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Dec. 29, 2006
Central Jerusalem gets facelift
Zahal Square is being redesigned by architect Moshe Safdie using
Canadian funds.
GAIL LICHTMAN ISRAEL PRESS SERVICE
Throughout history, no other city has been as beloved and fought
over as Jerusalem, having been besieged dozens of times and destroyed,
at least partially, on 32 different occasions.
The countless terror attacks of the past two decades have also left
their mark on the city, with a siphoning off of shopping and entertainment
to suburban malls and a switch from residential to business use.
Compounding the problem has been Jerusalem's high poverty rate (33
per cent, as compared to 19.5 per cent nationwide) and the urban
flight of some 150,000 residents, mostly young families and singles.
All that, however, is about to change, as downtown Jerusalem, from
Jaffa Gate to the Mahane Yehuda Market, looks forward to getting
a $100 million facelift.
The revitalization is being spearheaded by the Eden Co. (a subsidiary
of the municipally owned Jerusalem Development Authority, set up
specifically to rehabilitate the downtown area), in partnership
with the Jerusalem Foundation. This facelift is in addition to the
$450 million being invested by the Jerusalem municipality in a new
light rail system that will ease access to downtown and turn Jaffa
Road into a pedestrian mall.
"Jerusalem is aiming for a total revitalization of the city
centre - to make it more accessible transportation-wise, to renovate
and upgrade infrastructure and to bring residents, culture, employment
and business back into the area," said Asaf Vitman, CEO of
the Eden Co. "Already more than one million square metres of
new building have been approved for the area."
Working in tandem with Eden, the Jerusalem Foundation, now celebrating
its 40th year, has committed itself to financing much of the project.
"Since 1967, the Jerusalem Foundation has taken an active role
in the development of all areas of Jerusalem, particularly the city
centre," noted Foundation president Ruth Cheshin. "So
it was natural that we would be involved in the city centre rejuvenation
too."
To bring residents, and especially young people, back to downtown
Jerusalem, two new initiatives are in the pipeline – the relocation
of the Bezalel Art Academy to the Russian Compound and the building
of subsidized student housing in the Hillel Street area.
The Bezalel Art Academy, Israel's foremost academy of fine arts,
design and architecture, was founded in 1903. For years, the academy
functioned out of its original historic building in the heart of
downtown. In the early 1990s, Bezalel relocated to modern, more
spacious premises on Mount Scopus, next to the Hebrew University.
Its departure, however, created a cultural hole in the city's urban
fabric. The return of Bezalel to the city, to a new campus in the
Russian Compound, the heart of Jerusalem's nightlife, aims to repair
this hole. The new campus will house classrooms, workshops, studios,
a library, TV and sound recording rooms and a multipurpose auditorium,
as well as host public exhibits. The $12 million project will also
include a commercial area.
A six-storey, 120-unit student dormitory, to be built on Ben Sira
Street, just off Hillel Street, will provide subsidized housing
and serve as a space for youth programming. Construction is set
to begin in 2007.
In the meantime, the Eden Co. is offering grants of $100 a month
to encourage students to rent apartments in the area. In 2004, only
150 students were living downtown. With the initiation of the grants
in 2005, that number jumped to 600 and, in 2006, to 1,000.
"This is one of the biggest revolutions in the city centre
in recent years," said Vitman.
As an additional boost to culture in the downtown area, a new museum
of contemporary art is being developed, also to be located in the
Russian Compound. In addition, the three main squares along Jaffa
Road – Zahal, Zion and the Davidka – will also undergo
major renovations and redesign.
"We chose to adopt the redevelopment of the city's central
squares as our major contribution to downtown revitalization,"
said Cheshin. "Each of these squares has its own unique character,
which we feel is important to develop."
Zahal Square, located at the junction where city hall meets the
Old City walls, is being redesigned by world-renowned architect
Moshe Safdie. The Jerusalem Foundation of Canada, whose president,
David J. Azrieli, is himself a noted Jerusalem architect, has committed
itself to raising $2 million for the project, which will include
green passages, stone-paved walkways and an amphitheatre. In addition,
the Canadians will be donating $200,000 toward social services for
youth at risk. The redesign is expected to be completed sometime
between October 2007 and February 2008.
Zion Square, where Ben Yehuda Street and Jaffa Road meet, was once
the meeting place for Jerusalemites, but is now more commonly
known as a hangout for disenfranchised youth. Israeli-born architect/sculptor
Ron Arad, a professor at London's Royal College of Art, has developed
a plan to return the square to its former glory, which focuses on
one of his contemporary sculptures. Combining playful forms and
advanced technologies, Arad wants to send a message through his
art to the youth who gather in the square, to challenge them to
explore new horizons, as he does in his work.
Davidka Square commemorates the homemade mortar weapon that saved
Jerusalem during the War of Independence. The new design of the
square, by award-winning Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta, will
combine stone columns and water elements to create a pleasant oasis
in the middle of the city. The mixture of red stone, blue water
and green trees will create a feeling of space, air and color. To
help maintain the square, a special endowment fund is being created.
Over the years, with the decline of the downtown area, many upscale
businesses left for the suburban malls. The revitalization of the
city centre, plus the long-awaited opening of the Mamilla Mall across
from the Jaffa Gate (now set for April 2007) have upped the attractiveness
of this area for retail businesses. Vitman said that a number of
brand-name companies are now looking to open stores in downtown
Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem Foundation is also undertaking another project –
development of the Mamilla Valley, between King David Street and
the Jaffa Gate. The foundation's Jan Mitchell Gardens will be incorporated
into the Mamilla project design and will form a green space connecting
the Old City with a new tree-lined promenade. An amphitheatre garden,
incorporating water elements plus sound and light components, will
provide a new meeting place facing the ancient walls. The garden
will serve as a natural connection to the artists' workshops, a
once-popular tourist attraction now also undergoing renewal.
When all the work is completed, Jerusalem will have a more vibrant,
pulsating downtown area that will truly reflect the city's status
as Israel's capital and the eternal capital of the Jewish people.
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