Following the transfer of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the Herzliya residence of the U.S. ambassador to Israel has been put on the market for a record NIS 300 million ($87 million).
The 10,764 square foot house is on a 53,820 square foot lot in one of Israel’s most expensive streets, with a 21,528 square foot garden in the western part of the lot overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, according to Globes.
The current most expensive house in Israel, purchased by Russian-Israeli businessman Roman Abramovich for NIS 226 million ($65.5 million) earlier in the year, is located on a nearby street.
In a statement to Globes, the U.S. Embassy in Israel confirmed that the property is for sale and said, “Following discussions about the transfer of the embassy to Jerusalem it was decided to sell the property in Herzliya. Many of the activities of the embassy have been transferred to Jerusalem and the Ambassador [David Friedman] has based himself in official residences in Jerusalem. We expect that the sale of the property will take place in the coming months.”
In 2017, when Ambassador David Friedman arrived in Israel to take up his post, he indicated that he would reside in Jerusalem. In May 2018, in an official ceremony, attended by numerous American and Israeli officials, the U.S. formally moved its embassy to Jerusalem.