Projects
under development

Projects for further development in the Old City

In the framework of the development of the Old City as an international tourism city, the Old Acre Development Company is engaged in the development of projects in the areas of accommodation, tourist attractions, and tourism and travel routes.

According to the development plans below, the projects that were identified for immediate development and marketing and those that will be marketed later on.

Projects for immediate marketing

1. The entry to Old Acre (the Enchanted Garden)

The courtyard of the Fortress. In the north – the tower building. In the south – the offices of the Acre Development Company and areas serving the Acre Theater.

The open space is impressive, with its vegetation and the feeling of hospitality that it radiates. This is why it was converted into the approach to the Knights’ Halls and the Fortress. A visitors and reservations center for Acre, the Western Galilee and the Upper Galilee was erected in the courtyard. This year plans call for utilizing the various open spaces in the courtyard as a restaurant, a book and map store, a bureau de change, a cafeteria and a large public restroom.

In addition, another floor will be added to the building housing the Acre Development Company, and the ground floor will be converted for commercial use.

2. The Big Palace and WZO House - a Tender Was Issued

The Big Palace is one of the most elegant palaces of Old Acre and its largest palace. It is located near the western shore and is intended to serve as a small hotel. The project also includes the upper floor of the adjacent palace – WZO House, which will also serve the same purpose.

The project has been marketed.

3. The Pilot Complex

One of the most complexes in Fishermen’s Square, located in the most attractive part of the city, between Fishermen’s Square (the Port Square) and the market. In the framework of the development an addition of two floors (on top of the ground floor) is planned and will include approximately nine residential or vacation apartments.

4. Khan el-Shawarda

One of Acre’s most elegant khans and its largest khan. Located between the commercial area and the port. Its eastern façade faces the sea and constitutes part of the sea wall. Thanks to its location, it overlooks the whole bay and enjoys potential access to the sea. The lower floor is intended to serve as a commercial complex; on the upper floor, which will constitute a modern addition above the historical floor, a small, 60 room hotel will operate.

5. The Bustan Cinema

The area where Bustan Cinema operated in the summertime – a unique place at the entrance to the city, near the land gate. The façade of the complex faces the seashore and the view of the port of Old Acre. Below it there is a commercial area facing Salakh-a-din Street, the main commercial street of the Old City.

A small, 60 room hotel is to be built at the site.

6. Inn on the Wall

This building served as the northern inn of Old Acre. Today it remains uninhabited and is used only during the Acre Festival. It is located on the wall itself, between the external and internal moats, next to Acre Fortress.

It is intended to serve as a modern, high-class inn, with the possibility of expanding into a number of nearby buildings.

7. The Knights’ Hotel

In the large parking area at the northern entrance to the city, a new and modern hotel will be built. The location of the building: next to the main entrance from Weizmann Street. Opposite the Northern Anchor and next to the Fortress, the Great Mosque and the commercial center. The hotel will have approximately 180 rooms and a large underground parking lot.

The project will also include the White Market as an option. The market is now virtually deserted and will become a commercial center / area with an area greater than 1,000 square meters next to the hotel.

8. Khan el-Omdan and Khan el-Shuna

These two Khans are the most important buildings in Old Acre. Partial renovation work has been performed on Khan el-Omdan, an elegant Ottoman building. One façade faces the marina and the second façade faces Fishermen’s Square.

The nearby Khan a-Shuna contains authentic parts from the Crusader Period. 

Both khans are intended to form part of a large hotel with some 170 rooms, with the ground floor being reserved for commercial and public use.

Projects to be marketed during the second stage

After the marketing of the aforementioned product has been completed, the company will begin planning additional projects for development and marketing.

1. The Small Hamam [bathhouse]

A single story Ottoman building with an area of some 600 square meters. It serves as an active bathhouse until the seventies. Today, part of the building is ruined and is not being used. The building is located north of Khan a-Shuni, which is intended to serve as a hotel.

The building is intended to serve as a bathhouse and will contribute to the renewal of the tradition of bathhouses that once existed in Israel and no longer exist. The addition of a commercial function, such as a coffee house, gallery and so forth, may be considered.

2. The Rotary Halls

A Crusader building with impressive domes, in a central location opposite the Pisan Port and south of Khan-el-Omdan. The building is intended for a commercial function. The domed area on both levels may be utilized to enable public passage through the alley from Pisa Square in the north to Zaklach Batzri Street.

3. The Southern Anchor

The complex is located in the area north of the Wall Promenade, between the Pisan Port in the east and Saint John’s Church in the west. It covers an area of some 1,000 square meters, and is located in a central spot from a tourism perspective, overlooking the sea from the north. Thanks to its location and character, the complex is intended to serve as a tourism complex containing a small hotel and a commercial area.

4. Borj el-Comandar

Borj el-Comandar, the city’s biggest fortification is located at the northeastern corner of the walls of Acre. The site may be entered through two original passages with special gates. Storage rooms and barracks were found in the inner fortification. The barracks were vaulted chambers 20 meters long and 3.5 meters wide. An access canal leads from the inner fortification to the external boraj. At the meeting point there are 36 slits for riflemen, arranged in two levels.

Under the boraj there is a concealed tunnel some 63 meters long and between 6 and 11 meters wide. The tunnel links the gardens of the Pasha and the external moat. The building will serve as a tourist attraction with a commercial function.

5. Borj el-Corayim

Borj el-Corayim, the most strongly fortified of the towers of the Sea Wall is located at the northwestern corner of the city. It is 11 meters high above sea level and has an area of some 730 square meters. The borj has a beautiful view: to the north, in the direction of Rosh Hanikra, and to the south, along the wall and the Carmel mountain range.

Thanks to its strategic location and spectacular view, the site is to be used for tourism purposes, such as a restaurant, a conference center and so forth.

6. Ptolemais

Located along the western sea wall, north of the marina above Nikanor’s Gate Street. This is a tall, single-story building with a roof area of some 1,200 square meters.

The site may be earmarked for a small hotel, utilizing the northern and eastern parts of the building. The southern part will serve as a restaurant, because of its location and view.

7. Site 54

A vaulted Crusader building south of the covered bazaar. Part of the building is subterranean, and the roof is vacant. Thanks to the impressive open spaces and the accessibility, the building may be earmarked for commercial and tourism purposes.

8. The Oil Press (the former oil and soap factory)

Located on the ground floor of the Palace, intended to serve as a small hotel, together with the upper floor of WZO House. The ground floor area of the oil press is approximately 600 square meters, and its impressive domes create nine open spaces. Possible designations: commerce, a restaurant and lobby for the hotel above it.

9. Residential complex

A residential complex with an area of some 1,000 square meters north of the Sanan Pasha Mosque, mainly one and two story buildings. Occupied by factories and ships on the ground floor, and residential apartments on the upper floor. Has a central location and a potential for utilizing the non-built up area.

We propose building the complex with a height of three stories and utilizing the construction rights for the site for the purpose of improving the current living conditions and adding residential units. This complex will be the first of the residential complexes that will be handled, since the infrastructures are already in place.

10. The Laguna Hotel

An open and vacant area in the southwestern area of the city. A project file has been prepared for this area, proposing the construction of a 170 room hotel and an underground parking lot.

Old Acre
Development Company