Dotan Levy, calcalist.co.il

The Municipality of Bat Yam has made a U-turn: About five years after it signed an agreement promoting a huge program of land on the country club complex, and after the plan passed the planning committee's approval - the municipality announced that it had decided to withdraw completely from the project.

The municipality's letter to entrepreneurs in August stated that it had decided to implement a clause in the agreement that would allow it to be repealed "for convenience", and in September, the city council decided to cancel the agreement. As a result, the developers are threatening the municipality with a huge claim of hundreds of millions of shekels.

The agreement for the commercial complex, or as it is known as the "country agreement", was signed in early 2014. The plan in the agreement is considered of great importance because of its proximity to the light rail line and the significant addition of commercial and employment areas to the city. In the absence of significant land reserves in Bat Yam, the municipality, then headed by Yossi Becher, decided to promote a plan that could provide revenue for the city and increase commercial and employment space as well as the extent of the public buildings in the municipality.

For the purpose of promoting the program, a combination agreement was drawn up between the municipality and the entrepreneurs, and after the auction was published, an agreement was signed between the municipality and a partnership of the Cooperley family, which owns half a free network; Arie Bar, former chief executive of the Interior Ministry and currently the owner of the real estate company Migdal Top Real Estate; and the palace company Chen, owned by the Ben Gera contractor family.

In a letter the developers sent to the municipality, through Adv. Oded Israeli, claims that the cancellation of the plan comes from political motives that contradict the public good. The developers claim the plan was accepted by the provincial committee, and so the cancellation of the agreement will not change the situation in terms of construction rights. Cancellation of the agreement will require the municipality to repay entrepreneurs NIS 50 million for expenses and pay them up to NIS hundreds of millions, while claiming that the current transaction will put NIS 400 million in assets and NIS 60 million in property taxes per year.

New place for country

The deal was formulated for two complexes, one is the Comedy complex, at the corner of Comedy Streets and Menachem Begin, where there are now tennis courts and an urban pool and is approved for residential, commercial and employment; The second is the workshop complex, between the craft streets, Ehud Cinnamon and Ort Israel, an area that now includes workshops and its vocation for employment and entertainment.

The plan that was drafted offers construction of towers of up to 43 floors for residential, up to 31 floors for employment, up to 5 floors for public buildings and up to 4 floors for engineering facilities. In terms of construction, there are 500 apartments, 53.7 thousand square meters of employment and 6,000 square meters of commercial space. Four acres are designated for public areas and public buildings.

The combination transaction states that 80% of the project is left by the developer, and 20% of each part of the project is transferred to the municipality, which can be used as a rental or rental asset. According to the appraiser, the total value of the assets after their construction was expected to reach NIS 2 billion. The value of the share that the municipality was supposed to receive was NIS 400 million, and projected revenue from municipal taxes was NIS 60 million a year. It was also decided that by the time the plan was implemented, the developers would pay NIS 7 million each year, and so far NIS 42 million had been transferred to the municipality.

After many years of planning, in which the plan received the approval of the city's planning committee and professionals as well as the approval of the interior minister, the plan was finally approved last March by the Tel Aviv District Planning and Construction Committee and accepted. The district committee also noted in its decision that it considers the plan to be of great importance because it adds high employment rates and trade rates to the seafarer and complies with the outline plan being prepared. It also states that the municipality must at the same time issue permits to other municipal land where a new land and tennis courts will be set up.

In November 2018, Zvika Brut overcame Bachar in the mayoral election, and after a while withdrew from the decision of his predecessor in office . In August, the municipality sent a letter to entrepreneurs, claiming that the city's circumstances had changed as the municipality's financial situation worsened, and that the agreement and the plan did not allow the municipality to realize the full potential of the land. At a city council meeting held on September 11, in the presence of Mayor Brut and Deputy Attorney Eli Yariv, it was finally decided to cancel the agreement.

In the minutes of the meeting, Brut explains that there are "indications of problems in this deal" and the fact that the courts and the tennis courts have closed without an alternative is sufficient to cancel the agreement. Brut said at the meeting that the municipality should go to a new plan that will include a country complex and tennis courts, although there is no need to be on that land and include fewer apartments and more commerce and employment. This will give much better value to city residents and city funds, "he concluded.

"The Combines Period is over"

Brut substitute Eli Yariv added: "This deal has been approved from now on ... I think it's time for this deal to stop. We will come to court. Whatever it may be. I guess the entrepreneur will come to court."

As mentioned, the developers sent a letter to the municipality threatening to file a huge lawsuit against it. Apart from that, it was claimed that the cancellation of the tennis courts was known to the municipality years ago, and that the construction mix is ​​true since its absence will not build commercial and employment entrepreneurs in the city, and show hundreds of thousands of square meters planned that no one builds.

On the other hand, a senior municipal official said: "The period is over that combinations can be made on the back of the public coffers and submitted to the residents. Dean, when everyone clearly has no case. " The municipality of Bat Yam said it would respond in court.