Tel Aviv-Yafo’s local planning and building committee on October 14, 2026, recommended that the Beit Romano plan be deposited with the district planning committee, the formal step that opens a plan to public objections. Under the plan, the building at 9 Jaffa Road would pass to full municipal ownership and be zoned for public use, while nearby sites would receive additional building rights for housing, affordable housing, employment and retail.
Beit Romano was built about 75 years ago as a merchants’ building. The four-story structure is arranged around an open inner courtyard. It once housed dozens of shops and businesses and is now known for culture, art, entertainment, food and retail.
Under the plan, the building would continue to serve a range of public uses, alongside retail, crafts and creative workspaces. The municipality says the aim is to let the culture, art, culinary and nightlife activity that has taken root there carry on.
Three sites, taller towers
The plan covers about 11.5 dunams (roughly 2.8 acres) and includes three planning areas: Beit Romano, the Niva Gat Rimon complex, and a site at 64 Menachem Begin Street, in the Yitzhak Sadeh and Hassan Arafa area.
At Niva Gat Rimon, the plan would add to and change the approved building rights, including more residential space and affordable housing, alongside employment and commercial uses. Built public space that had been approved in the commercial complexes would be moved to Beit Romano and replaced with residential building rights, including affordable housing. At 64 Menachem Begin, the plan would add rights for employment uses and more space for public buildings.
In practice, the added rights at the two sites would mean about six to seven more floors on each of the three towers already approved under existing plans. The open public space would be preserved, as would the public designation of Lot 600 in the Niva Gat Rimon complex.
Affordable housing
The plan would require that 15% of the added residential floor area go to affordable housing. About 50 affordable units are planned at Niva Gat Rimon, roughly 22 more than under the approved plan. The Hassan Arafa complex is slated for 30 affordable units, unchanged from what was already approved. The unit mix will be set before the plan is deposited.
The plan was prepared by the Moshe Tzur architecture and town planning firm.
Teder, the venue at Beit Romano, will host the Tel Aviv-Yafo Jazz Festival on November 19-21, with free admission. More details are on the municipality website (Hebrew).
