The Mount Carmel hotel in Haifa is at the heart of a heated debate: "It is not allowed that they make fun of the iconic building"

(haipo) - The district committee for objections in Haifa met this morning (Thursday 1/8/24) to discuss the fate of the Mount Carmel Hotel building on Derech Hayam Street, and the objections to its conversion into a sheltered housing building by the Mediterranean Towers Company.

Among the many opponents is the municipality of Haifa, according to which the change "lacks planning justification, the district committee decided on the deposit without the local committee's opinion." According to the developers: "Rehabilitating the complex while preserving the historic building is a real economic-planning challenge."

Today the hotel building is abandoned and neglected. The differences of opinion regarding it concern the manner of its preservation and the number of housing units that will be added to it. The Mount Carmel Hotel was established in 1936 and stood out very much in those years compared to the few other hotels that were then in the territory of the Land of Israel. Over the years the building was used for various purposes, mostly as a hotel, but not always, until in 2013 it finally closed.

The new project is planned to stand on an area of ​​8 dunams, where apart from the original building, to which 2 floors will be added, another building will be erected that will rise to a height of 11 floors. The original plan of the Mediterranean Towers has already undergone several changes over the years, when in the current debate the opponents asked to reduce the number of housing units - while on the other hand the Mediterranean Towers Company actually wanted to increase their number, in order for the project to be economical.

One of the disagreements between the opponents and the developers is about the very fact of turning the building into a sheltered housing and not a hotel. The opponents claim that the building should be used as a hotel, with one of the claims being that sheltered housing will cater to a very limited number of people, while as a hotel or other public building, many will be able to enjoy it and its many historical features.

"There will be no construction that contradicts in my opinion"

Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav: "I will not allow the iconic building of the Mount Carmel Hotel to be damaged and turned into sheltered housing. Haifa must take its rightful place as a leading tourist city in Israel with a wide and appropriate variety of hotels, and therefore the municipality will not allow its iconic building of historical importance to be turned into sheltered housing or any Another zoning that is not touristic. If we change the zoning from a hotel to a residential one, I will not be afraid of anything. It is important for us to keep the young people in the hotel. He will not build something there Melon Antidote".

"They are trying to work on us"

The outgoing city engineer, Ariel Waterman, said on behalf of the local committee: "They are trying to work on us. We are trying to build new hotels. In 2006, after the war (Lebanon II) and even today, hotels are the main thing in Haifa. This is one of the most important buildings in the city and one of the first to be built there. You can't even consider damaging it. It was immersed in green , with grass in the front and back. The architect who designed it is one of the important people who were here."

"The program makes a farce of the building"

Vartman also said: "The developer's representatives promised to maintain the hotel and in return they received more land for construction. The plan is approved and it states that the building will be used as a hotel. The condition for construction is a conservation survey. This was the case in 2013."

According to Wertman, over time a feeling began to arise that something was wrong, and then the developer began to talk about increasing rights and changing the designation, which was rejected. According to Wertman, a plan was approved for the renovation of the hotel and for additional construction, when half of the residences were already built on the grass, and for the renovation of the hotel itself.

According to him, a different plan was then submitted: to turn the place into sheltered housing and add rights. The developer offered to get permission for sheltered housing and take down the additions built in the building over the years. Wertman: "It's so distorted. It makes a farce of the building, as if a cow had passed over here. It makes a joke of the meaning of preservation. There is an attempt to show that the building will be similar to the buildings in the area, but it is not true. This area should remain unbuilt. If the hotel is lacking rooms, it would be possible to consider it," he said.

"Everything is filled with concrete"

"In the new plan, the green area becomes the entrance to the parking lot, all the green areas get other designations, everything is filled with concrete. There is no capacity for the volume of traffic that this increased development will create. The conservation committee rejected this plan this year, both regarding the trees and the building. The building should be a hotel, There is no dispute about this. There are 3 buildings around the city that are intended for old people's homes, and they are not being built. The plan was to cut down the trees. There are examples of old hotels in the country that have preserved them That Haifa will be somewhere else."

"Change the perception"

Attorney Sharit Golan Steinberg, Deputy Mayor: "The committee unanimously accepted the objection to the requested plan. Since I took office, I have learned not to trust any developer, because they can roll the plan over to another developer. The area where the hotel is located is one of the most sensitive in Haifa, if not the most sensitive. What is the planning justification for what we are seeing Here? 280 units for sheltered housing is a significant burden on the construction along this axis, which already means a burden on the volume of traffic and the education system Regardless of conservation, it is a place that needs to be preserved based on the objections we hear today. There are cases that need to be understood in the hearts of the opponents.

Gila Margolin from the Site Preservation Council revealed: "I am only referring to the conservation issue. The first section of the conservation clauses - we think that nothing should be built on top of the historic building. The discussion is not about how many floors to add, we demand that nothing be added. The issue of conservation should be very clear. There is no such building in Haifa, and it is In terms of construction volumes, the proposed plan is not realistic. I don't understand why the documents, submitted by the developer, are very misleading to the local committee, but you can see in the simulations There is a parking lot next to the building, I don't understand why it is so difficult to preserve it, and there is a large area where a monument can be built. But why? Is the hotel itself a monument? The roof could have remained open for the benefit of the residents. Our objection is to the preservation of the structure and the texture us".

"The district committee must wear a hat for the benefit of the Haifa public"

Landscape and conservation architect, Hana Yaffe: "This is a central building for preservation. Would you also fence off the King David Hotel? The building was well planned and does not need to be planned again. Next to the hotel there is a parking lot with pine trees and the entire complex was surrounded by pine trees. There is another construction in the neighborhood, called the White City. In the upper part There are many buildings to be preserved, so the hotel's visual significance is enhanced, because the proposed building will completely change the green area. The green area absorbs emissions from vehicles and contributes to the mental state We ask to open the tin fences of the place in favor of a tour with the committee to see how the hotel can serve the entire population. The district committee must wear a hat for the benefit of the Haifa public."

► Landscape and conservation architect, Hana Yaffe • Watch

"Development of Haifa's Hamada Sheds will attract tourists to Haifa"

Prof. Michael Levin: "The architect of the hotel, Leopold Krakouer, was both a painter and an architect. He was a landscape painter. I did an exhibition of his at the Israel Museum. I wrote 15 books, and one of them that was very successful was about the White City. UNESCO 15 years later used my concept when it stated, Tel Aviv is a white city. This architecture is not only in Tel Aviv. The idea of ​​the hotel was that the vacationers would go to the sea in the morning and it was a very special building Allowed a direct entrance to the dining room. All the rooms faced the sea. The ground floor, which was on columns, was closed by the element of the dining room in the year 1937 The building appeared in a very important magazine. In Paris they opened a museum about the White City. I wanted to talk about this building, a pride for Haifa and Israel. I believe that the development of the Haifa buildings will attract tourists to Haifa".

"An icon equal in level to the Eiffel Tower in Paris"

Prof. Uzi Alide: "I am professor emeritus in the department of general history. The principle is that a preserved building is cultural capital. I am originally a historian of the city of Paris. At the opening of the Olympics, we saw the ability of Paris to preserve its buildings. Amazingly, Haifa has the largest number of buildings of the international style in Israel and in the world But Haifa knows how to destroy its unique buildings like no other city.

It is an icon equal in level to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Think that they would have added a parent's house to the Eiffel. Miriam Eltash's original hotel was on Yaffe Nof Street, but she wanted to build an amazing 10 dunam park, so she moved to the Sea Road. She commissioned an amazing architect because he builds in a sculptural way. Within 8 months the hotel was built by Solel Bona and it became the most popular hotel in Haifa. The British confiscated it in 1941, but in 1949 it returned to Miriam's hands. The first film festival in Haifa was in the hotel. There was a claim that it was even more beautiful than the King David Hotel. This is an icon and half of the park still exists. Haifa is much more important than Tel Aviv. The city has many hidden treasures. We must keep the hotel as it is and without an ugly building next to the hotel."

► Deputy Mayor Avihu Han • Watch

"A local committee should decide on the color of the neighborhood, not the developers"

The architect Noa Belter She said that as a resident of the neighborhood, she and her children enjoyed areas that are about to be built upon: "The Derech Haim neighborhood lacks open spaces. The neighborhood has poor accessibility, a sharp slope, and busy traffic. Slowly they began to build in the area, and we as residents lost the open space that we could have enjoyed. In 2012, the subcommittee To the objections, the vacant area behind the hotel is not important to the residents. It is an injustice to the residents of the building to be built. I am afraid that they will not be able to find tenants for sheltered housing They will combine two apartments of 65 square meters into one apartment of 130 square meters, which they will sell.'

Galia Becker, head of the Carmel Public Forum: "The building is a historic building with important values ​​from a conservation point of view. The existing building will lose its meaning. The project that offers sheltered housing takes the building to its residents instead of returning it to the public that lives there and also to the Haifa public in general. The green space was previously intended for the public. Sheltered housing will expropriate the green space from the public There are healthy pine trees there, what is left of the trees must remain. There is not enough infrastructure in the neighborhood, it is only burdened with water, sewage, etc Stop the discussion about the hotel, because if an entrepreneur can come and ask for more and more every time, and we as a public have to gather every time and collect funds, it's very difficult for us.'

There is no moral authority

Engineer Yossi Davidson: "The two floors on the existing building are against all construction standards and are also dangerous. In addition, the district committee has legal authority, but there is no moral authority of a developer who only wants his own good, in front of thousands of residents in the neighborhood."

"Recognize the value of the building" "

The lawyer of the developer Yishai Schneider responded to the 6 objections and added another objection, on the part of the developer himself:
"We agree that the building is important, we recognize that. The role of the district committee is to address conservation based on an orderly conservation outline. The discussion should be connected to reality and the current planning situation. To come and say that a boutique hotel should be built is disconnected. The building is currently crumbling and it has additions like skins. The building is deteriorating If the municipality buys the building, that is not the case. The local committee did not discuss the project for 3 years It is designated as a hotel. But there is a legal claim that it needs to go through TMA 12. The planning information, which the local committee publishes, is that the building is intended for a public area and not a hotel. The claim that it is a hotel today and not in 1935 is a casual statement The hotel will not be pastoral, nor near a view nor near cultural places. When talking about the 2000 program, we are talking about hotels by the sea, Kiryat Haim and Hadar.'

"A hotel in this location is hopeless"

Ofer Pops, tourism consultant on behalf of the developer: "I encourage many entrepreneurs to build hotels in Haifa. There are areas in the city that are not suitable for building a hotel. A hotel in this location is hopeless. A boutique hotel needs to be near a business area and an entertainment area. A hotel needs garbage and vehicle removal and this will harm the residents. This hotel will be very small and lacking Chance. I know the hotel structure very well. There won't be many rooms in it. The gross ratio affects the viability of the project, it will be a B-class hotel."

"In order to succeed in preserving the building, compromises must be made"

The planner Itai Dafni, a representative of the developer: "We must preserve the building. I really want this building to happen, it will be amazing. There are two worlds here: preservation and function. There is an engineering and financial challenge here, the developer is interested in the money, but I will take care of preservation. We analyzed the additions added to the building, there are an additional 4000 m.

To succeed in the conservation mission, compromises are necessary. In order to achieve the architectural reality, we need to understand what needs to be done so that we can enjoy the building, we looked at how these volumes can be inserted and we arrived at the current plan. We consecrated the front facade and the facade by the sea. We will not uproot a single mature tree in the front yard, a new building will be built in the back lot."

Giora Soler, preservation consultant on behalf of the developer: "We need to preserve, but someone has to finance the preservation"

Giora Soler, conservation consultant on behalf of the developer: "I didn't agree to help with the building at 8 Nega Street. This hotel is so significant that I was happy to be able to help. I asked to know what they wanted to do. I asked to see the committee's requirements. Haifa is the most beautiful city in Israel. The developer was allowed to build in this structure. We need to preserve, but we need someone to finance the preservation. I completely agree that Haifa has the largest concentration of house buildings. Haifa deserves and can be a world heritage site. If you want to allow conservation at the Mount Carmel hotel, then you have to make concessions. It is possible to make additions to buildings for preservation, the question is how. What can be done to restore the building to its glory? If it is not economical, the building will again be closed and abandoned after a few years. If an addition is added to the building, it should be a reversible addition. They do it all over the world. There are solutions and we need to find a solution that will allow preservation.'

Schneider continued: "We want the community to enter into the project, and to be a center of culture. The average apartment size is 60-65 square meters. There is no factual basis for the claim about the movement, since the designation of sheltered housing is the least problematic in terms of movement. The Lev Carmel project on Haina Street is more problematic in terms of traffic and was approved. The second issue is the worsening of the parking problem. There is an opportunity here, we are ready to build a paid public parking lot. Also in the Kiryat Sefer plan, next to the parking standard for the project, a public parking lot is made. This will be our return for the company. Regarding traffic congestion in the place, it is a residential neighborhood and has rush hours. The nature of the project naturally does not increase traffic during the usual peak hours. Also in terms of operational vehicles, it is possible to define that operational vehicles will arrive at night."

Schneider commented on the self-objection: "The district committee and the planning office thought it was important that the project be realized because of the preservation of the building. It needs an economic basis. There is a drop here far below what the district committee's appraiser determined. The appraiser determined that the minimum threshold is 270 housing units. We think that the project is much more We are sticking with the appraiser's threshold. The project started with 350 floors for the hotel. This is what was put on the table for reasons of conservation They reduced areas by 5 units and it is still over 270 units. In the end, 20 units were approved From the "living meat" of the project. On the one hand, a deposit decision that drops what the appraiser promised, and what resulted in this is conservation decisions. You cannot say that two floors are conservation and 270 floors are not conservation and the historical structure.'