Wholesale market's site (simulation)
Photo: Courtesy of Yaar Architects
Wholesale market site sold for NIS 1.5 billion
Deal signed on Thursday. Buyers are from Gindi Group and Blue Square Israel real estate. Sellers are Tnuva, Tel Aviv Municipality, former market merchants and their family members, and Attorney Shraga Biran
Late Thursday evening, a 15-year negotiation process was completed to sell the first section of the wholesale market site in Tel Aviv, one of the last plots available for construction in the center of the city.
In the signed deal, the group belonging to the Gindi family and Blue Square Israel real estate acquired the site for NIS 950 million (about $256.6 million) from its historic owners, Tnuva (60%), Tel Aviv Municipality (25%), former market merchants and their families (9%), and Attorney Shraga Biran (6%) who led the process of changing the land determination.
The price was already unveiled on the eve of Passover when Tel Aviv Municipality authorized the sale of its holding in the site. In addition to the case price, the sellers will receive part of the income from revenues from the sale of 600 apartments that will be built in the first stage of the project. Together, the value of the deal is estimated at some NIS 1.5 billion (about $410 million).
This is the first section of the site, out of two, on which a series of 12-storey buildings, a 15,000 meter mall, parking areas, and a park will be built. The second section of the market site will be built up with four 40-floor towers. Overall, there will be 1,800 apartments on the site.
Those close to the deal said that closing on the deal was made possible mainly after ownership of the property was redistributed among the buyers.
At the beginning of the negotiations, ownership was meant to be divided such that the Gindi family would own all the residential areas and some 20% of the mall and Blue Square Israel would own 80% of the mall and would not have a hold in the residential section. This distribution created problems between the two sides.
Ultimately, the Gindi family and Blue Square Israel decided to share equal ownership of the site.
Final authorization of the deal is still dependent on confirmation in Blue Square Israel's owners' assembly. According to the agreement drafted recently, the assembly will have 40 days to give the green light for the deal.
