Deal of the year in Jerusalem: Timberland founders bought an apartment for 48 million shekels

The highest price paid this year for an apartment in Jerusalem was 48 million shekels. It concerns an apartment in a project by the Aachim Chasid company on Chopin Street, opposite the Jerusalem Theater, which was purchased in March by Sidney and Judith Swartz, founders of the fashion brand Timberland.

The apartment, with an area of 307 sq. m, a roof of similar size, and a balcony of 74 sq. m, is located in the Mishkenot HaTeatron complex. The project includes three residential buildings with 42 apartments alongside an MGallery boutique hotel with 73 rooms and suites. Apartment owners enjoy the hotel's services, including an indoor pool, spa, gym, restaurant, and synagogue.

This transaction is exceptionally high and reflects, when factoring in the roof and balcony area, a value of about 111,000 shekels per sq. m. This is high even in relation to previous transactions in this project that were closed at a value of about 100,000 shekels per sq. m. According to Tax Authority data, in the last three years there was only one more expensive transaction in Jerusalem: a British Jewish couple paid 62 million shekels for a 437 sq. m penthouse on Dubnov Street, in the complex where the legendary Villa Schover is located.

The price the Swartz couple paid for the apartment is higher than the price the Aachim Chasid company paid to the Israel Land Authority for the plot to build the project. The company won the tender that closed in 2009, in the midst of the global financial crisis, thanks to an offer of 36.3 million shekels. However, the economic cost was higher because, as a condition for receiving a building permit, the company was required to build a parking lot for theater-goers, develop the nearby grove, regulate the intersection, and create a pedestrian connection to the theater.

The project is mostly sold out, with four apartments remaining. The hotel opened gradually at the beginning of 2023, but following the war, it was converted to accommodate evacuees. In June 2025, it reopened to the public.

Until 2011, the Swartz family owned the Timberland company, which Sidney (90) founded with his father Nathan. Sidney served as CEO and chairman of the company until 1998, when management passed to his son Jeffrey. In 2011, the company was sold to VF Corporation for 2.3 billion dollars. The couple has donated to the establishment of an emergency medicine center at Hadassah Ein Kerem and a stem cell research center at Hadassah. Jeffrey Swartz is the chairman and co-founder of the Maoz organization, which operates leadership programs in Israeli society.