Israel approves 36,000 new housing units in city of Holon

Israel has approved the construction of 36,000 new housing units in the city of Holon near Tel Aviv, according to the Times of Israel.

The government has been planning to advance these constructions since 2019 when the Holon municipality first proposed the project as part of a wider urban renewal plan, considered as the largest single development project in central Israel.

Eran Nitzan, chairman of the Tel Aviv District Planning and Zoning Committee, said Holon “should be congratulated” for its “courage” in leading this project.

“For the first time in Israel, an urban renewal plan has been approved for most of the city’s area,” he added.

This move, the Israeli reports said, is based on the TAMA 38 regulations, aimed at increasing the density of housing in existing built-up areas; therefore, most of the construction will take place in areas around planned light rail, metro and rail stations across the city.

The building plans will consist of 30,000 new housing units in addition to 6,000 smaller apartments to be utilised as rental units, assisted living units, and student housing, according to the proposal.

Mayor, Motti Sasson, hailed the plan as “groundbreaking” and said “it does not deal only with the addition of rights to residential buildings, but rather establishes guidelines and instructions for increasing public, built-up and open areas, in response to the expected addition of housing units.”

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