The White City Buildings Group (WCG) and the Fenix Insurance Group signed an agreement to sell all the rights they held in the property at the corner of Lincoln Street and Saadia Gaon in Tel Aviv to Melisron for NIS 298 million. The property, which was previously used as a Bezeq switchboard and has an area of 4.5 dunams, was purchased by the two companies in March 2021 from a reality fund, in exchange for NIS 183 million.
On the lot, which is located near the light rail station in Kalibach, today there are buildings with a total built-up area of about 4,500 square meters and more underground buildings and they are expected to be demolished. Today, the building is partly used for commerce, and is leased to the Victory chain, the Ivy restaurant and the Bichore Ha’itim dance school.
In recent years, there has been an attempt to advance the complex to a zoning ordinance that includes a mix of residential, office, hotel, and commercial uses, but since the municipality’s policy does not allow residences and hotels, it was decided that the complex will remain under the existing zoning ordinance with the addition of building rights as part of the transfer of rights to buildings for preservation in the city. As of today, the IBA allows for 17,000 square meters of offices, while the latest plan will allow for an addition of approximately 25,000 square meters of offices as well as commercial space on the ground floor.
Amikam Berger, CEO of the White City Buildings Group: “This is a property in one of the best locations in the city, near the light rail station. Since the IBA does not allow residences and hotels, which are the company’s areas of expertise, we decided to sell the property to Melisron, which specializes in projects of this type. Throughout the period we held the property, we worked to improve it specifically by zoning offices, a designation that fits the existing IBA, the municipality’s policy and its location near a train station relief, while ensuring compliance with the well-being of the residents of the immediate vicinity of the project.”