Jerusalem unveils 350,000 square meter first station development plan

Jerusalem is embarking on an ambitious expansion of its First Station entertainment complex, transforming it into a sprawling 350,000-square-meter hub that will blend residential, commercial, and tourism elements, complete with train stations and a debated cable car linking to the Old City and Western Wall. The project, spanning neighborhoods like Talbiya, Mamilla, and the German Colony, will feature 180,000 square meters of low-rise housing, 1,400 hotel rooms, office spaces, green areas, and bike paths, according to the municipality. Mayor Moshe Lion hailed it as a groundbreaking endeavor, calling it a “tourist, business, and cultural hub” and Israel’s first modern transportation center of its kind.

The development includes a new underground Khan Station, named after the nearby Khan Theater—a preserved Crusader-era site—offering 38-minute trips to Tel Aviv and 23-minute rides to Ben Gurion Airport via Israel Railways. Two light rail stops for the Blue Line, set to connect Ramot to Gilo by 2030, will also be built, alongside a cable car that’s stirred controversy for over a decade. Critics, including the Franciscan order overseeing Catholic holy sites, argue the 1.4-kilometer line, with its 72 cabins carrying up to 3,000 people hourly over Ben Hinnom Valley and Mount Zion, is visually intrusive and politically charged. Still, the municipality insists the existing First Station and Park Hamesila will stay accessible, with phased construction to limit disruptions as preliminary work kicks off.

This expansion aligns with Jerusalem’s broader growth push, backed by a 2025 budget of NIS 9.72 billion and a NIS 6.2 billion development fund, totaling NIS 16 billion for infrastructure and services. The city’s also greenlighting major projects in Talpiot and its western gateway, like 30-story towers and a revamped industrial zone adding 10,000 homes. Managed by the Eden economic development company, the First Station overhaul builds on the site’s history as an 1892 railway link to Jaffa, aiming to reshape Jerusalem’s future while preserving pieces of its past.