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NEWS
Hershey Friedman Buys Historic Arza Complex for NIS 150 Million
by Yated Ne'eman Staff
Hershey Friedman is expanding his investments in Israel. The chareidi businessman purchased the historic Arza complex at Motza, near Jerusalem, for NIS 150 million, with plans to build 218 housing units on the site, primarily garden apartments.
Back in the 1930s, the 55-dunam (14.5 acre) Arza site was Israel's first convalescent facility, serving the elites of Eretz Yisroel and international aristocrats who came to reside there. The central building on the complex, designed by architect Yosef Berlin, has been designated for preservation. The building, which has been nicknamed "the White House" for its resemblance to the official presidential residence in Washington DC, was built in the neoclassical style, which was widespread in Jerusalem during that period.
According to Hershey Friedman, the purchase follows the group's recent direction. "I intend to continue investing in Israel," said the billionaire. The Hershey Friedman Group will be represented in the deal by Attorneys Amitai Erlich and Yoni Hacker of Gever Erlich Goldman Edelstein & Associates.
Hershey Friedman is a chareidi businessman from Montreal whose assets include the Polystar Group, one of Canada's largest companies in the field of printing and plastic packaging. Friedman's business dealings have been estimated at over $2.5 billion. Friedman is also a partner in the Warsaw Hilton project in Poland. This major undertaking included a 300-room hotel, a conference center, 400 apartments in two towers and an office tower. In 2006 Friedman sold his two-thirds share in the project to the Atlas Group.
The most famous project in Israel under Friedman's ownership is the Beeri Nehardea luxury housing project in Tel Aviv, a 7.5-dunam (1.9-acre) complex in a prestigious northern section of the city. The luxury tower is 31 stories tall and includes guard posts manned 24 hours a day and four levels of underground parking.
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