(haipo) – The casino building in the Bat Galim neighborhood has been abandoned and neglected for years, as is well known. Various parties are divided in their opinions regarding the future of the building, as recently a plan was presented to renovate it and convert it into a boutique hotel, but as reported in previous articles in Haifa, the move is causing fierce controversy. Residents of the neighborhood warn of the loss of public space and damage to the character of the place, while the municipality and the developers claim that this is an opportunity to restore the historic building and develop tourism in the area.
The Haifa District Planning Bureau has published an opinion document regarding the plan to build a boutique hotel and spa on the grounds of the Bat Galim casino building. The document addresses the feasibility of construction, preservation of the building, and the project's impact on the public and the environment.
Proposed plan: Boutique hotel and spa
According to the document, the developer proposes to build a boutique hotel with 110 rooms, a restaurant, a rooftop pool and a parking lot. The city engineer agreed with the developer that the hotel would be spread over one 7-story building, while leaving an open beach in the historic pool area. The district committee also discussed the issue of preserving the casino building, with the Sites Preservation Council opposing its preservation on the grounds that it is not the original building at all, but the municipality and the district committee support the restoration of the abandoned building.
The committee proposes a new alternative to construction
In addition to the alternatives presented by the developer, the district committee proposed the possibility of adding floors above the casino building, but without new construction on the adjacent lot. This proposal is consistent with the municipality's position, which expressed a willingness to advance a plan to preserve the existing structure while avoiding additional construction on the beach.
Residents fear loss of public space
Bat Galim residents are expressing concern about the change in land use from public to hotel use, fearing that it will harm the public's rights. Omer Cohen, an urban planner and resident of the neighborhood, warns that the historic pool could become private land. He says that although the municipality supports releasing the area from construction, there are two alternatives, and the district committee's decision is uncertain. He also notes that no decision has yet been made by the local committee or the city council on the matter.
Public participation: missing procedure or proper procedure?
Cohen claims that the public was not fully involved in the decisions. He says that a meeting with Mayor Yona Yahav did not provide clear answers regarding the size of the planned public pool. He also emphasizes that the change in the land's zoning from public to hotel is being made without sufficient public discussion, even though the public zoning was only determined in 2019.
The Casino Structure: A Rich Past and an Uncertain Future
The original casino building was built in the 30s by architect Alfred Goldberger, but the current building is not the original. Since its acquisition in 2011, its future has been the subject of public battles and ongoing debate.
Demand for a clear decision from the local committee
Erez Sarig, an urban planner and planning consultant, warns that the lack of a clear decision by the local committee creates uncertainty. He says it must be determined whether the area will remain public or be converted into hotels, and the extent of the public area that will be preserved must be clarified. Sarig also raises questions about the value of the land and whether expropriation or relocation of areas can be carried out for the benefit of the public.
The public struggle: what next?
Environmental activists and residents are demanding that the area remain in public use, and decisions on the issue continue to be delayed. The next discussion by the district committee is expected to be the key point for the future of the project and the ongoing struggle of Bat Galim residents to preserve the public space.
Hotel towers are planned at the central bus station in Bat Galim. Hotels are planned in the seafront project.
Hotels are planned on site at the Navy Yard.
There will be no shortage of hotels.
The casino should be a public building. It would be good if Yosha Dankner donated it in his name to the Haifa Municipality. A water sports center and a public municipal event hall could be established in his name and everyone would benefit.
This is described as a controversy, but what we have here is an attempt to cynically exploit a situation of deliberate neglect and act against the law and against the coastal policy of the State of Israel. No one would approve of building seven or eight stories on the waterfront today. —- There is also no dispute about basic logic. You cannot double the population of a neighborhood fourfold or more – an increase that was based on proximity to the seashore – and then deprive it of a fairly large section of beach. The city of Haifa should have long ago realized the logical fallacy that is facing development. – The beaches are already crowded and congested, especially in the summer season, and an additional population would cause a critical mass to be crossed that would make the matter unbearable. Hence, apartment buyers are being misled. Whether they intend to live in the property or designate it for investment. A somewhat intelligent municipal authority would have negotiated with the developer about an exchange of areas. The fantasy of plundering Israeli beaches will have to be abandoned.
It is unclear what kind of tourism will come to Bat Galim, since the Haifa municipality is determined to turn the neighborhood, which is a seaside village immersed in greenery, into an urban disaster. The building permits, the simulations, and the start of construction clearly show that the vision of the Haifa municipality is a neighborhood without gardens or trees, and without a view. Uniform-looking structures that resemble construction in the poor suburbs of an average European city. Overcrowding. And the addition of roads. This is not urban renewal, but the destruction of a house. Therefore, not only will tourists not come, but the buyers of the new apartments will also escape. — And having said that, even those who derive pleasure from dense, serial concrete skyscrapers and like to live in an apartment with a low ceiling and a window in only one direction — will have to admit that if the number of people who come to the beach and promenade on a daily basis is quadrupled, the overcrowding there will be unbearable. So taking a fairly large section of beach and transferring it to private ownership is a form of targeted suppression.
I forgot to mention that I got married there. The halls are very large. A spectacular place, so this place will never be forgotten in my heart.
Why not? In my opinion, a hotel is very important. More tourists are important to the city of Haifa. How many hotels are there, maybe 3. We need to build another hotel, another one by the sea. All the data is that there will be a demand for a hotel to get there.
Leave it as it is.
Eternal testimony to Haifa's past.
I also had the privilege of getting married in this building. In my opinion, it is a Haifa gem and the kind that should satisfy all parties. I would suggest building an underground parking lot under the pool and building the pool on top of it. The building should be preserved as it is and only an additional floor or two should be added in the same style. The first floor will be a restaurant overlooking the sea, several shops that will be carefully selected, a gym that opens to the pool and also to the building. And a spa. The second floor will be event halls. The third floor must have a lot of good ideas for the citizens. And on the additional floor or two, the owner will build the small hotel that he so longs for.
So much text for a program that everyone knows will come of it.
The casino has been empty for 50 years and will continue to be empty for another 50 years.
In Haifa, the coast and coastal neighborhoods are not of interest to the municipality, not to mention decades of waiting for construction and evacuation projects that nothing is happening with.
Adding two floors to the casino building or an additional structure are both prohibited within 100 meters of the shoreline.
If they were working according to the law, the building would have no rights under Tama-38 because it is not an old building but a new building built in 2000 to earthquake resistance standards and does not need to be strengthened.
Of course, a second building should not be allowed on a plot that was a public plot, and it is also not allowed within the framework of the HLOHF, which aims to protect the coastal strip, and here we are talking about a desire to detract from the beaches and a public area.
For construction.
Therefore, this entire plan was born with a double and compound sin, which is that Dankner must be paid for his funding of the mayoral campaign. This is a strengthening of rights worth tens of millions of shekels without approval, without any need, except to justify a "hotel" on land that was never a hotel, was not intended for hotels, and is not suitable for hotels.
With all the desire to revive and return the casino from a skeletal state to an active state, this is no justification for corrupt and destructive planning that will create a 20-meter-high wall in front of the neighborhood's houses. Do we need another default from the Carmel Beach Towers?! Isn't one enough?!