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Photo: Keren Natanzon

Tel Aviv Port: Zionism replaced by greed?

Former Tel Aviv Port architect says site’s cultural vision reduced to ‘let’s make money’ policy

The cultural and recreational vision behind the Tel Aviv Port, one of the city’s major entertainment complexes, has been reduced to no more than a greedy money-making policy, the site’s chief architect says.

 

"When we drafted our vision for the Tel Aviv Port in 2004…it was important for us to determine where we wanted to go with the port, what kind of place we envision and which kind of venues should operate in it", Zadik Eliakim, who was the port's chief architect up to a year ago, says as he recalls the line of thought that led the restoration of the Tel Aviv Port.

 

"However, the port took several twists and turns since then – at first, the area enjoyed a boom, revenues soared and hundreds of thousands of visitors flocked to the area. There were more visitors in the port in 2007 then there were at the Wailing Wall that year, but in 2008-2009 it all started going downhill,” he says. “The management was replaced and there was less control over the type of businesses that opened up in the area. Venues shut down and were replaced by inferior businesses."

 

"The type of people who came to the port was not in line with the vision," Eliakim says. "We were aiming for a complex that would work around the clock, but the clubbing and nightlife activity started taking over and the area became Tel Aviv's 'Alcohol Valley' and began to lose its prestige.”

 

In the late 1990s, Eliakim was commissioned to devise a plan to rejuvenate the Port. He recounts the excitement that struck him while visiting the area and realizing its immense potential. The NIS 5 million held by The Marin Trust – the company that owns large portions of the site – was invested in the development of its public utilities.

 

Ownership of the Tel Aviv port is divided between the governmental company The Marin Trust, the municipal company Atarim and the Ministry of Tourism. Disputes between the companies held back the development of the area for years and fences were put up to separate their respectively owned areas. Eliakim says that in recent years, the fences have been pulled down and the door opened for negotiations.

 

Greed instead of Zionism

For years, the only restaurant in the area was the long established Mul Yam. The harbinger of the Port's rejuvenation was the opening of the Tel Aviv branch of the renowned Gilly's restaurant from Jerusalem; however, it was only in 2004 that Eliakim and the Port's managers charted their vision: "The Tel Aviv port will be reshaped as a venue for a variety of activities – recreation, entertainment, culture, sports, music, shopping, gastronomy and creativity – which will serve to make the Port a site of lasting pleasure and relaxation, a haven from the bustle of the city in all hours of day, year round."

 

Eliakim says it hurt to see how the Zionistic vision of the Port's old guard has changed into a money-making apparatus once management was replaced.

 

He claims that while the desire to profit is understandable, the company should invest more in the development of the Port's public areas and lease venues to businesses that could benefit the residents.

 

"I can’t say that we were on the same page when it came to the changes in question; we therefore thought it was best to go our separate ways. I hope that the efforts invested here over the years won’t go down the drain,” he says.

 

"The Port does not have to pull in more revenues; it's already making millions of shekels of which 50% is distributed as dividends to the government. The model needs changing and the service to the residents should be improved,” he says. “The Port is not the property of an individual who seeks to maximize his profits. All it needs is to be sustainable.”

 

At this time, the Tel Aviv Port offers a few free public activities, which are far outnumbered by the commercial activity, Eliakim says. He believes that a window of opportunity for changing the state of affairs by changing the mix of occupants has presented itself as several large leases are about to end.

"I hope they are smart enough to lease these areas for public cultural uses", Eliakim says.

 

The Marin Trust company issues the following statement: "The allegations are unfounded. The Tel Aviv Port has realized its vision in full. The success of the business-social model has become a paradigm for similar complexes in the city.

 

"The Port's occupancy continues to be at 100% and all of the proprietors are requesting extensions on their lease. In recent years, the company has increased the budget for the Port's cultural activity by dozens of percent."

 

Story originally published by Calcalist  

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 04.23.12, 08:42
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