American-Jewish businessman Gary Barnett has officially announced a deal to acquire from Nayot Komemiyut Investments the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Land in Central Jerusalem for NIS 750 million. In "Globes’" exclusive report yesterday that the land was for sale, Barnett was mentioned as one of the bidders. Barnett, founder and president of Extell Development Company, is paying Nayot’s minimum price. Nayot is selling the land because of disputes between its partners.
About 1,000 housing units, and the five-star Inbal Hotel, stand on the land, and there are also plots zoned for development. Extell was represented by Adv. Avi Porten and Adv. Deuel Peli of the Agmon with Tulchinsky Law Firm.
Despite the sale of the land, the legal tangle concerning it remains. As reported by "Globes" in the past, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) owns the lease on the land until 2052, but the unknown of what will happen to the land when the lease runs out in thirty years’ time, together with the purchases by Nayot, that give rise to many rumors, led to a plunge in the land price, of up to 40% in comparison with other land in the area that is not leased.
Last December, "Globes" reported that the JNF was considering extending its lease in order to create greater certainty for residents and to enable the legal situation to be regularized. Whoever purchases the land, will sooner or later have to deal with the apartment owners and with the JNF if they wish to implement new construction plans.
The Nayot Komemiyut Investments partnership was founded in 2010, and several people joined it along the way. According to previous reports, over the years the partnership bought the land now being sold for NIS 115 million, so that it is making over six times its investment.
Barnett founded Extell Development Company in 1989. The company is a developer of luxury residences in New York City. Barnett is also the owner of Extell Ltd., which has issued bonds on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange over the past eight years.
Barnett said, "I'm excited to announce a major deal at the center of one the most important cities in the world. This is a win-win-win-win situation for the State of Israel, for the city of Jerusalem, for Extell and for the residents. We have great reputation with complexed projects in the US, including the Belnord Project on UWS NYC, which has over 200 tenants in complexed situations. We are going to treat the tenants in Jerusalem with the same respect and fairness as we are doing in all of our projects. This project will strengthen Extell's connections to the Israeli market and will boost the development of central Jerusalem."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 17, 2023.
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