The Arad Shopping Center, the only shopping center in the city center, was purchased by two members of the Gur Hasidic community for NIS 40 million. New owners Menachem Kane and Simcha Greenbaum admit they intend to tailor their acquisition to an Orthodox audience, reports economic publication The Marker.
The shopping center was built in 1996, it consists of two floors with a total area of 12,500 square meters, as well as a parking lot for 300 cars. The retail space occupies 8,000 square meters, of which 2,100 square meters were purchased by the Shufersal retail chain, and the remaining space is leased.
Former Arad mayor Nissan Ben-Hamo, who lost to Tsionut Datit representative Yair Maayan, claims that some businesses have already received notice that their leases will not be renewed – in particular, the gym will disappear. “They will turn the shopping center into a religious one, like in Beit Shemesh, without women and only with businesses that are “suitable” for them,” Ben-Hamo is indignant.
The municipality’s general director, Lidor Cohen, dismisses these concerns: he argues that the shopping center was purchased for investment purposes and its focus will not be changed.
However, the new owners themselves confirm that until now the shopping center was “not in the best condition” and offered too few goods and services intended for “haredim”, something they plan to change. The shopping center will be reoriented towards the ultra-Orthodox, “but secularists will also be able to find something for themselves,” the new owners of the shopping center say.