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Q: Where is Eden Hills?
A: Eden Hills is located southwest of Jerusalem, inside the green line. Some of the surrounding communities include Moshav Roglit/Neveh Michael, Aviezer, Kibbutz Netiv Halamed Heh, Aderet and Ramat Beit Shemesh.
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Q: How far is Eden Hills from Jerusalem and other cities in Israel?
A: Driving time to Jerusalem via the tunnel road (to the Gush) is approximately 25 minutes, and via the Ein Kerem road is about 30 minutes. Tel Aviv is about 50 minutes away and Ramat Beit Shemesh is about 5 minutes away. Upon completion of [the already approved] Road 39, the drive to Jerusalem should be under 15 minutes and approximately 40 minutes to Tel Aviv, and about 10 minutes to the new Trans Israel Highway (Road 6).
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Q: Where is Road 39 and how will Eden Hills be served by it?
A: Road 39 is actually the continuation of the Begin Highway. The Begin Highway presently runs through Jerusalem, going north to Ramot. Going south it presently ends at Malcha (very near the Jerusalem Malcha Mall). The new construction will continue from Malcha toward Eden Hills in almost a straight line.
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Q: Is there public transportation to Eden Hills?
A: Egged busses currently stop in Moshav Roglit / Neveh Michael, which is just next to Eden Hills. Egged will likely establish an additional stop in Eden Hills. However, Eden Hills is planning to offer private shuttle service to popular destinations, including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh, as well as other destinations - in all cases based on demand.
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Q: Which municipality does Eden Hills fall under?
A: Eden Hills is situated in the Mateh Yehuda Regional District. However, Eden Hills is evaluating the possibility of becoming its own municipality. This will be reviewed after the first 40 families take up residence as that is the minimum number of residents required in order to form an independent municipality.
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Q: Is there Biblical significance to Eden Hills? Have there been any archaeological findings there?
A: Eden Hills is located in the Elah Valley adjacent to biblical Adulam. Adulam is mentioned in the book of Bereishis (Parshas Vayeshev), in connection with Yehuda’s friend and business partner “Chira Ha’Adulami”. The Elah Valley is also where the famous battle between David and Goliath took place (mentioned in the book of Shmuel), and near the Adulam Valley is the cave where David hid from Shaul. Certain archeological artifacts have already been uncovered on Eden Hills by our in-house archaeologist, Dr. Yehuda Guvrin, dating back to the King David era and before. As more information, artifacts and data are uncovered it will posted.
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Q: What is TABA?
A: Eden Hills holds an approved TABA. TABA stands for Tochnit Binyan Arim (Urban Master Plan), where land is converted through an arduous planning [and procedural] process, from agricultural status to buildable land. This process is the single most important and difficult step in attempting to build virtually anything in Israel – certainly in establishing a new community. The TABA stage is a process that [according to the Israel Lands Authority (ILA) Director General] takes, on average, 7-10 years. According to ILA officials, it has taken them over 12 years in Ramat Rachel to attain TABA – and they are the bureaucracy. Eden Hills also holds several approved infrastructure permits – that process took approximately 2 years. These accomplishments lend great value and prominence to the initiative.
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Q: When will construction begin?
A: Construction has already started. Mekorot, the national water carrier, has already supplied the main water line. Temporary electric and telephone lines have already been installed. The first building – Eden Hills' corporate offices – have been completed, and work on certain internal roads is in progress.
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Q: Will there be schools and religious facilities?
A: The Eden Hills master plan has set aside public areas for social services, including schools and religious facilities. First priority will be the building of the community shul(s) and mikvaot. Schools will most likely be built depending on the needs of the community. In any event, the surrounding communities also offer a wide range of educational options. Among those who signed up to live in Eden Hills are some well-known professional educators, who have already begun formulating proposals for new schools in anticipation of demand.
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Q: Will there be stores and other businesses or commercial opportunities in Eden Hills?
A: The Eden Hills master plan includes a commercial district slightly away from the residential area and easily accessible from the entrance road (without passing the residential areas). A boutique hotel and spa are planned, and there will be space for a variety of service providers including retail stores. A medical center within a health park is planned, as well as an assisted living complex. It is anticipated that there will be overlapping services that will redound to the benefit of both the residents as well as the investors / entrepreneurs.
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Q: Will the community be open to cars? What about on Shabbat?
A: Aside from emergency vehicles, the community will be closed to vehicular traffic on Shabbat. For those expecting visitors on Shabbat, a special accommodation will be made to take everyone's sensibilities into account.
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Q: What will be the level of religious observance in Eden Hills?
A: While religious observance is not a criterion for acceptance to Eden Hills, it should be noted that most (if not all) of those who have committed to Eden Hills thus far are Shomer Shabbos.
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Q: Does the community have a Rabbi?
A: A number of Rabbis have offered their services and several have even signed up to live in the community, although not in their professional capacity. A process to select a Rabbi will be put into place at the appropriate time.
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Q: Will Eden Hills have recreational facilities?
A: A fully equipped Country Club has been approved in the TABA, that will feature, among other things, swimming pools, tennis courts and a fitness facility. In addition, certain areas have been designated to accommodate a variety of sports and recreational facilities, such as bicycling, roller-blading; walking/jogging paths; playgrounds; basketball, racquetball, baseball; a Koi-filled lake; woodland areas and picnic areas.
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Q: Will there be maintenance on Eden Hills?
A: In addition to public area maintenance, Eden Hills will offer a variety of individualized maintenance programs to the residents.
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Q: How many homes are planned for Eden Hills?
A: 452 homes have been approved in the TABA.
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Q: What types of homes will be built on Eden Hills?
A: There will be townhouse apartments, one family townhouses, private homes (semi-attached), private villas and deluxe villas. In order to maintain a quaint village atmosphere no buildings will be higher than two stories (a maximum of 12.5 meters / 41 feet high).
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Q: How many people have already committed to living in Eden Hills and where are they from?
A: Over a hundred families are signed up to live in Eden Hills. These wonderful individuals hail from the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and Israel.
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Q: What is the background and ages of those who have already signed up for Eden Hills?
A: All age groups are represented, from a full range of professional backgrounds (with a large percentage of doctors – some world-renowned).
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Q: Will residents live in Eden Hills year-round or will it be a vacation village?
A: With deliberate effort, the number of full-time residents will far outnumber those who intend to use their homes for vacation purposes, ensuring that the community will be active and viable. A significant number of those who have already signed up are presently living in Israel, while others plan on making Aliyah with Eden Hills their primary residence. We are confident that even those who had planned to come just for holidays will make Eden Hills their year-round home, once they experience the quality of life Eden Hills will offer, b'eH.
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Q: How will the community be secured?
A: Eden Hills is a gated community employing mostly unobtrusive sophisticated electronics. Access to the community will be via automatic entry, manned by security personnel. Guests will be announced and admitted at the gate, while residents will come and go using an electronic sensor.
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Q: Is there an advantage to signing up early?
A: In a word, yes. The prices will be better and there are more homes to choose from (location).
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Q: Are there any investment opportunities?
A: There are business opportunities, and more will be available in the future. For the time being, information regarding investment opportunities is accessible only to members. Under special arrangement, certain individuals may receive limited access codes to the investment link.
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Q: We keep hearing the term NBA associated with Eden Hills. What does this mean?
A: N.B.A. stands for Nachshon Ben Aminadav – the hero of Yetziat Mizrayim. When the Jewish people left Egypt, it was NBA who was the first to step into the Red Sea, when the others hesitated. His leap of faith, which inspired the rest of the people (who did eventually follow), is credited as the reason G-d split the waters. NBA was the trendsetter; those individuals who signed up early (pre-construction) are NBA members.
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Q: Why is ecology such an integral part of Eden Hills?
A: One of the expressions most often associated with Eden Hills is “quality of life”. Those who think that quality of life only refers to a nice house miss the point. Clear air, clean water and good health are imperative to the objective of quality living. A community that is filled with foliage is not only beautiful (more quality living), but plantlife also provides shade and oxygen.
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Q: What is so special about having an underground corridor for infrastructure?
A: An underground corridor allows for the installation and easy access to all infrastructure lines. This is a great benefit when it comes to repairing or upgrading underground lines without inconveniencing the residents of Eden Hillls. While the initial cost is higher, the costs drop dramatically whet it comes to maintenance, repairs and upgrades. The tunnel/corridor also has other benefits discussed elsewhere.
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Q: How does the Underground Rubbish Removal System work and what is so special about it?
A: The Underground Rubbish Removal System may be compared to a giant vacuum system. The community will not have any garbage cans/containers. Instead, rubbish is dropped into small openings (found inside or outside homes), which are connected to a chute. The content of the chute is emptied pneumatically, drawing it through an underground pipe system to a compression station several kilometers away. The Underground Rubbish Removal System knows how to separate-out different materials for recycling. In line with Eden Hills' policy of not incorporating systems that have not proven themselves (for at least a decade) – the pneumatic rubbish removal technology has been operating successfully for over 15 years in Spain, and over 20 years in Sweden.
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Q: Clearly every Jew should make Aliya, but why should they choose Eden Hills?
A: We at Eden Hills believe that Jews belong in Israel – no matter where they buy, we will applaud them. As it happens, there finally appears to be a wakening of Jews from the West. There appears to be a tremendous desire by good Jews from the West to own a home (or second home) in Israel; this trend is growing fast. World events, the US political situation, and the oil and dollar crisis, may well accelerate that trend. It is safe to assume that those who have attained a good standard of life – in America, England or Canada – will look to replicate that lifestyle in Israel. There will be those who will search for a quality community, a big house with a spacious yard and like-minded neighbors. It is only a matter of time before many of these good folks will come to realize that Eden Hills is their obvious choice.
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Q: How does Eden Hills differ from other communities?
A: The legal advisor for the Mateh Yehuda Region recently said that no new community has been established in that region in the past 25 years. He is only partially right. As far as we know, a community like Eden Hills has never been established and it may never happen again, as stated by a recent Jerusalem Post reporter who wrote: “This is likely to be the last community approved…" (for the full article click here). When all is said and done, Eden Hills is Sha’arei Chessed, Kfar Shmaryahu and Caesarea rolled into one – except that Eden Hills is located in the center of the country with a superior micro-climate, and panoramic views of pristine beauty that take one's breath away. The region is alive with beauty and history. Potential home-buyers, who research the Israeli luxury housing market, will find very quickly that with a budget of $1,000,000 they can buy a 100 sqm. apartment in Sha’arei Chessed or similar in-demand neighborhoods. $10,000 per square meter is not an unusual price any longer, and that was before the dollar fell. By all indications, prices at Eden Hills are expected to rise dramatically once building goes into high gear – even before home-buyers move in.
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Q: Why haven’t we heard of others establishing large building projects?
A: There were several distinguished foreign groups who tried to establish major real estate projects (not even in central Israel), only to ultimately fail – such as the Arbel andYatir communities, or the famous Free Trade Zone slated for the Negev initiated by Larry Silverstein (of the Twin Towers fame) along with Ludwig Jesselson, Sy Syms and Lawrence Tisch. It dragged on for a decade, at considerable financial loss, before dying. Those powerful would-be developers had deep pockets, yet even with all their money, they were defeated. These examples in no way reflect negatively on these wonderful would-be investors. Quite the contrary – they should be applauded for their efforts on behalf of the Jewish State and her people. At the same time, their tribulations are sad examples of how very difficult it is to survive the infamous bureaucracy. On the flip side, prevailing over those very difficulties, by definition, lends great relative value to the initiative – beyond dollars and cents.
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Q: What makes Eden Hills so unique?
A: The answer to this question may be difficult for some people to fully understand, especially anyone who has never attempted to deal with the Israeli bureaucracy. To begin to appreciate some of the unique qualities Eden Hills holds, it helps to understand that the arduous land acquisition, along with the approval processes, are long and costly – with no guarantee of success. This means that the initiator takes all the risks, with nothing to show for his efforts unless he succeeds. At the same time, once overcome (as we b"H did), it brings tremendous added value to the initiative. It is difficult, for the uninitiated, to grasp the great significance of not only outlasting the infamous Israeli bureaucracy, but also of acquiring a TABA (Tochnit Binyan Arim / Urban Master Plan) that includes big lots and other favorable terms. When approved permits are added to the mix, the value, along with the unique qualities of the initiative, rise to levels that are difficult to fathom by the inexperienced. B"eH, once the construction goes into high gear, most of these things will become self-evident.
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