Exchange Ramat Gan, formerly known as the Elite Tower, is a complex that includes two skyscrapers located near the Diamond Exchange District in Ramat Gan, Israel. Of the two towers, the taller tower, at 206 m (676 ft) tall, will serve as a residential building, and contains 61 floors: 3 commercial floors, a mezzanine, 55 residential floors, and 2 mechanical floors, and will overall include 355 residential units. The shorter tower, at 198 m (650 ft) tall, will serve as an office building and includes 50 floors.

Exchange Ramat Gan
The office building (left) and residential building (right) of Exchange Ramat Gan.
Map
Former namesElite Tower
General information
StatusUnder construction
TypeOffice, Residential
Town or cityDiamond Exchange District, Ramat Gan
CountryIsrael
Coordinates32°4′57.2″N 34°48′17.3″E / 32.082556°N 34.804806°E / 32.082556; 34.804806
Construction started2020
Estimated completion2024
HeightResidential building:
205.95 m (675.7 ft)

Office building:
198 m (650 ft)
Technical details
Floor countResidential building: 61
Office building: 50
Website
xchange.co.il

The complex was built on a 15-dunam (1.5-hectare; 3.7-acre) plot of land which was formerly home to an Elite factory that closed in 2007.

Part of the chocolate factory remains preserved, and is presumed to be used for a museum. Since early June 2009, Shenkar College is using a section of the preserved building for its new department for multidisciplinary art.[citation needed]

History

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The site in 2011

Originally, the site was purchased for $44 million by American real estate tycoon Donald Trump[1] in association with Crescent Heights Investments. He planned to build the Trump Plaza Tower, but Trump shelved the plans in 2007, when he sold the site on to Azorim for NIS 306.5 million (around $80 million).[2][3]

Advanced planning for the site was frozen by Azorim as a result of the financial crisis of 2007–2008, but resumed in late 2009.[2]

On 3 April 2014, it was announced that the tower would have a height of 265 m (869 ft) with a total of 65 stories, and would be accompanied by a 25-story office tower on the same site. The all-residential tower would contain 338 residential units. On the 65th floor, the architect confirmed there would be a viewing room as well as a cafe. Construction was expected to begin sometime in 2014 and be completed by 2017.[4]

In early March 2015, purchasers of units in the tower announced that "construction of the tower was canceled, due to a delay in obtaining a permit.[5]

In July 2016, the district committee presented a plan to construct a compound that includes a 60-story tall residential building and a 45-story tall office building, as well as a pair of 30-story tall buildings of which one was already under construction and set was slated for occupancy by the end of 2017.[6]

In July 2020, the casting of the lower level was completed and construction of the tower had officially begun.[7]

Near the end of 2023, both towers had reached their final height, and the residential tower had become the second tallest building in Ramat Gan and the second tallest residential building in Israel (after the Hi Tower in Givatayim).[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Donald Trump completes $44m purchase of Elite site
  2. ^ a b "בלעדי ל"כלכליסט" - שנה אחרי ההקפאה: אזורים מפשירה את תוכנית מגדל עלית". December 2009.
  3. ^ "Parting with Ramat Gan's Elite landmark is sweet sorrow | Jerusalem Post". fr.jpost.com. Archived from the original on 2013-07-06. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  4. ^ "אזורים תקים את המגדל הגבוה בישראל בר"ג - גלובס". Archived from the original on 2016-10-06.
  5. ^ "לא רק המגדל של אזורים: מאות היתרים תקועים ברמת גן". 16 March 2015.
  6. ^ "עסקת ענק למגדל: רוכשת קרקע בצומת עלית ברמת גן ב-325 מיליון שקל". 23 September 2019.
  7. ^ "כבר לא הכי גבוה בישראל: מגדל עלית יפוצל לשני מגדלים". 2 June 2020.