The plan to demolish Tel Aviv’s Kikar Atarim and build towers in its place cleared another hurdle today, but will require further cuts in the scale of construction, as well as changes to ensure public use of the site. The Tel Aviv District Planning and Building Appeals Committee, chaired by Adv. Michal Degani Halberstam, has granted approval in principle for the plan, while ordering a reduction of an additional 4,000 square meters of construction.
The Committee approved the planning principle of demolishing the existing plaza and reconnecting Ben Gurion Boulevard to the sea. It also rejected the argument that the Local Planning Committee lacked the authority to approve the plan. At the same time, the Committee accepted some of the objections raised regarding building mass, public spaces, and the potential impact on adjacent structures, issuing a series of binding directives for the revision of the plans.
The proposed plan includes two towers of up to 25-floors each, along with an additional six-story building (plus a partial floor). The plan includes up to 220 residential units and at least 300 hotel rooms, as well as commercial space and public open spaces.
The transformation will also extend to street level. The elevated plaza and the Marina Hotel are to be demolished, and the sunken stretch of Eliezer Peri Street will be eliminated. An urban square is planned for Ben Gurion Boulevard, with a garden to its west that descends toward the seafront promenade. Replacing the current arrangement, which requires ascending to a concrete platform and descending stairs toward the beach, the design aims to create a more accessible connection, featuring active commercial store-fronts and an underground public car park.
Years of struggle
The cuts ordered now by the Appeals Committee are in addition to a 4,000-square-meter reduction ordered by the Local Committee in November 2024. However, the Committee has left the developers the option to request the recovery of the lost building area, resulting from the reduction in floor space, by adding extra floors. Such a move would require a new public notice period for objections, as well as approvals from the Committee for the Preservation of the Coastal Environment and the District Committee.
The Committee rejected the proposal to distribute residential space across both towers, ruling instead that one tower must be designated for residential use and the other for a hotel. No apartment in the project may receive an occupancy permit until the hotel tower has received its initial occupancy permit.
The decision also seeks to ensure that the hotel continues to function as such, even after construction is complete. The residential units, along with service and operational areas, must remain under single ownership. The fragmentation of ownership of individual rooms is permanently prohibited by a restriction to be enforced via the Land Registry.
The battle over Kikar Atarim has spanned years and extends well beyond the simple question of whether to demolish the existing structure. The plaza, built in the 1970s as a commercial and tourist center, has deteriorated over the years. In its decision, the Appeals Committee also describes functional and transport-related shortcomings, abandoned commercial spaces, and a disconnection between the city and the coastline.
Opponents of the plan include "No to Towers at Atarim Square," the environmental group Adam Teva V'Din, local residents, and members of the City Council. Their arguments addressed the amount of open spaces, the obstruction of sea views, and the inclusion of residential units along the coastline. In earlier versions of the planning process, the possibility of 40-floor towers was considered, while in 2019, a height limit of 25-floors was set.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 28, 2026.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.