Almog Razes Three Petah Tikva Buildings to Start 227-Home Renewal Towers

Almog Group demolished three residential buildings holding 56 old apartments at the Yosefsberg, Katz and Ben Zvi compound in Petah Tikva's Kfar Ganim B neighborhood this week, formally starting construction of the company's first evacuation-and-rebuild project in the city. In their place the MALA project will put up two 24-story towers with 227 new apartments, designed by the Ran Blander architecture and urban planning office, alongside extensive surrounding development that includes an ecological pool, green areas, open public space and land allocated to the Petah Tikva municipality for public buildings. Almog chief executive Yaki Amsalem said the demolition marks the project's passage from planning and permits to execution. Aliza Kavilio, a resident who was born in the neighborhood, said families had lived for years in aging buildings without reinforced rooms, running to shelters outside during wartime alerts, and that the demolition brings relief and hope for a safe, modern neighborhood after 16 years of waiting.