Low-cost student dorms to be built in downtown Jerusalem
NIS 70 m. complex scheduled to be completed in October 2016, will provide 400 beds.
By DANIEL K. EISENBUDAn artist's rendering of the Jerusalem dormitories to be built on Agron Road(photo credit: JERUSALEM MUNICIPALITY)
Construction of two nine-story, low-cost student dormitories in downtown Jerusalem is slated to commence in the coming days, the Municipality announced Sunday.The NIS 70 million complex on Agron Street, scheduled to be completed by October of 2016, will provide 400 beds and a variety of services, including wireless Internet, cafeterias, a laundry facility and cafes.The municipality said the furnished dorm rooms will be available to individual tenants and couples at an average price of NIS 1,200 per month, far below market value. Additionally, about 1,200 square meters of commercial space will be developed for the residents.Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat heralded the announcement as an important strategic measure to keep young adults from moving out of the city.“We see strategic importance in enabling young people and students to live in the city,” Barkat said in a statement. “A student dormitory in the city’s center is another initiative to increase the inventory of apartments for students, while at the same time continuing the development momentum in the city center.”Barkat added that the low-cost dormitories are one of several initiatives his administration is working on to attract and enable more young adults to live in the capital.The project is being undertaken in coordination with the Jerusalem Development Authority, the municipality said.Last year, City Hall approved NIS 50m. for two six-story buildings downtown for 200 discounted dormitory rooms for students attending the new Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design campus in the Russian Compound.The 37,000 square-meter complex is expected to be completed in 2017.
