Burj Khalifa of Jerusalem: Over 200 objections fail to halt 42-floor Jerusalem tower approval

Over 200 objections have not stopped the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee from approving the plan for a 42-floor tower near Mount Herzl in the capital, a source close to the matter has told Globes.

The controversial plan in the Epstein complex overlooks the Yad Vashem Holocaust remembrance center and the Mount Herzl military cemetery. Some critics have insisted that the plan was disrespectful to the memory of fallen soldiers and the Holocaust.

However, the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee, headed by Shira Talmi Babay, claimed that the plan aligned with the policy of more dense construction along the light rail route and gave final approval for the high-rise construction.

The plan is to build Epstein Tower on a seven dunam (1.75 acres) site along Herzl Boulevard, south of Mount Herzl and Yad Vashem, close to a light rail station. The tower will contain 240 housing units, 60,000 square meters of office space, and an 11,000 square meter hotel on the lower floors. It will have an additional 4,000 square meters accessible to the public, a museum, a cultural center, and more. A public square facing northwards will be outside of the building.

The plan was first submitted to the planning authorities nearly six years ago and attracted major opposition. Many  members of the public felt such a high-rise building was inappropriate for the surroundings. It was nicknamed the Burj Khalifa of Jerusalem after the world's tallest high-rise building in Dubai. The name was all the more appropriate because the building was designed by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architects firm, which also designed the Burj Khalifa.

Opponents included Jerusalem mayoral candidate Ofer Berkovic, who told Globes that a 30-floor tower on the lot would be sufficient. Recently, around the official objections stage conducted by the district committee, additional objections were heard. Quite a few of them dealt with the location of the planned tower, near Mount Herzl and Yad Vashem.

Almost 200 objections were submitted to the plan, many of them saying the tower would "dwarf and severely damage" the status of Mount Herzl and Yad Vashem and that it was "blasphemy." Objections also stated that the plan is "contrary to the public interest and in complete contrast to the values of Judaism, Zionism, heritage, social culture, nature, and the landscape of Jerusalem."

Another major opponent is the Association of Architects and City Builders in Israel, which pointed out that the intensity of construction in the plan is not in accordance with the policy of dense construction along the Jerusalem light rail route and that the height of the tower is exceptional Jerusalem's skyline. Despite all this, the district committee decided to approve the plan.

Alternatives examined

The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee's decision came after examining several alternatives – including constructing two adjacent 30-story towers or four 10-story buildings. The choice of the high tower alternative was reached as part of the policy of intensifying denser construction along the city's light rail route and also due to the desire to allocate as much land as possible for open public space – something that is possible mainly when there is a single tower on the lot. As part of the decision, the committee reduced the tower's height from about 200 meters to 165 meters by reducing the height of each floor.

It should be noted that the Mount Herzl military cemetery and Yad Vashem themselves do not oppose the plan that has now been approved. Globes has learned that Yad Vashem does not consider itself a party to the matter and did not file an objection. The Yad Labanim organization, which commemorates the fallen soldiers of the IDF and cares for their families, initially opposed the plan and submitted an objection to it.

However, it later withdrew the objection. Chairman Eli Ben Shem told the district committee that after an in-depth review of the plan, "We came to the conclusion that the necessary balances and actions were indeed taken to prevent harm to the families' feelings and to preserve the integrity of the area. In view of the aforementioned, and after considering the matter seriously, we believe that there is no reason to continue our objection."

A source familiar with the planning and approval process told Globes that the tower is in the southernmost part of the lot, hundreds of meters from Mount Herzl and Yad Vashem, and that the committee's objections subcommittee also examined the issue and came to the conclusion that a 42-floor tower is the best version of the plan.

The source said, "It's an unusual tower in its appearance, which will respect the city and the status of the two important institutions. Dozens of towers are being built and planned along the entire route of the light rail, and this is the direction in which the city is going."

As for the fact that the tower "breaks out" of the construction policy along the light rail route, which stipulates that the towers will be a maximum of 30-floors, the same source says: "The policy does give guidelines on the construction of towers of up to 30-floors, with fixed construction scales and construction percentages, but with a detailed plan the district committee has discretion: as long as the scale of the construction is maintained which is according to the policy, the construction can be changed and 'packaged' in a different way, if the committee believes that this has planning benefits. This has already been done in other projects along the light rail route, such as the Midtown project on Jaffa Road."

Jerusalem District Planner in the Planning Administration architect Dan Keinan said, "This is a plan that is in line with the committee's policy of building the city inwards near the light rail lines, in order to preserve open spaces and cater for young couples in the city."

Babai said, "The plan presents an exceptional architectural quality, which continues the momentum of renewal in Jerusalem, and will allow us to improve planning and create successful urban spaces. All of this will allow us to deal with the complex development tasks of the city."