Last week, the National Planning Administration announced approval of five different urban renewal plans in the Nurit section of the Kiryat Menachem neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem. Such announcements are issued almost weekly by the Planning Administration and Jerusalem Municipality about progress on new urban renewal plans in the city. But there is something in this announcement that probably symbolizes more than anything else the change the city has undergone in recent years. This is one of the most complicated of urban renewal plans, in which 581 apartments will be demolished and 2,265 housing units built in their place, involving five different areas and requiring, among other things, the use of added land to make it economically viable. When such a complex gets underway and receives approval, it is an important milestone by any measure.
Approval of the Nurit project is another example of the development momentum Jerusalem has been undergoing in recent years. A survey conducted by “Globes” among construction companies, developers and contractors, in cooperation with the Israel Builders Contractors Association, found, among other things, that the Jerusalem Municipality is considered the fastest and most efficient in promoting construction plans. What has led to Jerusalem’s turnaround on this matter, and the high satisfaction among developers working with it, in contrast to many other local authorities in Israel?
There is no arguing with the data
The pace of construction starts in the city has increased significantly over the past five years. If in 2020 the city began construction of 2,564 housing units, in 2023 the number had already risen to 5,781 housing units. In 2024 the number fell slightly, to 5,178 housing units, but according to the latest Central Bureau of Statistics data, for April 2023 – March 2024, the number has increased again to 6,296 housing units. This is two and a half times the number of building starts in the city five years ago, and the highest number in Israel, even more than Tel Aviv.
The picture is similar in urban renewal. In 2024, 61 demolition-reconstruction plans were approved in the city, according to the Government Authority for Urban Renewal, with 12,695 planned housing units – again, the highest number in the country. In the cumulative numbers to the end of 2024, Jerusalem is also first with 35,128 planned housing units in 151 plans. For comparison, in 2020 Jerusalem ranked only fourth, with only 10,153 proposed housing units – less than a third of the number at the end of 2024. The Jerusalem Municipality also provided permits for 3,044 housing units in urban renewal plans in 2024, and for 7,850 housing units to date, throughout the years, and here too it is first in Israel.
As for building renewal (renewal of a single building), Jerusalem is second in terms of the number of permits in 2024 – 58 permits for 1,407 housing units. Since the start of TAMA 38, Jerusalem has issued permits for 9,205 housing units in building renewal, making it fourth in the country. In this area it is far behind Tel Aviv (27,811 units with permits) and Ramat Gan (16,464 units with permits).
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“Very similar to the National planning Council” – The change in work arrangements
According to industry professionals, the improvement came about following a change in perception, which led to a change in the way the municipality actually works, and from there to the higher numbers.
“The change began as soon as the district committee set building policy along the light rail routes,” says Adv. Avi Porten managing partner and co-head of the Planning and Zoning Department at the Agmon and Tulchinsky law office. He says, “Before then, construction of more than 20 floors was considered a major event in Jerusalem. Since then, 30-floors have been the standard. Suddenly, they saw that it was possible to build towers in Jerusalem, and from there they set targets for accelerated development in the city, which the municipality and the committee are still promoting today.
“This could not have been done without the support of the mayor. There is a ‘commander’s spirit’ here, and with the addition of the level of coordination between the municipality and the district committee, it is possible to understand why things are progressing so quickly. Another thing to remember is that the district committee does not have many cities to focus on, because in the Jerusalem district there is only one other large city, Beit Shemesh. The district committee focuses 80% of the time on Jerusalem, in my opinion, and therefore the work is more fluid.”
“In 2007, when Yoram Keren was Africa Israel CEO, he decided to buy land in Jerusalem and they looked at him like he was crazy,” says Africa Israel Residence CEO Ronit Eshed Levy. “In those years, everyone asked: ‘Who is coming to Jerusalem?’
She adds, “Today, there isn’t a single developer not coming to Jerusalem, because the municipality has mobilized on the matter. It’s similar to the work of the Municipal Planning and Development Authority: round tables, fixed schedules where we meet once every three months with Mayor Moshe Lion, once a month with city engineer Yoel Even, and once every two weeks with the licensing department staff. As soon as the authority is so involved and resolves obstacles that elsewhere delay the process for months, everything looks different. The process is very orderly, both in the planning approval process and in licensing, and even towards occupancy in the case of an urban renewal project. The municipality manages the process and does not let it stray off course. Developers were dying for something like this.”
“The secret to success is not budgets or reforms,” says Yechiel Segal, CEO and owner of the Beit Yerushalmi (BY) Group. “This is the city that has the most limitations – a shortage of land, preservation, and more – and it is the most successful, professional, and efficient. These are the people who make the difference, because they are busy promoting projects all day long. Moshe Lion sends people to me to ask how we can improve, and streamline, and where the problems are. The municipality is chasing after us. I have 32 permit applications in the city, and that means a video call almost once a week with a municipality official. There’s no such thing anywhere else.”
Even explains how the process happens behind the scenes, and reveals that the municipality is not afraid to reprimand developers when necessary: “We put pressure on the developers by phone and in follow-up meetings. Even before the plan is approved, the team knows how to contact the developers, schedule a meeting at the city hall, hold an initial meeting that we set up, arrange clear schedules in advance, explain the rules, and move on to follow-up meetings and close monitoring.
“There have been cases where, in projects that we saw were not progressing, the developers came here for clarification. They have to constantly think about their commitments and if there are tasks for which they have not met deadlines. My team even intervened in a case where there was a problem with bank financing, with the financing body itself. This is the only way to overcome bureaucracy. In these processes, the municipality may have a great desire to advance things, but it may shatter on the rocks of bureaucracy. We have to deal with it, take the initiative, remove obstacles, and that’s what we do all the time – remove obstacles and allow processes to take place.”
Rapid progress is also made possible due to good cooperation between the Municipality and the District Planning and Building Committee. The plan in the Nurit project is the latest example of this. Due to the difficulty in realizing the extra land in the project, the district committee approved an increase in the building rights in the complex, by about 900 apartments, to ensure the project’s economic viability, and accordingly increased the supporting infrastructure.
Will the development boom harm the residents and the city’s values?
This enormous development boom raises concerns among many residents that this trend will harm the city’s appearance, values and quality of life. One of the plans that has become a symbol of this concern is the construction of the 40-story tower overlooking Mount Herzl and Yad Vashem, which has already been nicknamed “Jerusalem’s Burj Khalifa.” For many residents, this plan symbolizes the spoiling of the city’s existing skyline, and the change in its character following massive development.
One of the most prominent voices on the subject is Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Yossi Havilio. He says, “There is not enough care for the rights of the residents. The various committees think first of all about the developers, instead of thinking about the residents and the character of Jerusalem. There is an unbalanced frenzy here.
“There is an attack of towers on the city. There may be no escape from high-rise construction, and urban renewal is also a good thing, but in the end, the green areas in the city are still being damaged. Not every place is suitable for towers and high-rise construction. That tower, the ‘Burj Khalifa’, was built on vacant land, I don’t see any value in it for the residents. Jerusalem is a special city, and in the end, no historical value will remain of it. In my opinion, the concern is mainly for the profit of the developers. The social welfare department is too small and toothless. The committees don’t necessarily address it. It must be expanded and strengthened.”
“Although Jerusalem is expected to be the best served city in the coming years in terms of high-passenger means of transport, thanks to the planned light rail lines, we must ask whether all of this is in line with the pace of development,” adds Porten. “There is a concern that in the face of the reduction in parking standards, which is happening nationwide, public transport could collapse due to the enormous increase in the number of residents expected in the city.
“It is also impossible to ignore the fact that two-thirds of the city’s residents are haredi and Arabs, who do not usually live in tall buildings and the question is who will live in all these towers planned to be built in the city? At least for the haredi community, I believe that this will eventually be resolved, but there is a huge challenge here for the municipality.”
Even says in response: “I know these opinions and I sit with the people all the time. These opinions are declining, because they are starting to understand what we are really doing. In the past, there was a lot of criticism, but today even the biggest opponents come and tell me – well done.
“We established a unit in charge of the quality of construction and the quality of planning, we have a project leader for each neighborhood who produces a work plan for the future, based on planned development. In 2031, when all the light rail lines are operational, people will be able to get to the light rail from almost any neighborhood, and behave completely differently. The office zone that we are building at the city entrance, urban renewal and the historic city center are a completely different story here, and the development will only increase the quality of life, for everyone.”
Even also refers to the concern about harming the city’s historical values. He explains, “Jerusalem is a large and very diverse city, so we can create a policy for each neighborhood separately. Neighborhoods for urban renewal, with high-rise construction without being ashamed; opposite historic neighborhoods in the city center, which were built before1948 – historic areas that we will preserve. This way we can reach a situation where we build towers at a certain point on the Jaffa Road axis, near the light rail, and 20 meters away, deep in the neighborhood, we argue with the developer even about half a floor, and maintain a construction limit of two and a half floors. This is also true for green areas. Our right to build goes along with our right to preserve this city.”
“Exactly because of the desire not to harm sites slated for preservation, we are building intensively in urban renewal,” adds Segal. “It may not be popular to say this as a developer, but I am opposed to rezoning vacant land in the city. This is precisely why urban renewal is promoted in the neighborhoods. There is no difference between 20 and 40 floors, and between 30 and 60 floors. We need to build a lot where possible.”
How can this be duplicated by other cities?
One of the means by which Jerusalem succeeded in creating change was increasing the municipal workforce – the weak point of most Israeli municipalities.
Since Lion assumed office and Even became chief engineer, a new department has been set up, the Development Department, and two departments have become departments were enlarged – the Licensing Department and the Construction Supervision Department. The municipality receives fairly large budgets from the state compared to other cities, but it seems that this is not the only reason that allows the change in approach to be implemented.
“First and foremost, it is the mobilization and will of the (municipal) system that set the tone,” says Eshad Levy. “The idea of speeding up processes, of removing obstacles and finding solutions simply became important for the mayor. Along with this, a real municipal policy needs to be established and adhere to. This creates certainty. Those who stand firm and explain the rationale succeed. Everyone aligns themselves accordingly. It is also important to maintain the developer-tenants-municipality dialogue so that it takes place all the time, and to set clear timetables. In other municipalities, this simply does not exist.”
“The way to replicate it is to change the overall conduct, from the most senior person to the last official. Planning Administration director general Rafi Elmaliach, and Minister of Interior Moshe Arbel should come to the heads of the planning committees and mayors and tell them that the developer is not the enemy, he is the person we want to succeed. The attitude must change.”
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on July 27, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
