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Meraas Development Launches Dh350 Billion Jumeira Gardens

06 Oct 2008

The mixed-use project in Dubai will feature low-, medium- and high-rise buildings, including some of the city's future iconic landmarks

Meraas Development, a Dubai-based real estate development company with an innovative approach to sustainable urban planning, architecture and design, today announced the launch of the Dh350 billion Jumeira Gardens in Dubai, its first master-planned community.

The mixed-use, freehold and leasehold development will be an integrated city within a city, with distinct neighbourhoods linked by a diverse network of transportation options, and comprising low-, medium- and high-density areas with business, residential, retail, leisure and recreational components.

Sustainability and urban liveability were overriding concerns for planners and architects, who also were encouraged to devise bold designs that would help redefine Dubai's visual character and cityscape. Some of the city's biggest towers will be located in Jumeira Gardens, and they - like all buildings in the project - will set standards of 'green' building design, through features such as passive energy generation, shaded foliage-covered atriums and roofs, heat reducing cladding and shading fins.

H.E. Abdulla Ahmad Al Habbai, the chairman of Meraas Holding, of which Meraas Development is a subsidiary, said, "Inspired by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai a global city, Meraas Development has created Jumeira Gardens, which we believe will be an integral part of this great city's future."

All of the holding company's collective resources will contribute to the Jumeira Gardens project. "We will leverage our subsidiaries' expertise in healthcare, education, retail and leisure to complement the competencies of Meraas Development in building a district of unrivalled comfort, convenience and community," he added.

Sina Al Kazim, CEO of Meraas Development, said that the project "addresses every element of urban living through comprehensive planning, adopts sustainable building practices, implements cutting-edge designs and engineering, and always focuses on people, to ensure Jumeira Gardens is a community that enriches the lives of everyone living and working within its borders."

Jumeira Gardens will be built out over 12 years, across an area north of Sheikh Zayed Road between Diyafa Street and Safa Park. There will be several major parks and a number of smaller community parks to ensure extensive green areas. A large canal will run through the heart of the development and will flow, at one end, into the Business Bay Canal and at the other end, out to the sea.

The first area to be developed is called 'Phase 1'. Occupying approximately 820,000 square metres, it will anchor the northeast end of Jumeira Gardens. Phase 1 is designed to have six main blocks of high-, mid- and low-rise office, residential and retail buildings, as well as two hotels and a high-end shopping area.

In addition, Jumeira Gardens will have a number of sky-rise towers of exceptional character, beauty and functionality. They include 1 Dubai, set to be one of the tallest and largest buildings in the world. This mega-structure will consist of three towers that are linked by bridges that contain suspended apartments within them. Each tower will be at least 600 metres tall, with mosaic-like glass and aluminium-mesh cladding.

1 Park Avenue will be a 600,000-square-metre tower, a marvel of 21st-century technology and sustainable design, whose undulating form will be a tribute to Dubai's historic relationship with the sea. Park Gate will comprise six paired towers, each 30 to 40 storeys high, with each pair linked by soaring vaulted canopies that form grand, cavern-like spaces, rich with foliage and providing a shaded microclimate.

Construction of Phase 1 has already begun, and the first buildings are due for handover in the fourth quarter of 2011. Final completion of Phase 1 is set for the fourth quarter of 2013.

About Meraas Development
Meraas Development, a subsidiary of Meraas Holding, is a Dubai-based real estate development company with a refreshingly innovative approach to sustainable urban planning, architecture and design. It builds projects of the highest quality, delivered on time, and using the most comprehensive, integrated master planning to enrich the way people live, work and play.
By adopting rigorous corporate governance policies, implementing industry best practices, recruiting the most talented professionals locally and internationally, and selecting partners who are leaders in their fields, Meraas Development ensures that it delivers on all of it commitments. Meraas Development is pursuing opportunities in Dubai, in other cities within the UAE and the Gulf, and opportunistically, further afield.

About Meraas Holding
Meraas Holding is a Dubai-based real estate investment company with operations and assets in the UAE and abroad. Owned by the government of Dubai and founded with a mission to conceive and implement integrated master-planned communities that embody global standards of sustainability and quality, the holding company and all of its subsidiaries apply rigorous urban planning paradigms to every project.
Meraas Holding operates across a full range of real estate activities, reflecting a holistic approach to real estate development that enriches the lives of those living, working and playing in the communities it creates. Meraas Holding's five subsidiaries are Meraas Development, Meraas Estate Management, Meraas Capital, Meraas Malls & Hospitality and Meraas Healthcare & Education.

Source: Cityscape Intelligence