Ramat Hasharon Approves Elco Complex Development After Legal Battle Ends

The legal dispute over the Elco complex development at the eastern entrance to Ramat Hasharon has concluded. The Ramat Hasharon municipality announced it withdrew its petition against the plan after the Tel Aviv District Court rejected the appeal and advised the city to halt the legal process. The municipality will not be required to pay legal costs. This clears the final legal hurdle for Israel Canada, owned by Assi Tuchmaier and Barak Rozen, to advance the project on the 56-dunam site of the former Elco transformer factory near the Morasha junction.

The approved urban plan includes creating a new district combining residential, commercial, and public spaces. It features about 600 housing units in buildings up to nine stories tall, alongside 150,000 square meters of commercial and employment space distributed in four towers up to 20 stories, connected by commercial podiums. The plan also allocates land for public buildings, including a school, community institutions, open public areas, and a 7.5-dunam transportation terminal.

The municipality had opposed the plan through multiple appeals and objections, arguing that adding hundreds of housing units would harm the area’s metropolitan employment designation, strain transportation, and overload infrastructure and services. However, these claims were dismissed by planning committees and the national appeals committee, which ruled the plan balanced residential, employment, and public uses appropriately.

Israel Canada purchased the land in 2016 for approximately 169 million shekels and initially planned for up to 1,500 housing units. The plan was gradually reduced from 1,100 units in six 20-story towers to the current approved 600 units. Barak Rozen, CEO and owner of Israel Canada, expressed satisfaction with the legal resolution and readiness to proceed with permits and construction, highlighting the project’s significance for Ramat Hasharon’s development.

The municipality stated it withdrew the petition to save public funds, following the court’s recommendation. With the legal obstacles removed, Israel Canada can now move forward with licensing and development of the Elco complex.