This article appeared in The Jerusalem Post Before 2006

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[from the archives]

By GALIT LIPKIS BECK

The secret is out. No longer do people come to Zichron Ya'acov just to visit the wine cellars or Beit Daniel, a country-like rest home for artists and authors. The high quality of life associated with the community has aroused the interest of people who want to call this picturesque town home.

Their enthusiasm prompted the municipality to push forward with development plans, which have resulted in a high rate of building growth over the last few years, mainly due to the construction of private houses.

The town is spread over 8,000 dunams (2,000 acres), most of which are privately owned. It is situated on the mountainside of Carmel, five minutes from Caesarea. Among its characteristics are tree-lined, winding roads and magnificent panoramic views of the Sharon Plain and the Mediterranean.

The town is one of the oldest Jewish settlements in the country. It was established in 1882 by Baron de Rothschild and dedicated to his father Jacob. The name Zichron Ya'acov means Jacob's Memorial.

Among the development plans is a program to construct 310 cottages and apartments as well as a 2,000-sq.m. commercial center, new roads and a school.

The community, which is still in the approval stage, will be situated on 156 dunams (40 acres) of private land in the southeast part of the town. The land is owned by about 85 different owners who, with the assistance of the local council, decided to act together to construct a new neighborhood.

While Zichron has increased in popularity, demand has not been high enough to prevent prices from falling. The national slump prevailing in the real-estate sector has also influenced property prices in Zichron, especially during the past six months.

For example, Zipha International, which is constructing and marketing the Villas Bahoresh neighborhood on the way to Givat Eden, in the north of Zichron, has reduced prices by about 20%. The company recently started selling houses in the framework of the second marketing phase. It is offering 186-sq.m. villas on plots of half a dunam for an average price of $318,000 each. Larger villas of 220 sq.m. on plots of 800 sq.m. are available for about $400,000.

One-and-a-half years ago, at the start of marketing, similar villas of between 156 sq.m. and 217 sq.m, on plots ranging in size from 500 sq.m. to 900 sq.m., were sold for $300,000-$500,000.

The Villas Bahoresh neighborhood is situated on 100 dunams (25 acres) of private land, purchased in 1993 from the Karni family. Zipha intends to invest a total of $40 million in the development, not including VAT.

Other neighborhoods in the development phase include the Tshuva-Wagner Group's construction of 400 holiday apartments. The apartments are designed to be 60 sq.m. each.