Sources inform ''Globes'' that a new 235-square meter duplex penthouse with a 205-square meter balcony added to an old building on Abeshitz Street in north Tel Aviv was sold for NIS 12.3 million - one of the highest prices ever paid for an apartment in a National Outline Plan 38 earthquake retrofitting project. The sale was made at NIS 36,500 per square meter. The source added that the buyer is a European Jewish businessman working in Israel and Europe who bought the apartment as a residence.
Shajrawe Leibovich Holdings Ltd. subsidiary Ecocity Ltd. is renovating the building under National Outline Plan 38 earthquake retrofitting, which allows contractors to add floors to existing structures in exchange for strengthening them to withstand earthquakes.
Arcadia Estates agent Daniel Grosz confirmed the deal, saying, "There are few such properties on the market. The asking price for similar apartments in high-rises in almost double."
The original three-floor building, built in the 1960s, had 15 apartments, with an average size of 70 square meters. It had no elevator or parking. In contrast to other National Outline Plan 38 projects, the current apartments will not be extended, but the owners will receive an average of NIS 90,000 each.
"The buyer had been looking for an apartment in Tel Aviv for five years," said Ecocity CEO Illy Berr. "He was interested in a National Outline Plan 38 project and thoroughly examined the process, visiting sites and evening bringing his own architect to review the plans. They sat with us on the details of the project and the apartment. He didn’t want an apartment in a high-rise, but an apartment in a central location. He wasn’t put off by the fact that this was a National Outline Plan 38 project in an old building with existing residents. It shows that there is demand for luxury apartments in National Outline Plan 38 projects."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 29, 2014
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