The Beer Yaakov municipality today signed a roof agreement with the Ministry of Finance and the Israel Land Authority. The plan entails a five-fold increase in the town's population, which is slated to reach 100,000.
The signing of today's roof agreement was attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon, Minister of Construction and Housing Yoav Galant, ILA director Adiel Shimron, and Beer Yaakov local council head Nissim Gozlan. The plan sets a target for marketing land of 11,600 housing units and 1.5 million square meters of commercial and business space.
Under the agreement, the ILA will market 3,200 housing units by the end of this year on land from the vacated Tzrifin IDF camp. 3,700 more housing units will be marketed on the army camp site in 2018, and 837 housing units on the Tlamim site. As a solution for the increase in the number of residents in the town, the roof agreement also provides for the construction of public buildings. 42 nursery school rooms, 66 kindergarten classrooms, 132 elementary school classrooms, and nine special education classrooms.
The roof agreement also includes urban renewal. 10% of the land will be allocated as a supplement to an urban renewal project in the Herzl and Rambam neighborhoods, the old neighborhoods of Beer Yaakov. Land will also be added for urban renewal in other locations.
"We are doubling the country. Our roof agreements have doubled the size of Ofakim, Ashkelon, and Beit Shemesh, and now we're multiplying Beer Yaakov several times over," Kahlon said at the signing ceremony. "We are preparing Israel for the next 20 years in planning, infrastructure, and land reserves. We will plan, market, and build again and again, until the housing crisis is solved."
Speaking at the ceremony, Galant said, "The roof agreement includes many elements that will benefit Israelis seeking to make their home in central Israel. This agreement is a key part of the actions by the National Housing Board and the Ministry of Construction and Housing aimed at lowering housing prices."
Shimron commented, "The roof agreement with Beer Yaakov is another link in the ILA's efforts to create large amounts of available land for marketing in the middle of high-demand areas. The roof agreement, in combination with Minister of Finance Kahlon's buyer fixed price plan, is creating a worthy and ready solution to the housing crisis."
Gozlan added, "The roof agreement ensures continued momentum and expansion for Beer Yaakov, above all economic capability and government investment. The Rambam and Herzl neighborhoods will benefit from the urban renewal in the plan."
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on June 14, 2017
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