Haifa plans to build a business, recreation and entertainment zone with a moving sidewalk

The Haifa Municipality and the city’s economic company are promoting a project to redevelop the southern entrance to the city as a continuous mixed-use urban strip, combining tourism, convention industry, retail and cultural facilities, modeled on Las Vegas, Singapore’s Marina Bay, New York’s High Line and Barcelona’s waterfront. This is the first attempt to implement a similar model in Israel.

A key infrastructural element should be the creation of a continuous transport connection between the Hof HaCarmel railway station and bus station, on the one hand, and the convention center, arena, hotels and the coast, on the other, using an indoor system of travelators (moving sidewalks similar to airport ones), above which there will be a raised shaded pedestrian promenade with green areas, restaurants and cafes.

It is planned to build an arena with 10 thousand seats near the Sami Ofer stadium, a modern congress center and a hotel complex with about 750 rooms on the embankment.

The cost of the project is estimated at 4 billion shekels. Currently, the project is in its very early stages and has not yet been submitted to the county design and construction commission for approval.