From airfield to district: the whole story, dated and sourced.

The airfield opened on 3 September 1938 during the Arab Revolt, as Tel Aviv's alternative to Lydda. Palestine Airways flew from here; it later became an RAF base and the home of Israel's first air-force squadron. Wikipedia

The outline plan for about 1,900 dunams of the northwest coast is approved, the envelope that later holds district plan TA/4444. sdedov.co.il

The government backs trading the airfield for housing, the decision that starts the long close-down. sdedov.co.il

The steering committee, with city engineer Oded Gvuli, updates the program to 16,000 homes — the figure that still defines the district. sdedov.co.il

The state pays about a billion shekels so the army will leave the field before the original timetable. sdedov.co.il

The court postpones the final evacuation date to January 2019, locking the close of the 81-year airfield. sdedov.co.il

The last flight leaves; the final IAF sortie goes to Hatzor, and Eilat receives ₪400M in compensation. The field had moved 703,649 passengers in its last full year. ITN

Demolition of the runway starts; the site is fully vacated by early 2020. Only the control tower is kept as a historic building. Wikipedia

After 81 years, the IDF and civil evacuation of the airfield is finished. sdedov.co.il

The Sde Dov district plan is validated: about 16,000 homes on 1,500 dunams, three complexes, parks, hotels, and two kilometres of beach. sdedov.co.il

The Israel Land Authority tenders 1,916 units in the Eshkol section, including 324 long-term rental apartments. Globes

Winners pay about ₪2.8M in land per apartment, 6.5 times the minimum. Avisror, K.M. Madaf 5, Meshulam Levinstein + Allied, G.Z. Madaf 35, and Israel Canada (480 units, ~₪1.3B) take plots. Globes

Lot 109 in Eshkol goes to Shikun & Binui through the government Dira LeHaskir tender. sdedov.co.il

A smaller Eshkol follow-up closes at about ₪2.71M of land per unit, well below the 2021 frenzy. Globes

Nahmias Group wins an Israel Land Authority tender to build apartments in Complex A / Eshkol, the plot that becomes UTOPIA on lot 103. sdedov.co.il

A second Dira LeHaskir win gives Shikun & Binui lot 106 — 511 long-term rental apartments. sdedov.co.il

About two years after the first big tender, the local committee approves the first architectural design plans in the southern complex. sdedov.co.il

A new campus for Reut Hospital, relocating from Yad Eliyahu, is approved on the former airfield. sdedov.co.il

Israel Canada's RAINBOW on lot 111 receives the first excavation-and-shoring permit in Sde Dov. sdedov.co.il

Y.H. Dimri enters Sde Dov after Hanan Mor's ₪3.2B debt settlement, paying ₪1.1B for land Mor had won at ₪1.5B in 2021. sdedov.co.il

The detailed plans for the two remaining complexes — thousands of homes north of Eshkol — are finally validated. sdedov.co.il

Ten tenders in the Center and North plans go to market, land for more than 7,100 homes, with a headline value of about ₪25B. Globes

Avisror lays the first cornerstone in the district on lot 101, the moment construction of the new neighborhood becomes visible. sdedov.co.il

Wind-regime and land-rights appeals against the detailed plans freeze the mega-tender; further postponements follow into 2025. Globes

Land prices come in about 40% below 2021. Winners include Israel Brothers, Gindi Holdings (two plots), Electra Residence + Dan Nadlan (Nahor), Luzon Ronson, Hagag Group (350 units, ~₪756M), and A.A.I. Abu + Tomer Koko. Ynet

Bidding with Dira LeHaskir, Prashkovsky takes both rental tenders — 966 apartments that will not be sold on the private market. Jerusalem Post

260 units plus 300 sqm of commerce, in a combination deal that beat Gindi, Electra, Azorim, and Zemach Hammerman. Calcalist

Winners include Y.H. Dimri (275), Calanit, Shikun & Binui + Shapir, Aviv/Melisron (320), Euro Israel (360), Luzon Ronson + Shimon Amir, Yossi Avrahami, Tashluz (177), Mediterranean Towers (300 senior units), and A.M. Israel + Union Living (rental). A first-four-tenders subset of 1,737 units is reported the next day. Ynet

The Central-complex launch undercuts the district average by tens of percent; around 700 apartments sell within weeks. Nadlan Center

The ODA-designed 45-floor sea-line tower on lot 2270 goes to market; 46 sales follow in two months. Calcalist

A record average for the project: 234 units sold for ₪2B. Calcalist

A historic ruling settles the division of the privately owned land inside the old airport — the 50-year fight over HaGush HaGadol. sdedov.co.il

Israel Canada's RAINBOW on lot 111, which already held the district's first excavation permit, receives a full building permit. sdedov.co.il

458 units on lot 107, about ₪1.07B of investment, two-room apartments from ₪3.75M. sdedov.co.il

Israel Canada picks Ashtrom as contractor for ~₪736M. Works start in January 2026 on the tower, reported 70% pre-sold. Mako

Design-plan approvals are fast-tracked a year after the land was marketed. Globes

Levinstein, Mivne, and Metropolis/Allied put 230 low-rise units on lot 110 on sale from ₪70,000 per sqm. Globes

The Environment Ministry and the Israel Land Authority disclose firefighting-foam chemicals in the old airport's groundwater. Investigations widen; delays to the ~16,000-unit build-out are possible. Globes

Avisror's lot 101, which tested clean of contamination, gets a full permit — the first among the flagship marketed towers. sdedov.co.il

A 217-unit Central-district tender has been postponed 12 times since September 2024; other leftover tenders are also stuck. Globes

Q1 filings show the pace collapsing. Israel Canada has sold about 300 units at ₪85,700/sqm on average; a late-May report says almost half of Dimri's sales were to the controlling shareholder. Globes

The municipality presents a southern-section timetable, with Mayor Huldai. Four stations will serve the district: Propes, Nofei Yam, Einstein, and Zahara Levitov. sdedov.co.il

An option-holder sues Gindi Holdings for a ~₪500K refund after the PFAS findings. CTech

Approval of Tel Aviv's fifth water line is framed as paving the way to occupying Sde Dov. sdedov.co.il