Plots & Ploys
[What's Brewing in the Real Estate Market]</br></br>Israel Development</br></br>Aquaria Ltd., which plans to develop a $375 million retail and entertainment project in Eilat, Israel, near the border of Jordan in an area referred to as the Red Sea Riviera, has hired Sonnenblick- Goldman Co. to raise $305 million in venture and construction financing for the project.</br></br>The 300-acre development, dubbed Aquaria Entertainment City, includes a water-themed amusement park, a 10,000-seat arena, a 2,500- seat amphitheater, shops, restaurants and an 18-hole golf course. Using planners and designers that helped create Walt Disney Co.'s Epcot park in Orlando, Fla., Aquaria also will offer amusement rides mixed into areas that mimic the look of other cities, including Hollywood, New Orleans, San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, St. Tropez, Venice, St. Petersburg and Bangkok.</br></br>The Israeli government is providing a $45 million grant and is leasing the land to Israel-based Aquaria, whose mostly U.S.- based principals are putting up about $25 million. Sonnenblick-Goldman, a New York real-estate investment banking firm, is raising $100 million in equity and $205 million in debt.