Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
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J u l y 2 0 1 4 / S C T 5 C E N T E R S T A G E Back on track first station GiVEs JErusalEm a nEw GathErinG spot By David Brinn T he TransformaTion of an abandoned ottoman-era railway ter- minus — traditionally called simply the Jerusalem Train station — into one of Jerusa- lem's leading cultural and dining destinations was a slow train coming. now, a year since its re- naming and reopening as the first station, the project is already attracting upwards of 30,000 visitors daily, according to marketing director irit elad, including a mix of tourists and resi- dents, secular and religious, Jewish and arab. its 33,000-square-foot deck is home to kosher and nonkosher eateries and dozens of mobile carts. Visitors may enjoy yoga, Zumba or Pilates classes, a bike ride or walk along a six-mile path, and many other activities. This station — initially designed by German architect Conrad schick and conceived by Jewish philanthropist mo- ses montefiore — was the final stop on the Jaffa-Jerusalem railroad line in ottoman- controlled Palestine. it continued operat- ing after the British drove the Turks out in World War i, up to the time it became a bat- tleground in the 1948 arab-israeli War. is- rael railways reopened the line in 1952, but diminished demand brought its closure in 1998 and the building turned into a haunt of squatters and drug users. moshe shapiro, an architect who special- izes in preservation, was part of a team that spent five years about a decade ago document- ing the history of the structure and putting together a restoration plan for the Jerusalem municipality. "We found many interesting hidden elements to the station, including a platform with a door on the ground, nailed shut," said shapiro. "When we opened it, it led to a staircase to an open underground space. Looking at British maps from the 1930s, i discovered that this area went back to the second Temple period [530 B.C.–a.D. 70], when it was used as a burial cave. Centu- ries later, when the Turks built the station, it was used as a water cistern for steam engines. Then during the British mandate, the British turned it into a bomb shelter. so the place was full of history." The municipality and the Jerusalem Devel- opment Corp. issued a tender in 2012 for the station's restoration and development, won by developer avi murdoch, who had a decade earlier transformed Tel aviv's old railway sta- tion into a thriving outdoor mall. he asked shapiro to join his team. "it was important to all of us to preserve and restore the original structure and character of the area as much as possible," said shapiro. The complex marks a departure for Jerusa- lem, where traditionally all commercial estab- lishments shut down from sundown friday to sunset saturday for the Jewish sabbath. There is an attempt to cater to both the secular and religious public, according to elad; there are three restaurants that are kosher and remain closed during the 24-hour sabbath period, en- abling observant Jews to enjoy the space the rest of the week. "it's been more successful than anyone thought it would be," elad said. "it's become a meeting place for diverse communities, not just a shopping area." SCT C E N T E R S T A G E +1 646 728 3800 fax: +1 732 694 1730 www.icsc.org Editor in Chief eDmUnD manDer +1 646 728 3487 E D I T O R I A L Managing Editor Brannon BosWeLL +1 646 728 3488 Copy Chief DaViD s. orTiZ Copy Editor VaLerie DaViD Art Director John D. LeWis Contributing Editors sTeVe BerGsman DaViD Brinn niCky GoDDinG JoeL GrooVer BeTh maTTson-TeiG reBeCCa meiser misT y miLioTo ian riTTer anna roBaTon sPenCer rUmsey BenneTT VoyLes A D V E R amie LeiBoViTZ +1 773 360 1179 aleibovitz@icsc.org sUZanne TanGUay +1 646 728 3475 stanguay@icsc.org saLLy sTePhenson +1 847 835 1617 sstephenson@icsc.org Production Coordinator DaViD sTaCkhoUse +1 646 728 3482 dstackhouse@icsc.org I C S C O F F I C E R S Chair man roBerT f. WeLaneTZ, CrX, Csm President and CEO miChaeL P. kerCheVaL Vice Presidents VinCenT a. Corno, CrX karen fLaVeLLe marTin a. mayer kenneTh a. mcinT yre Jr., CrX mark a. sChUrGin John a. sTraChan Secretary-Treasurer DonaLD C. WooD Publisher rUDoLPh e. miLian, CrX, CmD, Csm for article reprints, call (866) 879-9144 or contact sales@fostereprints.com SCT (ISSN 0885-9841) is pub lished monthly. VOLUME 35, ISSUE 7 © 2014, International Coun cil of Shop ping Cen ters, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020-1099; phone, +1 (646) 728 3800; fax, +1 732 694 1730. All rights reserved. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and ad di tion al mailing offces. Sub scrip- tions $70 per year; Canada and other foreign $99. Single- copy price $20 (May issue $30). For subscription informa- tion call +1 727 784 2000. POST MAS TER: Send address changes to Shopping Cen ters Today, Yizeth Vergara, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020-1099. Publications mail agreement No. 41482022, return unde- liverable Canadian addresses to PO Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill ON L4B 4R6. S H O P P I N G C E N T E R S T O D A Y 5B_SCT_JUL14_Center Stage - Jerusalem.indd 5 6/12/14 5:48 PM