Casino magnate and philanthropist Sheldon Adelson. Photo: Reuters / Jonathan Ernst / File.

JNS.org – The US State Department confirmed on Tuesday that it had selected a buyer for the former Chief of Mission Residence in Herzliya.

“The buyer was selected solely on the basis of having submitted the highest and best offer,” the State Department press release stated, without revealing the purchaser’s identity.

Earlier this week, Israeli business daily Globes reported that American billionaire businessman and philanthropist Sheldon Adelson was the top bidder for the property, which the State Department announced it would vacate in less than a year.

“There are no plans or agreements to continue leasing or renting the property for the use of Ambassador [David] Friedman or for other government use once possession is delivered to the purchaser in the Spring of 2021,” the State Department said. “The short-term lease of the property between the closing date and the Spring of 2021 allows for an orderly transition period to remove and safeguard government property.”

Referring to the US administration’s transfer of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May 2018, the State Department said that since then it has undertaken “a review of both existing and available diplomatic property in Israel to determine the best alignment to support the US Mission. In response to that review, planning for the sale of the former US Ambassador’s residence in Tel Aviv began in 2019 with marketing of the property beginning in January of 2020.”

According to Globes, the winning bid for the property was approximately NIS 300 million ($88 million), which the business daily claimed would be the highest-ever price paid for a home in Israel.