Construction begins on Israel's tallest residential tower

Vertical City in Ramat Gan will include a 72-floor high-rise with apartments to rent for young families and student dormitories.

Israel's tallest residential tower will be built in the heart of Ramat Gan's Diamond Exchange district. Ramat Ran Municipality recently granted a building permit to two of the three towers in the Vertical City project, which is being led by Israel Canada (TASE: ISCN) (56%) BSR (20% and Clal Insurance Enterprise Holdings (TASE: CLIS) (24%). The initiative includes a 72-floor residential tower, which will be the biggest of its kind in Israel, and a 60-floor office tower. In addition an eight-floor building for commercial and public uses will be built as well as a six-floor underground public car park.

How many apartments will be in the project and who will it target?

Total construction area of the two towers approved as part of the project is roughly 170,000 square meters, out of 340,000 square meters planned for the entire area. The plan includes a mix of uses: about 85,000 square meters for offices, 400 long-term rental housing units (about 35,000 square meters), 350 student dormitories (10,000 square meters), areas for public buildings of a similar size, a fire station and commercial areas.

Unlike other projects in the Tel Aviv metropolitan region, which are mainly for the free market and luxury housing, the residential tower in the project (housing units and student dormitories) will be allocated entirely for rental, stressing young people. The developer will be able to sell the apartments after 20 years.

Which companies are behind the project?

The tender for the residential tower was published by the government company Apartment to Rent, and in August 2021 a partnership of Israel Canada and BSR won the tender with a NIS 1 billion bid, including development and transaction costs. In April 2024, they added insurance company Clal to the consortium, due to the increase in interest rates, which led to a decline in the value of the project. Clal injected NIS 160 million and assumed some of the loans in exchange for 24% of the project.

How much will the tenants pay?

Ramat Gan municipality sees the project as a catalyst for broader measures to change the face of the Diamond Exchange district - an area that in recent decades has been dominated by offices and commercial space. The municipality's Strategic Projects Directorate tells "Globes" that the plan is to "rejuvenate" the district, among other things by populating it with young tenants, who will be able to rent new apartments in a popular area at affordable prices. According to the plan, the lower floors of the residential tower will be allocated to student dormitories, including micro apartments, and the remaining floors will be for rental housing units for young families. The municipality and Israel Canada do not yet know what the rent for the project would be.

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The amount of management fees that tenants in the building will pay has also not yet been set. These average NIS 2,000 or more per month in the area, in lower-rise buildings. Amir Rosenblum, a management, operations and maintenance consultant from the Idan Shani Group, who is serving as the project's operations consultant, tells "Globes" that the project's planning took into account the fact that the building is for long-term rental, and that the management fees will be adjusted to the type of tenants. "In order not to reach the high management fees that are usually charged in similar projects, we adjusted the expenses from a planning perspective, both in materials and technology. For example, we replaced cleaning workers with robots and saved almost 50% of costs."

What about parking?

One of the key infrastructure components of the project is the construction of an underground public parking lot with 900 parking spaces on six levels. The parking lot will be built under the complex and will be fully owned by the Ramat Gan Municipality. Four of the floors have been leased to Vertical City - the development arm of Israel Canada in the project, for use by the residents and visitors of the towers. During the occupancy phase, no apartment in the project will have its own parking.

When will the project be occupied?

Construction work on the project has already begun, and is currently in the earthworks and foundation support stages. According to Israel Canada, the first occupancy of the towers is expected in 2030, subject to construction progress and completion of the development phases in the project.

At the same time, the company's financial report for the second quarter of 2025 shows that Israel Canada has already sold areas totaling 26,500 square meters for some NIS 847 million. This is about 35% of the offices that have been marketed at this stage, and company sources say there is high demand at prices of at least NIS 30,000 per square meter.

Where will be the next tower to break the record?

In parallel with construction work, Ramat Gan Municipality is promoting the future of the next planning phase of the project: a district urban development plan (TABA) for the construction of a third 100-floor tower. If the plan is approved, it will be the tallest tower in Israel. The new tower will incorporate additional uses beyond offices - including 20% residential space and will also include a new campus for Shenkar College. The current college building, located on the other side of the Begin Road, is due to be vacated and used to build a new school.

Next month, another tender for an Apartment to Rent project in Ramat Gan is scheduled to close - in the Doctors Housing area in Tel Hashomer. This will include 399 units for long-term rental for 20 years, and 600 units for rental to medical staff.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 15, 2025.

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