Eilat’s Most Famous Landmark Is Set to Look Completely Different
Something surprising seems to be happening in Eilat. Israel’s undisputed tourism city has found itself in recent years facing an unusual series of security, economic and image-related challenges: the long war has almost completely halted the flow of foreign tourists to the city, hurt local businesses and undermined the sense of stability on which the city has relied for decades. Added to that were direct strikes by drones launched from Yemen that exploded in the city center, an event that made clear how even a resort city once seen as far from the front is not immune. At the same time, the rising cost of living, and especially the cost of tourism in Israel, has put Eilat at a competitive disadvantage, as for many Israelis a vacation abroad has become cheaper and more accessible than a holiday in the southern city. Amid this collection of pressures, Eilat appears to be at a critical crossroads, where it is required to reinvent itself and examine its identity and the growth engines that will determine its future. But דווקא during this complex period, and contrary to expectations, Eilat is now in the midst of a broad wave of development and construction. Across the city, several new projects are being advanced these days, some in permitting stages and some under construction, seeking not only to upgrade infrastructure but also to outline a new urban vision. A new transportation complex, the renewal of historic sites and the revival of buildings abandoned for years all point to a continuing process of urban renewal. It is worth looking at some of the prominent architectural projects shaping Eilat’s future in the coming years and examining how they may affect not only the city’s appearance, but also its character, its function and the way it seeks to reposition itself in the years ahead.
New Central Station and New Commercial Center
Many Israelis know well the less pleasant moment of getting off the bus at Eilat’s central station. Outdated infrastructure, cramped and dirty spaces and an arrival experience that was far from welcoming turned the station into an urban weak point, one that does not reflect its status as a major tourist city and an international vacation destination. The old station, built in the late 1960s to the design of architect Theodor Kislov, still serves today as the land gateway to the southern city, but has struggled to cope with transport loads and the growing number of passengers in recent decades.
That situation is expected to change soon with the construction of Eilat’s new central station, which is currently in advanced stages of construction and is set to replace the old complex. The new station is planned as an integrated urban complex for transportation, employment and leisure, with a bus terminal expected to serve more than two million passengers a year. The complex will include two 12-story office towers and will have about 39,000 square meters of employment and office space, about 29,000 square meters of retail space and about 12,000 square meters devoted to leisure, sports and tourism, alongside a three-story mall and an underground parking garage with about 350 parking spaces. If there are no delays, the new station is expected to open in 2027 and replace one of the city’s most failed urban spaces. The project is being planned by Star Ari.
The legendary Princess Hotel comes back to life
For many years, anyone passing the Princess Hotel has encountered the same frozen-in-time sight, an abandoned and neglected complex, a huge concrete shell standing on Eilat’s southern shoreline and attesting to a glorious past that has been forgotten. The Princess Hotel, one of the most legendary hotels associated with Eilat, was for a long time one of the city’s most prominent symbols of luxury tourism. The hotel was established in 1986 at the initiative of the Jewish-German Tessler family, and quickly became a magnet for tourists from Israel and abroad. But already at the beginning of the 21st century, its condition began to deteriorate, mainly against the backdrop of the severe crisis in the tourism industry with the outbreak of the Second Intifada. Since then, the site went through a long series of neglect, fires, legal battles and changing stakeholders. In 2015, the hotel was finally closed due to heavy debts, and מאז it stood abandoned, a painful symbol of planning and economic stagnation in the heart of one of the city’s most sensitive and beautiful areas. Now, after years of uncertainty and plans that never materialized, an ambitious initiative is finally taking shape to reopen the hotel, in the hope of returning the Princess Hotel to Eilat’s tourism map and opening a new chapter at one of its iconic sites. The complex is currently undergoing a deep, comprehensive renovation led by Feigin Architects. The goal is to adapt the old building to current tourism and leisure standards. The work includes a complete renewal of all 460 hotel rooms, restoration of the central pool and public areas, as well as updates to the infrastructure systems and facilities throughout the complex. Alongside the historic building, a new project called “The Little Princess” is also planned, a separate structure that will include about 95 luxury suites with private pools, as part of an effort to combine restoration of the familiar hotel with a modern addition suited to today’s luxury tourism.
Terminal Park in the most central location
After 70 years of operation, Eilat’s legendary airport closed in 2019. Air operations were transferred to the new Ramon International Airport, located about 18 kilometers north of the city. On the one hand, the creation of the new airport was a necessary and appropriate move, enabling modern infrastructure, greater capacity and a direct connection between Eilat and the international aviation network. The old airport, located in the heart of the city, suffered from outdated infrastructure, safety limitations and noise, and occupied valuable land in one of Eilat’s most attractive areas. On the other hand, the move to Ramon made getting to the city longer and more cumbersome, especially for city residents, and moved the air gateway away from the urban fabric itself. Either way, the evacuation of the airport created a rare opportunity, a huge, continuous and central area, opened for the first time to significant urban development.
On the historic runway of the old airport, Terminal Park was established in 2023, a project symbolizing the beginning of one of the most ambitious and significant urban moves in Eilat in recent decades. The park includes an open amphitheater park, an aircraft garden commemorating the site’s past, a runway promenade, ecological pools, a food truck area, a unique water wall for children and more. More than a neighborhood park, this is a planning move that transforms a closed, fenced-off and disconnected aviation infrastructure into an open, active and accessible public space connecting neighborhoods, tourism and leisure. Unlike the other projects mentioned in the article, Terminal Park is already open and operating in full since 2023, but it is in fact only the first stage of a broader plan to develop the entire area, which is expected to continue being built in the coming years.
A new sports complex
Not far from the new Terminal Park, Eilat’s new international sports complex is being built these days, a large-scale project that seeks to position the city not only as a tourism and leisure destination, but also as a regional and international sports center active throughout all seasons. In recent years, Eilat has successfully hosted a series of international sports events in a variety of disciplines, and the new complex is intended to provide a permanent, advanced and professional infrastructure for that. In the first stage of the project, three soccer fields meeting FIFA’s strict standards have already been built, allowing official matches, tournaments and training camps to be held. Next to them, a supporting complex is now being built that includes an advanced sports medicine center, locker rooms, briefing rooms and a full operating system, a comprehensive concept that sees the complex not only as a playing venue but as a complete working and training environment for professional athletes. The highlight of the sports complex is the construction of a new multipurpose arena in the heart of the complex, which will become one of the city’s most prominent public buildings. The hall, which will include about 4,000 seats, is designed to host sports competitions, performances, conferences and cultural events on a national and international scale, and an Olympic pool and additional sports facilities will be built alongside it. The complex is therefore expected to operate continuously throughout the day and attract diverse audiences, from athletes and professional teams to residents and tourists. The planning is being handled by V5 Architects, and the project’s investment is estimated at about 600 million shekels, a figure that illustrates the scale of the effort intended to strengthen a field that until now has been secondary in the city.
The Flag of Ink Museum, Umm Rashrash
In the heart of Eilat’s urban center, between a busy promenade and the veteran Azrieli “Mole HaYam” mall, stands one of the most symbolic sites in the city’s history, the place where the improvised ink flag was raised in 1949 by soldiers of the Negev Brigade. That moment symbolized, to a large extent, the city’s liberation and the completion of Israeli sovereignty in the south. Now a new project is being advanced at the site, seeking to give it a contemporary architectural and museum interpretation, the establishment of a museum at the Flag of Ink site, also known as Umm Rashrash. In honor of the 77th anniversary of Eilat’s founding, the site is expected to reopen after a comprehensive planning process aimed at updating the way the historical story is told and making it visible in the heart of the urban space. The new design is expected to turn the historic site into an interactive open museum and a modern gathering square that will also serve for performances and events. As part of the project, a large plaza will be built that can hold about 1,500 people, with two permanent stages, lighting systems and vegetation suited to the desert climate, along with the reconstruction of the British police building that operated there. The story of Eilat’s founding will be presented as an open museum through video projections, light displays and digital installations. The project is being planned by Shifman-Na’tan Architects in an architectural language based on a combination of contemporary materials and desert aesthetics that will create a dialogue between historical memory and contemporary cultural activity. The renewed site is also expected to host the official ceremony marking the city’s liberation and reposition Umm Rashrash as an active and significant site in the city center. The project is estimated to cost about 11 million shekels.
A new city hall
At the northern part of Terminal Park, Eilat’s new city hall is also expected to rise, a significant public project seeking to redefine the city’s urban center of gravity. The new building, designed by Miloslavsky Architects as two wings embracing an open public plaza, is expected to bring together all city hall departments under one roof for the first time, departments that currently operate in different buildings spread across Eilat. Beyond operational efficiency, this is a move that also tries to change the experience of the encounter between residents and the municipality. The ground floor will be devoted to public reception and municipal services, in an effort to create an accessible, open and easier-to-navigate public space, one that seeks to blur the alienating feeling sometimes associated with local government buildings. The project is part of the broad renewal process taking place in central Eilat in recent years, a process that includes the development of new neighborhoods, commercial and employment areas, alongside growing investment in public space and urban infrastructure. The new building’s location in the heart of the renewing area is intended to strengthen the connection between the city’s different parts and create an active public hub that will draw activity throughout the day. Architecturally and planning-wise, the project also seeks to adapt to the city’s unique climatic conditions, with green roofs, shading and natural cooling technologies as part of a broader concept of public construction that responds to the local environment rather than remaining detached from it.
