Neighborhood renewal, or urban waste in haifa?

Driving along Independence Street in the lower city of Haifa, you see sign after sign trumpeting the future inauguration of this or that college in the future Port Campus.

In most cases, the buildings marked for development house nothing but pigeons and fleas. This neglect doesn't exactly scream of an inspiring project designed to change the face of Haifa and renew the dilapidated neighborhoods at the bottom of the mountain. But though investment may be slow, the Haifa municipality truly is devoting major resources to the future campus - at the expense of the Hadar Hacarmel neighborhood, which remains in the rear.

Haifa mayor Yona Yahav told TheMarker Real Estate in August 2005 that within a few years, the lower city would become a buzzing center, proudly housing faculties from the Technion and Haifa universities, alongside a selection of colleges.
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The campus is the city's solution for a tedious problem: the empty buildings in the area that once provided services to government institutions but whose offices moved to new edifices in Kiryat Hamemshala. Hassan Shukri Street is an example: once it housed many a government building, such as the local offices of the Interior Ministry, the court house, and city hall. But with the inauguration of the government complex, the offices emptied and now stand innocent of sapient life.

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oligarch builds biggest private house in israel, caesarea

"Yediot Ahronot" reports that Benjamin Netanyahu and Arcadi Gaydamak are to get a new neighbor in Caesarea. A Russian oligarch purchased five villas and demolished them to make way for the largest private estate in Israel.

According to the report, the five properties, occupying a total of 11 dunams (2.2 acres) of land, were purchased by a woman of Russian origin reportedly on behalf of a Russian oligarch. Local realty brokers say this is the largest ever purchase of property in one transaction.

The estimated cost of the purchase of the villas totaled more than $11 million, with the cost of building the new estate estimated at $50 million. According to one of the contractors on the project, the estate will include a swimming pool, tennis court and gardens like those in the Versailles Palace.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008

Africa-Israel Properties target 80% above market

Analysts Shai Lipman and Yuval Zehira say conservative asset valuation policies explain the discount in the stock.
The negotiations on a takeover of investment house IBI by Africa-Israel Investments (TASE: AFIL) ended without result, and IBI has resumed coverage of the group. The first group company to come under scrutiny is Africa-Israel Properties Ltd., for which IBI has retained a "Buy" recommendation and substantially upgraded its target price. The current target, NIS 290, is 80% above the price of the share yesterday when the recommendation was released to investors. The current target is 30% than IBI's previous target price for the company of NIS 225. Africa-Israel Properties coordinates the Africa Israel Group’s income-producing real estate activities in Israel and abroad.
"We find the developments in Eastern Europe and the income-producing assets portfolio in Israel and in Eastern Europe to be a relatively safe activity with future growth potential," IBI analysts Shai Lipman and Yuval Zehira write.

Alrov in talks to sell Tel Aviv property to Pangaea

Pangaea Israel is in also in talks to buy a second property in the city.

controlled by chairman Alfred Akirov, is in negotiations to sell a property on Ahad Ha'am St. in Tel Aviv to Pangaea Israel (TR) Ltd. (TASE:PNIS), controlled by Assaf Tuchmayer and Barak Rosen, and partners.
The 1,900-square meter lot is occupied by two buildings, one of which is slated for preservation and the other for redevelopment. The Urban Building Plan authorizes the lot for residential, commercial, and office use. Rent totals NIS 360,000 per year. Alrov bought the property in 1990 and said that it will report a pretax capital gain of NIS 150 million on the sale.

New York's Plaza Hotel units sold - but empty

Yitzhak Tshuva's private real estate development arm, Elad Properties, has sold 100 of the 181 apartments in the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, the jewel in Tshuva's American crown. Renovation and conversion of the hotel was completed months ago, but most of the apartments stand empty.
"The New York Times" quotes Elad Properties spokesman Lloyd Kaplan as saying that only a half-dozen residents live there full time and another three dozen residents live there on weekends.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008

Ramat Gan's Elite landmark

There is no visible border between Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan, except perhaps the huge high-rise buildings that have sprung up in recent years to give Ramat Gan something like a Manhattan skyline.

In 2006, the Elite chocolate plant building was sold to Sonny Kahan of Crescent Heights, a Miami-based real estate developing company, for $44 million. Crescent Heights announced that it would build a luxury tower with real estate mogul Donald Trump.
After a tremendous amount of media hype about a Trump Tower going up in Israel, the project was shelved and the property was resold last year to Azorim, which is controlled by Boymelgreen Capital. The new project, the Azorim Elite Tower, will either be the tallest tower in Israel or else will be tied for that honor when completed.

New Tel Aviv high-rise to be eco-friendly

Richard Meier is designing the 101-meter high-rise to become an iconic landmark.

Berggruen Residential Ltd. (TASE:BRGN.B1) plans for its luxury Meier Tower on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv to be eco-friendly. The 101-meter, 27-storey high-rise is being designed by Pritzker Prize winner Richard Meier.
Berggruen hopes that an eco-friendly design will attract members of Israel's wealthy elite for whom environmental awareness is important. The building's design will incorporate features to maximize natural light and improve the use of artificial light, save water, and maintenance.

AFI Europe obtains financing for Bucharest mall project

Hypo Real Estate Bank is proving €234 million for the Cotroceni Park Mall
Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL; Pink Sheets:AFIVY) subsidiary AFI Europe BV has signed a financing agreement with Hypo Real Estate Bank International AG (DAX: HRX) for construction of the company's Cotroceni Park Mall in Bucharest. The bank will provide a six-year €234 million non-recourse loan at Eurobor plus a spread still to be agreed upon.
The high-end Cotroceni Park Mall will include 75,000 square meters of space, which AFI Europe expects to lease to international retailers. The second stage of the project also includes 60,000 square meters in five office towers to be built..

Perhaps it really is a bargain

Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL; Pink Sheets:AFIVY) subsidiary AFI Europe BV has signed a financing agreement with Hypo Real Estate Bank International AG (DAX: HRX) for construction of the company's Cotroceni Park Mall in Bucharest. The bank will provide a six-year €234 million non-recourse loan at Eurobor plus a spread still to be agreed upon.
The high-end Cotroceni Park Mall will include 75,000 square meters of space, which AFI Europe expects to lease to international retailers. The second stage of the project also includes 60,000 square meters in five office towers to be built..

Investment house joins municipal tax complaints

Epsilon Investment House Ltd. can be added to the list of plaintiffs seeking a refund on their local property taxes (arnona) from the Tel Aviv municipality for their premises in the Ramat Aviv Mall. Epsilon filed suit with the Tel Aviv Magistrates Court for a NIS 200,000 refund on its 620-square meter office in the office tower above the mall.
Epsilon claims that the Tel Aviv municipality raised the local property taxes by more than the legal maximum by reclassifying the properties from zone 3, the cheapest, to zone 1, the most expensive. The investment house has joined other tenants in the Ramat Aviv Mall is suing the municipality. The mall's owner, Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL; Pink Sheets:AFIVY), is demanding a NIS 4.3 million tax refund.

Elbit Medical Imaging in $100m Gujerat dairy deal

Elbit Medical Imaging Ltd. (Nasdaq: EMITF; TASE: EMIT) today signed an memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Gujerat State government to set up, for $100 million, a modern dairy farm with 10,000 cows and an ultra-modern dairy plant that will produce basic and premium dairy products in the Indian state.
The project will be built on a 500-acre site allotted by the Gujerat State government. It will be built in stages and is due to become operational within two years after work begins. The dairy farm will utilize technology and expertise developed in Israel, and will also include massive modernized contract-farming activities for the production of the food materials required for the dairy farm.

Housing prices drop

Housing prices fell nationwide in the fourth quarter of 2007, the Bank of Israel reports in the Survey of Economic Developments - July-December 2007. The Housing Prices Index fell by 2.3% in the fourth quarter after rising by 4.7% in the third quarter.
There is a wide variance in housing prices between high demand areas and prices in outlying areas. Prices rose sharply in the former, while falling in the latter. The Bank of Israel noted a number of factors boosting housing demand, including rising demand for apartments by foreign residents last year, but said that the industry did not respond to the increase.

CEE in talks to buy third Budapest hotel

Central European Estates BV (CEE) (TASE:CNERO.B1), controlled by Yuli Ofer, is in negotiations to buy a third hotel in Budapest. The four-star Ramada Hotel, opened in 2005, has 182 rooms, including 15 suites.
Last month, CEE bought the Le Meridien hotel in Budapest from a company owned by Yuli Ofer and Nimrod Rinot.

Jaffa's American Colony to get makover

The American Colony in Jaffa, founded in the mid-1800s, and also known as the German Colony, will undergo a thorough renovation and preservation. The NIS 6 million project will be financed by the Tel Aviv municipality and the Hamashlima Leyafo municipal authority, through Ezra and Betzaron Neighborhood Co. Ltd. Work will begin next month.
The project includes Auerbach St., Bar Hoffman St., and Harebbi Hamevorach St. The area's infrastructures and street lighting will be replaced, power lines will be put underground, outside furniture will be installed, the streets will be closed to traffic, and gardens planted. Century-old buildings, such as the Jerusalem Hotel, the Emanuel Church, and Park Hotel (which hosted Kaiser Wilhelm II on his 1898 tour of the country), will be restored.

Elbit Medical Imaging in $100m Gujerat dairy deal

Elbit Medical Imaging Ltd. (Nasdaq: EMITF; TASE: EMIT) today signed an memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Gujerat State government to set up, for $100 million, a modern dairy farm with 10,000 cows and an ultra-modern dairy plant that will produce basic and premium dairy products in the Indian state.
The project will be built on a 500-acre site allotted by the Gujerat State government. It will be built in stages and is due to become operational within two years after work begins. The dairy farm will utilize technology and expertise developed in Israel, and will also include massive modernized contract-farming activities for the production of the food materials required for the dairy farm.

Brack Capital finalist in German €3.4b property tender

LEG owns 93,000 rental apartments in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Brack Capital Real Estate Ltd., owned by Shimon Weintraub, is one of three finalists in the tender to buy the property portfolio of Germany's Landesentwicklungsgesellschaft NRW GmbH (LEG), owned by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. If Brack Capital wins the tender, it will have to pay €3.4 billion for the portfolio of 93,000 rental apartments in the state.
North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany's wealthiest state, with 18 million residents, and accounts for 22% of Germany's total GDP. It includes the Ruhr and West Germany's former capital, Bonn. The state government has decided to privatize assets, including LEG, the state government's public housing arm.

Apartment demand down, Tel Aviv rents still rocket

Geocartography: Apartment demand will be 15% lower in February compared with the end of 2007.
Demand for apartments has slowed for the second consecutive month, even as developers report a good year for sales. Geocartography Knowledge Ltd. predicts that apartment demand in the Jewish sector will be 15% lower in February compared with the end of 2007.
The primary reason for the decline is seasonal: fewer homes are sold during winter than during the extended summer season. The decline follows steady growth in demand throughout 2007.
Geocartography adds that the average asking price for an apartment is $192,000, and that 8% of homebuyers are prepared to pay more than $300,000.

Regarding rental apartments, according to Madas, the largest increase in February, compared with January, was an 8% increase for a three-room apartment in north Tel Aviv to an average of NIS 4,636 per month. The average rent for a two-room apartment in Beersheva rose by 7%, the average rent for a three-room apartment in Haifa and the Krayot rose by 6%, and the average rent for a three-room apartment in Ramat Gan and Givatayim rose by 4%.

On the other hand, the average rent for a two-room apartment in Jerusalem fell by 11%, and the average rent for a three-room apartment in the city fell by 6% in January, compared with December.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news on February 4, 2008

Gaydamak sells Moscow land to Ocif

The Israeli tycoon owns 66% of the real estate company.
A general shareholders meeting of Ocif Investments and Development Ltd. (TASE: OCIF) today approved the purchase of land in Moscow owned by the company's controlling shareholder Arkadi Gaydamak for $100 million. The 219-acre lot is owned by OOO StroyLider, a private company wholly owned by Gaydamak.
StroyLider paid $25 million for the land in April 2007; Gaydamak is making a 300% return on investment in less than a year. The lot is located in the Leninsky district in a Moscow suburb on the road to Kiev. The lot is zoned for a 250,000-square meter logistics center, 40,000-square meter office bloc, and a 270-room hotel.

Jerusalem apartments approach Tel Aviv prices

The average price of apartments in Tel Aviv is NIS 15,000 per square meter, according to an analysis of data for the past four months by AMG Financial Models Ltd. Tel Aviv apartments are 250% more expensive than in Rishon LeZion.
AMG says that Jerusalem is Israel's second most expensive city for apartments at NIS 11,000 per square meter, followed by Ramat Gan at NIS 9,500. In contrast, the average price per square meter for an apartment in Modi'in is NIS 8,000 (based on an apartment of 115 square meters).

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Apartments sold and rented in Israel

Second-hand apartments sold
Tel Aviv and central region
Tel Aviv: An 80-sq.m. four-room apartment in the Neeman Towers on Michael Neeman St. was sold for $800,000. A 50-sq.m. two-and-half-room apartment with building rights on Einstein St., Ramat Aviv, was sold for NIS 1.14 million (AMG).

Petah Tikva: A renovated 115-sq.m. four-room apartment on Degel Reuven St. was sold for NIS 741,000. A renovated 105-sq.m. four-room apartment on The Ninety Three St. was sold for NIS 870,000. A 95-sq.m. three-room apartment on Zichron Yaakov St. was sold for NIS 897,000 (Levy Yitzhak).

Beer Yaakov: A 210-sq.m. five-room house on a 243-sq.m. lot on Aviv St. was sold for NIS 1.45 million.

Jerusalem and environs
Jerusalem: A 180-sq.m. six-room penthouse on Polotzky St., Gilo, was sold to an English Jew for NIS 1.27 million (Anglo-Saxon). A four-room apartment on Bar Kochva St., French Hill, was sold for $231,000. A 67-sq.m. three-room apartment on Alfassi St., Rehavia, was sold for $460,000. A 190-sq.m. six-room apartment on Hausner St. was sold for $750,000 (Bank of Jerusalem).

Mevasseret Zion: A 140-sq.m. four-and-a-half-room house was sold for NIS 1.32 million. A 160-sq.m. five-room house on Tavor St. was sold for $400,000 (Anglo-Saxon).

Rentals
Tel Aviv and central region

Tel Aviv: A five-room apartment on Rothschild Blvd. was leased for $4,500 a month. A three-and-a-half-room apartment on Brodsky St., Ramat Aviv, was leased for $900 a month. A two-room furnished apartment on Goel St., Hativka neighborhood, was leased for NIS 2,200 a month. A three-and-a-half-room furnished apartment on Rothschild Blvd. was leased for $1,750 a month (Madas)

Haifa and the north
Haifa: A three-and-a-half-room furnished apartment on Rothschild Blvd. was leased for NIS 1,750 a month. A three-room apartment on Derech Hayam, Western Carmel, was leased for $450 a month. A 150-sq.m. five-room apartment on Stefan Weiss St., French Carmel, was leased for NIS 4,620 a month. A three-room apartment in the Meridian Hotel was leased for NIS 3,490 a month (Re/MAX).

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 10, 2008

Yahoo! picks Haifa site for development center

The company has rented 250 sq.m. at the Matam High-Tech Park.
Although the high-tech world is agog with the possibility of a merger between Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT) in order to jointly wage war against search engine giant Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), at the Matam High-Tech Park in Haifa, the R&D centers of all three companies will soon sit side by side.

Tel Aviv's Bitzaron and Ramat Israel Real Estate

Bitzaron and Ramat Israel were built hastily in the early 1950s to provide housing for Holocaust survivors, mostly from Hungary and Romania, and for families from Yemen. The neighborhood currently has some 5,000 inhabitants. Over the years the area was considered a distressed neighborhood and was not afforded adequate urban development. But about eight years ago the infrastructures were improved and the gentrifiers began to arrive.

Lev Leviev’s empire built on

Lev Leviev is perhaps best known as the man who defied De Beers, the mighty cartel that controlled the flow of the world’s supply of rough diamonds.

By doing so, Leviev has become one of the world’s richest men. Close friends claim he’s worth about $8 billion, but Forbes lists him at a conservative $4.1 billion.

Bonei Hatichon to build €50m Warsaw project

The company has bought a lot in the city's downtown Mokotow borough.

Africa-Israel won't build Tel Aviv parking lot

The Tel Aviv District Court has issued a temporary injunction against the company's win in a municipality BOT tender.

Gaydamak sells Moscow land to Ocif

The Israeli tycoon owns 66% of the real estate company.

Delek Real Estate buys Tel Aviv and Haifa properties

The company plans to build an office building in Tel Aviv and bought a residential and commercial complex in Haifa.

Apartment demand down, Tel Aviv rents still rocket

Geocartography: Apartment demand will be 15% lower in February compared with the end of 2007.

ILA in shock over court ruling

on ikea.

Read this text: "The Israel Lands Administration has begun studying the ramifications of the court ruling, which has created a complex reality, in the framework of which the administration will have to carry out an in-depth investigation of possible alternatives to the marketing of the lot that is the subject of the petition.

Sheri Arison move over

The penthouse in the 1 Rothschild Street apartment building in Tel Aviv has been purchased by a foreign resident for $17 million. It was the most paid for an apartment in Israel. It breaks the record set by Shari Arison, who in 2006 bought a 3-storey penthouse in "G Tower" on Ibn Gvirol Street, Tel Aviv, for $13 million.