More than 200 objections did not stop the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee from approving a plan to build a 42-story tower near Mount Herzl in the capital, a source close to the matter told Globes. The controversial plan at the Epstein complex overlooks the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial center and the Mount Herzl military cemetery. Some critics insisted that the plan disrespected the memory of fallen soldiers and the Holocaust. However, the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee, headed by Shira Talmi-Babai, argued that the plan was in line with the policy of more dense construction along the light rail route, and gave final approval for the high-rise tower.
The plan calls for the Epstein Tower to be built on seven dunams (1.75 acres) along Herzl Street, south of Mount Herzl and Yad Vashem near the light rail station. The tower will contain 240 residential units, including 20 percent micro-apartments and 50 long-term rental apartments, as well as 60,000 square meters of office space, an 11,000 square meter hotel on the lower floors, 4,000 square meters of public buildings, a museum, a cultural center and more, and 300 square meters of commercial space. Outside the building will be a public plaza facing north.
The plan was first submitted to planning authorities nearly six years ago, and from the start it attracted significant opposition. Many members of the public felt such a tall building was out of place in the surroundings, and it was dubbed the Burj Khalifa Jerusalem, after the world’s tallest building in Dubai. The name was even more fitting because the building was designed by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architects, who also designed the Burj Khalifa.
Among those opposing the plan is Jerusalem mayoral candidate Ofer Berkowitz, who told Globes that a 30-story tower on the plot would be sufficient. More recently, as part of the official objections stage conducted by the regional committee, additional objections were heard – many of them related to the location of the planned tower, near Mount Herzl and Yad Vashem.
Some 200 objections to the plan were filed, many of which said the tower would “dwarf and seriously damage” the status of Mount Herzl and Yad Vashem, and was “blasphemous.” The objections also said the plan “contradicts the public interest and is in complete contradiction to the values of Judaism, Zionism, the heritage, the social culture, the nature and the landscape of Jerusalem.”
Among the main opponents was the Association of Architects and Urban Builders in Israel, which pointed out that the building density in the plan does not conform to the policy of dense construction along the route of the Jerusalem Light Rail, and that the height of the tower is exceptional for the Jerusalem skyline. Despite all this, the district committee decided to approve the plan.
Alternatives examined
The Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee’s decision came after examining several alternatives, including building two adjacent 30-story towers, or four 10-story buildings. The choice of the tall tower option was made as part of a policy of increasing dense construction along the city’s light rail route, and also because of the desire to allocate as much land as possible to open public space, which is primarily possible when there is only one tower on a plot of land. As part of the decision, the committee reduced the tower’s height from approximately 200 meters to 165 meters, by reducing the height of each floor.
It should be noted that the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery and Yad Vashem do not object to the plan that has now been approved. Globes has learned that Yad Vashem does not consider itself a party to the matter at all and has not filed an objection. Yad Labanim, which commemorates fallen IDF soldiers and cares for their families, initially opposed the plan and filed an objection. However, it later withdrew its objection. Committee chairman Eli Ben Shem told the regional committee that after a thorough review of the plan, “we reached the conclusion that the necessary balances and measures have already been taken to prevent harm to the families’ feelings and to preserve the integrity of the area. In light of the above, and after serious consideration of the matter, we believe that there is no reason to continue our objection.”
A source familiar with the planning and approval process told Globes that the tower is located at the southernmost point of the plot, a few hundred meters from Mount Herzl and Yad Vashem, and that the committee’s subcommittee of objections also examined the matter and concluded that a 42-story tower is the best version of the plan. “It is an unusual tower in its appearance, and it will respect the city and the status of the two important institutions,” the source said. “Dozens of towers are being built and planned along the entire length of the light rail route, and that is the direction the city is heading in.”
As for the tower “violating” the construction policy along the light rail route, which stipulates that towers will be a maximum of 30 stories, the same source says: “The policy gives guidelines for building towers up to 30 stories high, with fixed building scales and building proportions, but with a detailed plan the district committee has discretionary power: As long as the building scale that conforms to the policy is maintained, the building can be changed and ‘packed’ in a different way, if the committee believes that this has planning benefits. This has already been done in other projects along the light rail route, such as the Midtown project on Jaffa Road.”
“This plan is in line with the committee’s policy of building the city inward near the light rail lines, in order to preserve open spaces and meet the needs of young couples in the city,” said Jerusalem District Planner for the Planning and Building Administration, architect Dan Keinan.
“The plan offers exceptional architectural quality, which continues the momentum of renewal in Jerusalem, and will allow us to improve planning and create successful urban spaces. All this will allow us to deal with the complex development tasks of the city,” said Babaai.
This article was published in Globes, Israeli Business News – en.globes.co.il – on September 16, 2024.
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