Avi and Eli Schron, sons of R’ Reuven Schron and current heads of Cammeby’s International Group, are among the lead investors in a significant real estate acquisition near Beit Shemesh, Ynet reports.
The brothers are backing a $245 million purchase of half the land at Beit Jimal—110 acres of a total 220-acre property just outside the city.
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East, has a notable background in American real estate with high-end developments in Chelsea, Tribeca, and West Hollywood, along with the upscale Edition Hotel in Times Square. His firm, the Witkoff Group, partners with Cammeby’s in owning part of the iconic Woolworth Building in Manhattan. They still retain 27 floors of the structure, having sold the top portion in 2012 for luxury condo conversions.
Ziva Cohen, who acquired the entire Beit Jimal tract over ten years ago for $82 million through her firms Kedmat Eden and Perachai Ramat Beit Shemesh, is poised to triple her original investment. She will retain the remaining 110 acres while transferring half to an a chareidi investment group led by Shlomo Bruner.
This transaction has not been without hurdles, Ynet reports. Cohen’s initial agreement to purchase the land dates back two decades and has involved prolonged litigation and negotiations with David Shimron, legal representative of the monastery that previously owned the land.
The site lies strategically between older sections of Beit Shemesh and expanding newer neighborhoods. On April 9, a legal notice was added to the land registry, marking Cohen’s intention to sell half the land for $245 million to Bruner’s consortium. That group is composed primarily of chareidi investors, including the Schron brothers and Teddy Lichtschein, a real estate figure known for managing elder care facilities in Florida and New York.
The Schrons and Lichtschein are each putting in $53 million, with another $8 million coming from additional investors Lichtschein brought in, Ynet reports. Other contributors include developers such as Yechiel David Potash, Elimelech Fisher, Mordechai Mizrachi, and Ben Zion Mizrachi. Together, the team will contribute $120 million in equity, with the remainder expected to be financed through bank loans.
Another player involved is Nachshon Kivity, who owns the BSR Group. He participated in a Yerushalayim planning committee meeting in January to discuss rezoning the area. Kivity told Calcalist that he’s advising Cohen and may collaborate with Bruner’s team. Given BSR’s expertise in large-scale residential and commercial developments, it’s expected that Kivity’s firm may formally join the project later on.
Despite Cohen’s successful negotiation, the buyers may be facing substantial risk. Their return is structured as a shareholder loan earning 12% interest annually, a rate that reflects the legal and bureaucratic uncertainty surrounding the project’s future.
A major obstacle is the absence of a finalized zoning plan. A hearing initially scheduled for January to approve the proposed 12,800-unit development was delayed by Mayor Shmuel Greenberg of the United Torah Judaism party, who argued that the plan must include commercial zones. Greenberg told Calcalist that he would only support the plan if it included at least 2.7 million square feet of office space, roughly equivalent to five towers, to ensure municipal revenues from business taxes.
Greenberg also opposes buildings taller than nine stories, while Cohen’s proposal includes 12-story structures. His position is aligned with guidelines favored by the chareidi public, indicating that the neighborhood will cater primarily to this demographic. Such a designation means the development must accommodate far more public infrastructure—mikvaos, botei knesses, and gender-specific schools—which reduces the total number of available housing units. Market forecasts suggest that under these constraints, the neighborhood would max out at about 8,000 units, significantly fewer than the original 12,800 envisioned by Cohen.
Developers must also consider the potential for hetel hashbacha—betterment taxes. Though there is a legal argument that land formerly owned by the Church may be exempt, the likelihood of the city accepting that claim is slim. Furthermore, developers will be responsible for funding infrastructure—roads, water, sewage, and electricity—costing around $41,000 per apartment.
{Matzav.com Israel}