Edited by: TJVNews.com

While those familiar with the New York City real estate scene may be well acquainted with Gary Barnett, the president and founder of Extell Development Company, it has now been reported on Tuesday that the American-Jewish land developer has officially announced a deal to acquire from Nayot Komemiyut Investments the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Land in Central Jerusalem for NIS 750 million, according to a report on the Globes.co.il web site.

Barnett is also the owner of Extell Ltd., which has issued bonds on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange over the past eight years.

Globes also reported that Barnett is paying Nayot’s minimum price. Nayot is selling the land because of disputes between its partners. In an exclusive report that appeared yesterday, Globes reported that  the land was for sale, Barnett was mentioned as one of the bidders.

About 1,000 housing units, and the five-star Inbal Hotel, stand on the land in the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Talbiyeh, Rehavia and Nayot, as was reported by the Jerusalem Post. In addition, there are also plots zoned for development, Globes reported.

Barnett’s Extell Company was represented in the sale by Advocate Avi Porten and Advocate Deuel Peli of the Agmon with Tulchinsky Law Firm, Globes reported.

The Nayot Komemiyut partnership, founded in 2010 and including Noam Ben-David, reportedly bought the land for NIS 115m, and is selling the land because of disputes between the partners, the JPost reported.

The legal imbroglio surrounding this piece of real estate remains despite the fact that Barnett purchased it, Globes reported.  The Jewish National Fund (JNF) owns the lease on the land until 2052, as was previously reported by Globes, however, the unknown of what will happen to the land when the lease runs out in thirty years’ time, together with the purchases by Nayot, that give rise to many rumors, led to a plunge in the land price, of up to 40% in comparison with other land in the area that is not leased.

Globes also reported that the JNF was considering extending its lease in order to create greater certainty for residents and to enable the legal situation to be regularized. Residents in the area fear that in 30 years, KKL’s leases will expire and the new owner can potentially demand that the tenants leave their homes,  the JPost reported.

Some tenants asked to pay more than NIS 1m. ($293,000) to have their apartments registered in their name. The JPost also reported that the deal is interpreted as a potential solution to the issue of the tenants’ future status.

Speaking to Globes, Barnett said, “I’m excited to announce a major deal at the center of one the most important cities in the world. This is a win-win-win-win situation for the State of Israel, for the city of Jerusalem, for Extell and for the residents. We have great reputation with complexed projects in the US, including the Belnord Project on UWS NYC, which has over 200 tenants in complexed situations. We are going to treat the tenants in Jerusalem with the same respect and fairness as we are doing in all of our projects. This project will strengthen Extell’s connections to the Israeli market and will boost the development of central Jerusalem.”

One official trying to help is Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, who is working to advance legislation in the Knesset that will protect the tenants, the JPost reported.