Presidential pad to be revamped
Knesset allocates additional NIS 2 million towards renovation of official presidential headquarters – and Peres' own apartment
The Knesset's Finance Committee has allocated NIS 2 million (roughly $550,000) from the State budget towards the renovation of the Jerusalem-based President's Residence, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Thursday.
Part of the funds will finance the perimeter fortification of President Shimon Peres' Tel Aviv apartment, where he is expected to move next year.
The President's Residence underwent a thorough renovation early this year: The home was made wheelchair accessible and its living room was reinforced to withstand earthquakes. The kitchen, which was in disrepair for years, was redone, as were Peres' own living quarters.
The project was originally supposed to cost just over NIS 2 million, a sum which was donated by the Yad Hanadiv Foundation. But as contractors began the repairs, vast infrastructure damage were discovered, requiring an extra NIS 1 million (roughly $275,000) to be fixed.
Moreover, the residence's gates, which tend to get stuck while heads of states are visiting, need to be repaired – a task that costs an additional NIS 500,000.
The final NIS 500,000 chunk of the sum approved by the Finance Committee will go towards the fortification the Ne'eman Towers apartment that Peres purchased. The president has chosen not to return to his old Tel Aviv apartment, where his wife Sonya passed away in January.
Peres intends to spend his weekends at the 150-square-meter apartment starting next year.
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