The Israel Land Authority, Jerusalem Municipality and Eden, the Jerusalem Center Development Co. are set to issue the first tender of the city entrance project. The tender will market a lot in the western entrance to the city for the construction of two high-rise towers with 100,000 square meters of office and commercial space.
This is the first tender in the massive project for the district that will become Israel's largest transport and business center. When completed there will be 1.6 million square meters of offices, hotels, and commerce. At the same time a complementary plan is being drawn up for the construction for adjacent residential buildings that will include small apartments and homes for long-term rental.
The tender being published is the first part of the implementation of a strategic agreement signed in 2014 between the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transport, Jerusalem Municipality and ILA for the NIS 1.4 billion "Jerusalem city gateway" project. The project will cover 300,000 square meters between the Bridge of Chords in the west, the Central Bus Station in the north, Binyanei Ha'Uma International Convention Center in the south and the former Foreign Ministry complex in the east.
The area will have extremely high transport accessibility including the new Jerusalem-Tel Aviv fast link railway station, the Central Bus Station, and three Jerusalem light rail lines (the red line, which has operated since 2011, the green line which is in the infrastructure construction stage, and the gold line). Also planned as part of the project is a large 1,300 vehicle underground car park, an expansion of the International Convention Center, and more office towers and hotels.
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion said, "The city entrance project is a welcome project that will create tens of thousands of new jobs in Jerusalem. Creating jobs in the city are part of the overall plan to keep young people in the city and this is an important project that I intend to personally keep an eye on and promote. The tender is the opening shot and a further phase in the many phases that we must undertake until the process is completed."
ILA director Adiel Shimron said, "This is the first in a series of tenders for a quarter that will change the face of the entrance to Israel's capital. Jerusalem is crying out for a large and major business quarter and the ILA is happy to be a main partner in this important process, which is simultaneous to the implementation and marketing agreement for housing units in Jerusalem that was approved by the Israel Land Council."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 6, 2018
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