Rager Boulevard, which crosses the city from its northern entrance to the old city in the south, will become the city's main thoroughfare. Important public institutions are located on the road, including the university campus, Soroka Medical Center, the Beer Sheva Center for the Performing Arts, Yad Lebanim House, and the municipality. The plan proposes making the current multi-lane road to a municipal thoroughfare with a special mass transit lane and urban renewal.
Senior Planning Administration local planning manager Ehud Justman said, "A key element in the plan is closing the gaps between the old and new neighborhoods through urban renewal and creating continuity between neighborhoods, instead of a collection of unconnected neighborhoods. The new construction in the old neighborhoods will create an opportunity for improving the quality and diversity of the available stock of municipal housing and renewing public space."
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on August 2, 2017
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