Israel’s Largest-Ever Housing Project for Senior Citizens Launched in Ashkelon

Minister of Construction and Housing Yoav Gallant and chairman of The Jewish Agency Natan Sharansky on Wednesday laid the cornerstone for the largest housing project for senior citizens ever constructed in Israel.

The Ashkelon project comprises 471 apartments for Holocaust survivors and immigrants, an initiative of The Jewish Agency via its public housing subsidiary, Amigour, in conjunction with the Housing Ministry.

In total, 2,650 new public housing units are planned across the country for individuals and couples eligible for such housing. The plan will cost an estimated 1.5 billion shekels to implement and will be funded jointly by the Ministry and The Jewish Agency, in partnership with Jewish communities around the world.

The units are slated for sites in Yerushalayim, Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Beersheva, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Netanya, Rehovot, Lod, Bat Yam, and elsewhere.

The apartments will be offered for long-term lease to elderly individuals and couples eligible for housing assistance from the Ministry, for monthly rent of no more than 300 shekels. In addition, it is expected that individuals and couples currently residing in larger apartments as part of the public housing program will choose to move to the new buildings, vacating their current apartments and making them available to young families currently awaiting public housing solutions.