The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee has approved for deposit for objections the plan to cover over Begin Highway. The plan will allow physical access from Beit Hakerem to Givat Ram and the national precinct, which are currently cut off from each other by the highway. The highway cover will include a 53 dunam (14.25 acres) park with no vehicles but convenient access for pedestrians between the various neighborhoods.
The plan will create 211 dunam (52.75 acres) new land along 1.6 kilometers of the highway from Beyt Interchange in the south to Wolfson Bridge in the north. As well as extensive park areas and open spaces, the plans includes 2,300 housing units, 250 sheltered housing units, 380 hotel rooms and 46,000 square meters of commercial and office space.
Half of the planned homes will be small apartment. The office and commercial space will link up to the Givat Ram technological park in the south. Construction will include four 40-floor towers in the north and buildings of up to 12 floors in the south.
When the plan was approved by The Jerusalem Local Planning and Building Committee in October 2020, city engineer Yoel Even estimated that the plan would be fully approved by the end of 2021 and construction would begin in 2025. Although full approval is well behind schedule, there is still hope that implementation of the plan will be fast-tracked.
"Overall, this is a good plan that creates new land reserves and new open spaces," says Adv. Aner Hefetz, a leading partner in the planning and construction department at the Arnon Tadmor-Levy law firm. "There are always objections, but in principal, this is a very green plan that brings to Israel a concept that is also practiced around the world. I don't think there will be a significant problem in terms of its continued progress towards final approval."
Jerusalem Municipality says that so far about NIS 5 million has been invested in the plan, and construction costs are estimated at NIS 1.5 billion. Adv. Hefetz adds, "The areas bordering the plan are being planned as if the Begin cover has passed the objections stage, to allow full synchronization of the plan with the other city plans. The plan will be financed entirely from revenue that will come from the marketing of the many rights included in the plan, in a way allowing for quick implementation, without delay and without this being affected by budgetary considerations outside of the project, which in the municipality's estimation will be profitable in the end."
When the plan was approved by the local committee, objections were heard, mainly from Beit Hakerem residents, who oppose the construction plans, among other things, because the towers may affect its surroundings and cast a significant shadow, during most of the day, on houses to the east. These opponents are expected to be heard again during objections procedures.
The planned park will include bicycle, walking and jogging paths and many green areas.
Planning Administration director general Rafi Elmaliach said, "The Begin cover plan is an example of the planning director's effort to produce urban renewal within the city, while not breaching the city's building boundaries and preserving open spaces. This is the first innovative plan of its kind in Israel, which on the one hand optimizes the use of land and on the other hand creates a supply of housing units and promoting supporting infrastructure."
Newly appointed Jerusalem district planner at the Planning Administration Dan Keinan said, "This is a strategic plan for Jerusalem, which proposes the creation of a new urban district in the heart of the city and at an important crossroads. The plan is expected to be integrated into the expected development boom in the area at the entrance to the city, to form a bridge between parts of the city that are currently disconnected from each other, and to contribute to the realization of the vision of the Psalms that Jerusalem is a city connected together."
Kolker Kolker Epstein architect firm partner Randy Epstein said, "This is a precedent-setting plan in Israel, with several achievements: continuity of the green spaces in the city and its surroundings; creation of a quick connection between Beit HaKerem and the Hebrew University, the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance, high schools, and more; addition of more commercial space in National Precinct area, which currently has a great shortage; and thousands of housing units in the demand center of Jerusalem, on land that today does not exist at all. It is very important that project management be established, which will bring together all the factors related to the project. I hope that in two or three years we will issue the first tender for the land, and that in seven years from today the project will reach occupancy stage."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 19, 2022.
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