IDF “Kirya” Command Base to Become Israel's Highest Building

Main tower dubbed "Toblerone" is made up of triangle tubes like the chocolate

A plan to turn the “Kirya” IDF command base to high rise towers was released last week. A project plan with the tallest building in Israel, 80 stories high. With additional three buildings housing commercial, office, and residential space. The project is nicknamed Toblerone after the triangle chocolate. An eighty story building made up of Toblerone looking triangle long sections tied together. Three additional buildings, one for offices and two for residential apartments and commercial areas at the first floors are also planned. The project answers the question Tel Avivians asked for decades: “when will IDF move out of Tel Aviv?” At least when it comes to a corner of the base, the answer is a few years. We have not seen a statement from the IDF, but that may be just a matter of waiting a little. The construction project, due to it's location and large size, is managed by the Israeli land authority. This is a unique situation of a semi-government agency, which manages most of the land in the state, directly managing a construction project. Only time will tell if the land authority works as efficiently as private construction companies.  

The details of the project are sketchy. Initially there will be four buildings, two commercial (offices, shops, restaurants), and two residential. There are 770 apartments in a small format, up to 80 square meter in size. This format will keep unit price low. Apartments will be in two 45 story buildings on the inside location. The plan aims to offer affordable apartments, which is a unique approach. Most private builders build apartments of various sizes with the smaller units in the lower floors. The approach of offering all small economy units is mostly seen at peripheral cities where construction is targeted at the lowest budget buyers. All four buildings will serve as a commercial spaces with shops, restaurants, and services on the lower floors. The common practice is two to three floors arranged as malls with large shops (usually name brand chains), or small specialty shops and boutiques. The location is the corner of Menachem Begin Boulevard and King Salomon (Melech Shlomo) Street.

Policy makers (i.e. politicians) tend to solve problems late and then go overboard. This seems to be reflected in the building policy in Israel's central region. The Kirya-Toblerone project is seen for now as an over-the-top solution to the housing shortage problem. Its also not a market driven solution, looking much like a committee cobbled government design. This would be the Israel land authority's largest project in Tel Aviv, so management and the final outcome will prove the government's ability to manage such a project. Once the building is done, this corner of the eastern Tel Aviv corridor will truly take the form of a high rise forest. Is this what Tel Avivians really want? More to come... 

 To be continued...