What's next for Neveh Tzedek? - Haaretz

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Wed., August 29, 2007 Elul 15, 5767

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What's next for Neveh Tzedek?

By Shani Shilo

Neveh Tzedek is a success story of neighborhood renewal. It was the first Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the walls of Old Jaffa and until 20 years ago, it was considered to be a slum. However, over time, it developed into a place where housing prices now start at $8,000 to $10,000 per square meter.

The transformation of this southern part of the city has spurred the municipality to promote several grandiose plans in the area, but the residents of Neveh Tzedek are not pleased about them, all of to put it mildly.

Neveh Tzedek's turning point was the establishment of the Suzanne Dellal cultural center in 1989. Before that, the site was characterized by the cracked ruins of abandoned structures. Its metamorphosis into a cultural hub and the home of the famous Batsheva Dance Company painted the neighborhood in bohemian colors and attracted artists of all hues. Over time, the well-to-do discovered the neighborhood, attracted by its cultural offerings and romantic atmosphere. Today, we may assume that the original denizens of the neighborhood wouldn't able to afford so much as a single room in a hovel there.

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Some credit the city of Tel Aviv with Neveh Tzedek's renovation, since it was the body behind the reconstruction of Suzanne Dellal. David Eitan, a member of the Neveh Tzedek neighborhood committee, says the city was the one that initiated the establishment of the center that would serve as an anchor to the neighborhood. But he claims that since then, the city has done little for the city's residents. "The ones who cultivated the neighborhood are the residents," he says.

Eitan's claim is at least partially true. Tel Aviv has the capacity for renewal, as is evident in neighborhoods like Neveh Tzedek. New York's Soho is a prime example of a district that had a bad reputation, which was targeted by artists because of its low rents and eventually developed into a neighborhood with a new image - both trendy and desirable. Read: expensive.

But in the case of Neveh Tzedek, what distinguished it from its sister neighborhoods in South Tel Aviv - such as Florentine, which has been "promising" for years, yet never really "happening" - is the Suzanne Dellal project. That took shape thanks to the vision of then mayor Shlomo Lahat, and Ze'ev Sokolovsky, a representative of the Dellal family foundation.

Neveh Tzedek's renewal has been accompanied by a burst of building. The city is now promoting construction of more buildings in the area - some of them very prominent, such as high-rises in the southeastern part of the neighborhood. The Nechushtan tower, which has become known as "the Neveh Tzedek tower," is just the first step. Eitan says that no less than 13 towers will be constructed surrounding the neighborhood.

"I'd prefer that the White City (Tel Aviv) remain close to the ground," Eitan says. "But if they decide to build upward, there has to be broad planning that takes traffic congestion, the winds, parking problems and things that relate to the residents' needs into consideration. You can't build by the salami method - each time approving a single project without looking at the effect on the neighborhood and the environment. This is how long-term mistakes are made."

At this point in time, there's no master plan for Neveh Tzedek, and there are few public areas in the neighborhood: It has hardly any public gardens, no elementary school and only one municipal kindergarten, which isn't enough to serve all the local children - and that's before anybody's moved into the high-rises.

The city's latest project in the vicinity, for which tenders are in an advanced stage, is "the Station" - near the coast, in the direction of Jaffa, in the Menashiya quarter. The old train station had housed an army base at one time, but it has virtually disappeared and few people today even know it existed.

Architect Zadik Elyakim, a partner in the Elyakim architectural firm, says that Tel Aviv's incumbent mayor, Ron Huldai, toured the area and saw its potential. "The mayor made an astonishing discovery. Until he pointed at the spot, I didn't even know it was there, and I was born in South Tel Aviv. Huldai exposed the site," Elyakim recalls.

The Station site includes six buildings earmarked for renovation and 16 more marked for conservation, on a 20-dunam (5-acre) site. The property itself is divided into two parts: the old train station of Jaffa, and a Templar farm. The renovation of the former structures is moving ahead: The city is handling the facades, while the interiors will be renovated by the contractors who win tenders. "The city is planning an area for entertainment, leisure and culture, like the Tel Aviv port and the fairground," says Elyakim, whose office is involved in the planning.

By the way, the Templar farm was originally settled by the German "spiritual descendants" of the Order of the Knights Templar - yes, the ones from the Middle Ages. The area was first settled in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The residents, most of them farmers, built several communities around Israel, including the German Colony in Jerusalem. They used the adjacent train station in what is Neveh Tzedek today to export their produce, some via Damascus. The British Mandatory authorities expelled the latter-day Templars during World War II. Today the site contains the remains of their farm buildings.

The municipal company Ezra U'Bizaron Housing, headed by CEO Eli Ginzburg and engineering VP Eran Freund, with a team of consultants including experts on conservation and architects Eran Ziv and Amnon Bar-Or, are responsible for the project. Eli Elyakim and Ran Wolff are responsible for the management.

The main difficulty at the Station is anticipating the types of people who will be using the renovated buildings there, says Elyakim. "It's necessary to look for a mixture of businesses that will suit the spirit of the place. You can find felafel and shawarma anywhere: This site is designed of galleries and businesses relating to culture and design. Not too much food."

It all sounds very nice: The city gets itself a renovated area with an emphasis on conservation. The project Web site mentions cities such as Barcelona and Boston as sources of inspiration. But not everybody's pleased - including the local residents.

Eitan clarifies that the neighborhood committee doesn't object to development of the area per se. "Renewal of the buildings is good and we welcome the conservation and the architectural planning. But using the site for commerce contravenes the needs of the public and the directives of the master plan. I acknowledge the need to develop commercial areas, but I'd expect that part of the area be earmarked for the public - mainly in a neighborhood like Neveh Tzedek that suffers from a shortage of public spaces. There are no playgrounds for children and no green areas."

The residents suspect that Huldai's desire to cut the ribbon before the upcoming municipal elections is prompting the city to waive certain procedures, such as use of a master plan for the neighborhood. Instead it is allowing the work on the site to proceed by changing the zoning and so on. This procedure circumvents legal planning processes, blocks objections from being submitted and prevents the neighbors from raising problems.

Anat Shani, a lawyer advising the Neveh Tzedek action committee, appealed on their behalf to the planning authorities. "The city of Tel Aviv filed a request for 'non-conforming' use of property. It's an irregular procedure that's intended for a short period of time, or until a comprehensive plan is approved," she says. "But in this case, there's no plan on the horizon and it's a large site, based on a non-conforming use permit for 10 years."

In Florentine, when people ask to turn a storage facility into a store through a non-conforming use request, the city turns them down, she adds: "But when [the city is] furthering its own purposes, the procedure is allowed. It is a breach of the public's faith."

The Neveh Tzedek neighborhood committee also filed an appeal jointly with the Israel Union for Environmental Defense. IUED attorney Amit Bracha stresses that, in principle, the association opposes non-conforming use permits, because they don't give residents an opportunity to express their objections publicly. Permits for non-conforming use should only be granted in very rare, unusual cases, in his opinion.

"We submitted an appeal because the city of Tel Aviv is promoting a grandiose program the wrong way," he says. "The city is allowing uses that the city plan that is currently in force does not allow, without relating to the needs of the residents."

In addition, the city of Tel Aviv can't, or won't, actually invest in renovation. Through changing the zoning to a commercial purpose, it passes the buck - i.e., financing of the renewal - on to the tenants to whom the city rents the buildings. "The city has begun publishing tenders for contractors, although permits for the project are still undergoing legal processes," says Shani. "Also, the city is starting the renovation work even though there's no building permit and it's circumventing proper planning procedures."

She adds that her committee had asked for part of the site to be earmarked for public use and were told that there was a problem adapting the buildings to public use. "But the city wants to build a hotel and college there, so if these uses are approved, then a library, a community center and a playground could also be approved," Shani adds.

"The residents of Neveh Tzedek are worried about traffic congestion. But traffic will come from Kauffman Street [along the shoreline - S.S.], and the people coming will be served by two giant parking lots that already exist. Another claim is that there's no school in the area. But none of the buildings could serve to house a school, and the plan for Menashiya includes establishing a school near the station," Elyakim says, in response to residents' complaints.

He believes that the area of the station is "an architectural treasure" that should serve the greater public, not only the residents of Neveh Tzedek. Elyakim: "Having a select group of people claim possession of an area that belongs to all the residents is not in the city's greater good."

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