The Interior Ministry of Jerusalem granted initial approval to a major construction plan for the entrance to the city, including 12 skyscrapers. The project includes a number of towers that will house government offices, private businesses, hotels and residential apartments.
The municipality’s Local Building and Planning Committee approved the project last week. The public now has 60 days to file objections to the project before it will be reexamined by the Interior Ministry’s District Committee for final approval, according to the Times of Israel.
The city entrance is designed to be a major transportation hub once the high-speed train from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is finished, reportedly by 2017.
Planning Committee opposition head Pepe Alalu worried that the “block of concrete” that people would see as they enter the city would be an inappropriate introduction to the capital, which has maintained the style of low, stone buildings that follow the contour of the hills.
If the project receives final approval from the Interior Ministry after the 60-day waiting period, construction could begin within a year. The project is the result of Fahri Zafrir Architects’ winning competition entry in 2009.