A hundred-year-old villa in Jerusalem’s Talbieh neighborhood was sold for $14.7 million recently, according to the agent who brokered the deal, as demand for high-end properties in the capital remains strong.

Villa Catana, located at the corner of Hovevei Zion and Marcus streets opposite the Belgian Consulate, was built in 1926 during the British Mandate for Antonio Catana, a prominent Christian businessman whose family belonged to the local Latin community.

The 450-square-meter (4,844 square-foot) building sits on a corner lot of 578 square meters (6,222 square feet), and was sold at a value of NIS 105,000 per square meter, or $3,355 per square foot, according to Tomer Dowek of Prosperity Real Estate, who managed the sale.

The names of the buyer and seller were not disclosed. It was previously owned by Canadian Jewish philanthropist Charles Bronfman, co-founder of Birthright Israel, who bought it from the Hebrew University in 1987. He later transferred the property to the Karev Foundation that he founded, which promoted educational and cultural initiatives throughout Israel.

The building was later renovated by architects Jeff and Debbie Remez. It stood empty from 2014 until 2022, when it was leased by the Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology.

Designed in the traditional Liwan style, characteristic of Jerusalem’s aristocratic........

© The Times of Israel