The area is situated between old Beit Shemesh to the north and the new neighborhoods to the south, and it is ripe for development.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Ultra-orthodox investors are teaming up with Trump administration special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff in a $245 million real estate deal in Beit Shemesh.
Avi and Eli Schron of Cammeby’s International and investor Teddy Lichtschein are partnering to acquire approximately 110 acres, roughly half of a larger property known as Beit Jimal.
Witkoff’s other real estate investments include apartment towers in Chelsea and Tribeca, the luxury Edition Hotel in Times Square, a hotel and residential project in West Hollywood, and dozens more.
The Witkoff group also purchased the historic New York Woolworth building in 1998.
Ziva Cohen, owner of the real estate companies Kedmat Eden and Perachai Ramat Beit Shemesh, is expected to benefit substantially from the deal.
Cohen’s $82 million investment in purchasing 222 acres in Beit Shemesh from the Catholic Salesian Monastery in Beit Jimal has yielded triple the original amount.
However, she is still embroiled in controversies with David Shimron, who owns the monastery.
The area is situated in the Judean Hills between old Beit Shemesh to the north and the new neighborhoods to the south, and it is ripe for development.
Cohen has agreed to transfer half of the land to an ultra-orthodox investor group headed by Shlomo Bruner, who will pay Cohen $245 million.
The area lacks an approved outline plan (TABA), and Beit Shemesh Mayor Shmuel Greenberg has reportedly delayed its progress. The mayor insists that future residential development include commercial areas to support the city’s financial stability; his administration advocates including five office towers alongside the proposed housing units.
The Schron brothers and Teddy Lichtschein are each investing around $53 million in the project. Lichtschein has also enlisted several other business partners who will contribute a combined $8 million. The additional investors are Yechiel David Potash, Elimelech Fisher, Mordechai Mizrahi, and Ben Zion Mizrahi. The group plans to invest $120 million of its own capital, with the remaining funds to be secured through bank financing.