The Rishon Lezion Local Committee for Planning and Building has approved a huge new plan on the site the city's historic 19th century winery. The area bounded by Hacarmel St. to the north and Herzl St. to the west also includes a factory and sheltered housing development.
Four years ago Rishon Lezion Mayor Dov Zur announced that the municipality was in talks with the owner of the winery complex in order to prevent the plans of his predecessor for high-density high-rise residential buildings on the site. Zur said that if the municipality owned the land then the building could be preserved and a tourist site developed like Tel Aviv's Tahana, with control over the types of buildings constructed. But nothing came of it and in 2014 private developers bought the land for NIS 165 million.
The plan now approved is for two 44-floor high-rises with 275 apartments including 69 small apartments. There will be a third 44-floor high-rise with 250 sheltered housing units, and a 26-floor office high-rise as well as two more eight-floor residential buildings with 100 apartments for rent. The Local Committee for Planning and Building recommended that the plans should be submitted for deposit.
Tsur told "Globes," "We had a draft agreement to buy the land for NIS 120 million and along came the group of developers and offered NIS 160 million, a price not in line with any appraisal the municipality had been given."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 31, 2016
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