Dimona waking up? Herzl's statue at the entrance to Dimona (Photo: Reuven Castro)
Surprising demand for Barzilai Mor's commercial center in Dimona's Hashachar neighborhood: The developers report signing lease agreements at higher prices than expected, even before planning is completed and permits are obtained.
Barzilai Group and Gilad Mor won land for a neighborhood shopping center less than a year ago. Since then, they have begun to plan the shopping center to suit the demand of the neighborhoods. Today, the developers report with surprise that already a third of the center was rented in advance at higher prices than expected - "without advertising and marketing costs, with a commitment to deliver the property only in 3 years".
As stated, the center will be built in the new Hashachar neighborhood in Dimona, which includes 3,200 apartments and is home to about 10,4 people, and adjacent to it is the Mamshit neighborhood, which includes another 000,<> people, so that very high demand is expected for renting the store space, and of course the expectation of traffic in the center is high.
Accessibility to the shopping center will be high, since it is located on one of Dimona's bypass roads, which is expected to bring quite a few buyers from outside the city as well.
Nadav Barzilai, one of the owners of the Barzilai Group: "It's no secret that the strategic location of the complex adjacent to the Hashachar and Mamshit neighborhoods and the future plans for massive construction in the neighborhood are the secret of success, many businesses that turn to them concentrate mainly on the number of buildings surrounding the shopping center and the traffic of cars and foot traffic of the neighbors."
Are neighborhood shopping centers conquering the retail market in Israel?
In recent years, commercial centers have become the center of recreation, leisure and shopping, together with the development of large neighborhoods, mainly in peripheral cities, have returned us, both psychologically and practically, to the desire to perform as many activities as possible near home, especially shopping and entertainment.
The significant growth in the new neighborhoods has led to a practical need for neighborhood commercial centers that will provide a higher response than in the past, in terms of their mix of stores. Not just a grocery store and café, but a mix that includes delis, gourmet restaurants and leading food and clothing chains and even clinics and offices.
The data emerging from RIS, a leading system in Israel for comparing and measuring performance in the retail sector, also show that neighborhood centers grew more than malls during the first two years of COVID-2019 (2021-10), with a sales growth rate of 7% in neighborhood centers compared to only 17% in malls. Even sharper were power centers, with sales up 5.<>% over the past two years.
An active commercial center in Dimona (Photo: PR)
Since COVID-25, many real estate groups, businessmen and entrepreneurs have realized that commercial centers have become a very attractive investment and are working to add this segment to their investment basket as well.
The large companies buy for hundreds of millions of shekels many neighborhood centers, mainly in peripheral areas, where quite a few new neighborhoods have been built or are being built and the community is bringing in new residents and showing positive immigration – residents who will soon need shops under their homes. According to the RIS, the entry of more companies and investors into this field led to an increase of about <>% in the prices of space in the neighborhood centers compared to pre-COVID prices.
One of the main examples is ILA tenders, which were closed in recent months despite an increase in interest rates by tens of millions of shekels for land with building rights for neighborhood commercial centers in Ofakim, Netivot and Dimona.
"Today the population is looking for everything fast, here, now and under the balcony"
Entrepreneur Gilad Mor refers to the phenomenon of neighborhood centers and the expectation of the success of the new neighborhood commerce center, "The shortage of products available under the house has made the concept of neighborhood centers again in demand, not as an alternative to the large malls in the city centers but as a complementary concept that addresses the immediate retail, social and community needs of the neighborhood."
"There is no doubt that the neighborhood commercial centers are the focus of many entrepreneurs throughout the country. The needs have changed, today the population is looking for everything fast, here, now and under the balcony. People are looking to shop in stores that sell at reasonable prices and not necessarily in malls, which reflect their heavy expenses on the price of products, all these factors will lead to the continued flourishing of neighborhood shopping centers."
Mor adds, "In the 3-4 years, we believe that this investment is a good investment for us and the demand for renting space will be even higher. At the Damri Center, which is located at the entrance to Dimona, there are no areas for rent and the prices are very high, this reflects the situation."
Damri Center, located at the entrance to Dimona: "There are no areas for rent and the prices are very high, it reflects the situation" (Photo: Dimri PR)
What are the prices for your stores in the center?;
Ido Barzilai, one of the owners of the Barzilai Group: "Today, rent in malls is about NIS 500 per square meter and management fees are usually very high. In contrast, in a neighborhood shopping center, the rent is only NIS 200 per square meter, and management fees are much saner with discounts for early rental before the building permit."
Would you be interested in additional tenders in the region in the future?;
Nadav Barzilai: "Of course. Based on the demand we are currently winning, we will continue to operate in the city and look for additional properties."
- Real Estate
- news
Tags
- Real Estate
- Dimona