Canada Israel, founded and controlled by Barak Rosen and Assaf Tuchmeir, today won an Israel Land Authority (ILA) tender for the Lapid site on the northwest part of Eilat Street in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. The tender is for 7.5 dunam (1.875 acres), with commerce, business, and residential construction rights totaling 67,000 sq.m. There were quite a few bids for the site. Canada Israel's bid of NIS 211.7 million (not including VAT) was selected. The group plans to promote a development project on the site.
Canada Israel's bid was NIS 46 million higher than the runner-up bid and NIS 43 million, 26%, higher than the ILA appraisal for the land. Other bidders included the Nakash brothers, the Reality fund, Yossi Avrahami Civil Engineering Works, and a group of New York investors.
The lot won by Canada Israel is part of a 20-dunam (five-acre) site on Eilat Street, corner of Kaufman Street, next to the old Jaffa Railway Station and close to the sea.
The tender was first published in August 2016, and was subsequently postponed and revised several times. It is important to note that the tender states that some of the rights are contingent on future planning for the area, among them the housing units. In other words, construction is not going to begin tomorrow. As of now, a number of businesses are operating in the area, as well as 27 protected tenants and six ordinary renters. The winners must now promote a new urban building plan and arrange to relocate the tenants.
Since the new outline plan for Tel Aviv went into effect only recently, informed sources believe that it is difficult to say now what the construction rights and height restrictions in the new urban building plan will be. Another important point is that the tender refers to only some of the sites, totaling 7.5 dunam of the 20-dunam total, while the urban building plan to be promoted refers to the entire site, and will probably be promoted in cooperation with a partner owning the rest of the land.
Sources who examined the tender today expressed surprise at the high price that Canada Israel agreed to pay for land in its current state. Some assert that the price is too high. At the same time, Canada Israel is a partner with Doron Aviv in a nearby residential and office project at 26 Eliphalet Street, on which construction has been completed, so the company knows the area. This could account for Canada Israel's high bid.
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on March 1, 2017
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