Guy Nardi, globes.co.il

The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Commission decided to put in place a plan to establish a commercial and employment complex in the Malcha Technology Garden. The area in question is a 17-acre complex located in the east and north of the Malcha Technology Park complex. In the eastern part of the complex, the plan includes the construction of two towers up to 30 stories above three storeys. In the northern part of the complex, it includes two additional five-story buildings with a commercial facade toward Maccabi Sports Street and toward Malcha Mall. The plan includes a total of 128,000 sq.m. of construction space as well as a parking lot with 1,480 parking spaces. The plan is initiated by the Jerusalem Development Authority and the Garden of Technology and was conducted by the architectural offices of Yaski Mor Sivan and Yigal Levy.

Jerusalem District Planner Shira Talmei-Babbai noted that "The establishment of a knowledge-intensive trade and industrial complex will be a significant pillar of the revitalization of the Southwest Jerusalem area and underpinning it as a high-quality urban district and a focus for a young and productive population in Jerusalem for the benefit of residents of Jerusalem and its surrounding areas. These are currently being promoted in accordance with the master plan, which includes an increase of about 1 million square meters of commercial and employment space.

Chairman of the Malcha Neighborhood Council, Dror Bekel, who spoke with "Globes" expressed dissatisfaction with the promotion of the proposed plan and said "We are concerned about the approval of the plan for deposit. The plan joining the disproportionate expansion of the Malcha Mall was carried out without a comprehensive plan for each Malcha basin, which quantifies the effects of the new construction on transport, the environment and residents. "