Increase predicted in German Colony property values
The German Colony is turning into an upscale location with the completion of the Isrotel Residence Project.
By GREER FAY CASHMANOn Emek Refaim Street, the German Colony’s main drag.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
If real estate in the German Colony was expensive up till now, it’s going to be even more so with the completion of the Isrotel Residences Project which, together with its hotel, will give the German Colony a more upscale ambience that will also reflect on business enterprises, especially eateries on Emek Refaim Street.This week, Habitat and Pollack Blush Real Estate hosted the official launch of the new Isrotel Residences, which are being built in tandem with the Isrotel Hotel on a plot of land that faces Emek Refaim on one side and Derech Beit Lehem on the other. The vehicle entrance is on Derech Beit Lehem, and there are pedestrian entrances from Emek Refaim and Patterson streets. Both projects will be ready for occupancy by the end of 2016.Yaron Regev, retail and trade division manager for the Isrotel hotel chain, said that while Isrotel has plenty of expertise in building and managing hotels, this is its first residential venture.The overall complex includes two residential buildings of four floors each, with only one apartment on each floor.According to Jonathan Shebson, a Habitat realtor, the two most expensive apartments, priced at NIS 23 million each, were the first to go. The larger one takes up an area of 265 square meters plus a 165-sq.m. garden. The other apartment is slightly smaller with a larger garden.Residents of the complex will be able to avail themselves of all the hotel services, including use of the two swimming pools and spa and hotel maintenance services. Residents will also be able to bring up to four guests to the pool. Shebson noted that if the air conditioning system should break down, there’s no need to call a private company. The hotel maintenance crew will come immediately to fix the problem.The hotel received a building permit on condition that it preserved two large Templer buildings on the site. These buildings, which have been incorporated into the hotel, have been revamped from the inside, though some parts still have the original flooring.Accommodation in these two buildings is being marketed as Heritage Suites.In addition to a dining room, the hotel will have indoor and outdoor coffee shops and a basement events center that will have seating capacity for 700 people.