Check Point purchases Tel Aviv real estate for $222M to build new campus
Cybersecurity giant secures Kremenetski complex with real estate company Israel Canada for future office headquarters and residential development.
Cybersecurity giant Check Point and real estate company Israel Canada are purchasing the 13.5-dunam Kremenetski complex in the Bitzaron neighborhood from the Tel Aviv Municipality. The two companies submitted a joint bid of NIS 818 million ($222M) and won the tender held by the municipality. Calcalist has learned that the price they offered is lower than the valuation of the complex made by one of the interested parties, which was close to NIS 950 million. The tender was published by the Tel Aviv Municipality in cooperation with the Electric Company, which owned the area. The Electric Company transferred the area to the municipality as part of an asset return process. The purchased complex borders the Check Point building on Hasolelim Street, and the company plans to establish a new office campus there.
Next to the Check Point campus, Israel Canada will build two residential towers. According to the plans for the complex, there are permits to construct 65,000 square meters of office space, which, as mentioned, will be used by Check Point, as well as 35,000 square meters of residential space and 6,000 square meters of commercial space. The plan includes two residential buildings: a 40-story tower and a 10-story tower, which will together comprise approximately 300 apartments with an average size of 85 square meters. The office and commercial complex will be built in two 10-story buildings, which will also feature commercial spaces.
The sale of the complex follows an agreement made seven years ago between the municipality, the Israel Electric Corporation, and the Israel Land Authority, under which the Israel Electric Corporation will vacate land worth NIS 3 billion. The Israel Electric Corporation will receive a portion of the proceeds based on its remaining lease cost. Check Point and Israel Canada will acquire lease rights to the complex for 49 years, with an option for an additional 49 years.
The complex is located between Kremenetsky, Walter Mozes, and HaHaskalah Boulevards, near Yigal Alon Street. Until recently, the building served as the technical center for the Israel Electric Corporation.
The tender was personally attended by Check Point Executive Chairman and company founder Gil Shwed, along with the controlling shareholders of Israel Canada, Barak Rosen and Asaf Touchmair. Check Point is expected to house some of its existing employees in the new building, as well as new employees it plans to recruit in the coming years.
This is Check Point's first real estate deal. About a month ago, the company's new CEO, Nadav Zafrir, announced plans to establish an AI research center in a separate building on Leonardo da Vinci Street in Tel Aviv. Zafrir also stated that Check Point would conduct a significant recruitment drive for talent both in Israel and abroad, and it appears that the campus on Kremenetski is also intended to house the employees it will recruit.
Israel Canada has already established campuses for technology companies. Five years ago, it built the Wix campus at the Glilot intersection, which the company entered in 2022. The complex spans 60,000 square meters, with the company paying rent of NIS 90 per square meter. In addition, Israel Canada developed the Microsoft campus in Herzliya Pituach in 2017, which covers 44,000 square meters and was leased to Microsoft for NIS 21 million per year for 21 years.
