Expanding center

Compound 1200 in the north of Hod Hasharon will play a central role in increasing the town’s population.

By JOHN BENZAQUEN
Hod Hasharon (photo credit: Shikun and Binui)
Hod Hasharon
(photo credit: Shikun and Binui)
Hod Hasharon is a dormitory satellite town of Tel Aviv with aspirations to shed both its dormitory and satellite status. It is developing rapidly, and one of the new areas of urban expansion is the area called “Compound 1200” in the northeast corner of town.
Not many in Hod Hasharon or the Sharon area will know the whereabouts of Compound 1200, but if you mention the “tzafon hahadash” (new north), as it is popularly called, most residents of Hod Hasharon will know exactly what you are talking about.
Hod Hasharon – or more particularly, its component parts – has a long history in the context of Zionist settlement, going back 90 years. For one thing, it is the largest “agricultural city” in the country. It may seem bizarre to refer to an urban entity as agricultural, but the town is in fact an amalgamation of four agricultural settlements that were founded in the ’20s: Magdiel, Ramatayim, Hadar and Hadar Yosef. The agricultural ethos is ever-present, and the city leaders have made a point of maintaining its green character.
Today it is still a green city, and the 1200 complex is being built according to green building specifications.
Though it is a satellite town, Hod Hasharon is in the process of acquiring a life of its own.
Most residents work in the surrounding areas in both hi- and low-tech and in the financial center of Tel Aviv. Most do their shopping and entertainment outside the municipal boundaries.
The town is growing, and in the process is gradually supplying commercial and entertainment services. The municipality is also strenuously developing employment centers.
At present, Hod Hasharon has a population of approximately 50,000; by 2025, it will have 80,000, and Compound 1200 will play a central role in creating the population necessary to sustain a metropolitan-style city willing and able to supply most of its own needs.
The city has great potential for growth. Its municipal area covers over 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres). By local standards, that is a lot of space for 20,000 people. Only half of this area has been developed for urban purposes, which means that there are 1,000 hectares of land available for building purposes – and that is a lot of building land.
In Compound 1200, the relevant municipal and governmental authorities have authorized a master plan for building 2,300 residential units on 26 hectares. In recent years, developers have purchased land, and 1,500 dwellings are now in various stages of the building process.
Danny Cohen, Re/Max concessionaire in the area, tells Metro that “the whole vast area is one big building plot. The first residents may start moving in by the fall of next year.”
Mayor Hai Adiv is upbeat about Compound 1200, especially the fact that it will be extremely green, as the municipal authorities are authorizing only building plans that conform to the strictest green building regulations, which will save energy and waste disposal.
In 2004-5, the local government authorities, with the enthusiastic backing of the populace, adopted a master plan that, among other things, will create the necessary balance with nature.
As a result of this master plan, Hod Hasharon is already one of the greenest urban entities in the country, if not the greenest. It has a 100- hectare park built along the banks of the Yarkon River, another 40- hectare park with a large artificial lake on the site of what was once a garbage dump, and two smaller parks of 10 hectares each – one of which, Beit Hana’ara, is built around a natural grove of trees.
The 1200 compound is very popular with developers. Dorit Sadan is the marketing and sales manager of Shikun ve Binui Nadlan Ltd., which has a large ongoing project in the complex called Halomot Hod Hasharon (Hod Hasharon Dreams). The project involves 350 dwellings in five 18- story residential towers.
“The area has great potential, and demand is widespread,” she says.
“Prices are still lower than in the surrounding areas, and consequently there is demand from families in the surrounding areas who want to improve their living standards. In the 1200 compound, they get good value for their money in addition to living in a city... which is famous for the quality of life it offers its residents.”
Dudu Tavor, the proprietor and general manager of the Adirim Development Company, is also optimistic about the area. His company is building a 40-dwelling residential tower of 14 stories.
“We have made a big effort to create a really green building,” he says.
“Besides incorporating all the usual green elements, we have created a green parking area. It is equipped with a special station to [recharge] the batteries of electric cars.”
While Adirim focuses on building green, Bonei Hatichon, another well-known developer, puts an emphasis on luxury.
Miri Garzian, the company’s marketing manager, believes that those looking to live in residential towers are interested in luxury. “And this is what we are giving them in our ‘Top Hasharon’ project in the 1200 com-