Autumn 2012
DIFC Downtown NEW CAFÉ FOR OLD TOWN
BEAUTIFUL MISTAKES
THE FARMERS’ RETURN
WHEELY FABULOUS
Baker & Spice has opened a new branch in
For her exhibition When The Lights Went Off We
Starting again in mid-November (depending on
Aston Martin has joined other Great British
Dukkan Al Manzil. The new venue has intro-
Saw… currently on at The Pavilion Downtown,
the weather), the much-loved Farmers’ Market,
names in motoring, such as McLaren, at its
duced a great range of breads, fresh fare and
Sara Naim takes photographic ‘mistakes’ and
bursting with fresh fruit and veg, will return to the
new Downtown home. The new showroom has
cakes, as well as a party catering service.
transforms them into works of ethereal beauty.
terrace of Souk Al Bahar on Friday mornings.
recently opened on Emaar Boulevard Plaza.
DIFC Downtown in Numbers
9
Number of towers making up The Residences, set between the southern edge of the lake
and Emaar Boulevard.
11
hectares: the area of the park in the centre of Downtown Burj
Khalifa, including the lake.
80
Percentage difference between the peak price in DIFC in 2008 and the
lowest, in 2009. Average prices are now about 30-40 per cent above the lowest.
601
metres: the height to which concrete was pumped
during the construction of Burj Khalifa, a world record.
828
Height in metres of Burj Khalifa; used to define
it as the world’s tallest building, it is measured from the lowest open-air pedestrian entrance to the top of the spire, but does not include antennae.
In the City’s Fast-Beating Heart The manager of Zuma, Ajaz Sheikh wanted to be close to work – and he has found DIFC to be a great living environment, with all that he needs
by Debbie Lawson
When I think back to the way Dubai was when we lived here as a family between 1987 and 1993, it’s hard to believe it is the same place. The city has become so busy that, when I came back here to open Zuma, I knew that I didn’t want to live anywhere that would involve a commute. The good thing about living where I do now, (in Jumeirah World Trade Centre Residence) is that if I drive anywhere I have to pass the restaurant, so I almost always drop in to see how everything’s going. And I can easily dash over from home if we have a VIP guest arrive unexpectedly.
I also wanted to live in this area because it feels more like the real Dubai. There’s still some old mixed in with the new, which I love, and Satwa is just a stone’s throw away – spending time there is a good reality check and there are some great little restaurants that remind me of my mother’s cooking. It’s good having Downtown so close as well – quite apart from The Dubai Mall, it offers a nice change of pace. When the weather is good there’s nothing I like better than to head over to The Pavilion, sit outside and take time over a coffee. The only drawback to my building is that it’s a bit out on its own – it’s a 10-minute walk through no-man’s land to reach Emirates Towers and DIFC. Obviously that will change when Trade Centre Two gets built, but that’s still quite a long way off. I use the DIFC neighbourhood a lot. The range of services and amenities here has really grown and I can get most of what I want.
There’s a big choice of restaurants – in addition to my own – and several coffee shops, a very cool gym, U-Concept (which I don’t get the chance to use much, unfortunately), a really good shoe-mender called The Cobbler, and Toni & Guy for my haircuts – I’m very spoilt here. There’s great nightlife, too, and sometimes I enjoy walking home at 3am, when the city feels like a very different place. I can’t see any reason to go to the Marina or Palm – it feels like halfway to Abu Dhabi! The only thing that’s missing is a normal grocery shop with a good selection of high quality food – that’s a business opportunity for someone as there are a lot of single and working people here who would love a local store. DIFC is still finding its feet, in a sense: the original mix of shops wasn’t right because there’s not enough foot-fall but now, with the predominance of galleries, it has a good feel. And for those of us who have businesses here there’s quite a sense of solidarity.
WWW.LUXHABITAT. AE
280
Average price per square foot, in dirhams, of
apartments in Burj Khalifa in August 2012 (excluding Armani Residences).
7,050
square feet (655 square metres): floor space of a
duplex penthouse in The Residences, currently offered for sale by Luxhabitat.
820
The length in metres of the air-conditioned ‘sky bridge’,
which will connect the Burj Khalifa metro station with The Dubai Mall. The bridge is currently under construction and is predicted to be completed by the end of this year.
TO READ MARKET UPDATES FROM OTHER NEIGHBOURHOODS
www.thejournal.ae/neighbourhood
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THE JOURNAL
Autumn 2012
www.luxhabitat.ae
DIFC Downtown
Expert View DAVID TERRY Sales Manager, Luxhabitat E: dt@luxhabitat.ae | T: +971 50 875 0307
Appeal for Quality You can’t live much closer to the Dubai Fountain than this. The three-bedroom, 2,935 sq ft apartment in Old Town, Downtown Burj Khalifa, comes fully furnished for Dhs20,000,000. Property Ref. 995
David Terry believes there is a gap in the market in the Downtown and DIFC area for high-quality family-sized homes
Having been with Luxhabitat since 2009, I have seen the boom, bust and recovery. In April 2009, prices in Downtown and DIFC plummeted to AED 900-1,000 per square foot; now they are back up to AED 1,400-2,000 psf. Downtown recovered faster as it’s mostly residential, whereas DIFC is mostly commercial. Burj Khalifa has been an exception and prices are now at their lowest in the cycle, at AED 3,000 psf – just above launch price. The reason for this is that 80-90 per cent of people bought in Burj Khalifa as an investment, rather than to live in, with many paying up to AED 10,000 psf at the peak. As a result, properties have been traded more like stocks and shares and have lacked pricing stability. The present price level suggests a truer value, as well as a good buying opportunity for an owner-occupier or a longer-term investor. This is reflected in Emaar’s recent experience: it had been holding on to about 200 apartments there at AED 4,000 psf and, when they dropped the prices so that the cheapest one was around AED 2,850 psf, they sold pretty quickly. Incidentally, this has enabled Emaar to free up some capital – I’m sure it is still making a profit at that price – which can be used to fund other projects: I believe there is a real opportunity for a developer to build family-sized apartments to European levels of quality. Apart from a very few number of developments, the only way to currently get that sort of quality in Dubai is to buy an apartment, completely strip it, including the internal walls, and start again. Luxhabitat works with high-end properties valued above AED 5m for sale and AED 500,000 per annum for rent, so the great majority of units in this area don’t fit our profile; Emaar built them for single people and smaller families. However, there are some notable exceptions. In Downtown we have several apartments in Burj Khalifa on our books – all are
“The only way to currently get European-standard quality in Dubai is to buy an apartment, completely strip it, including the internal walls, and start again”
ISLAND LIFE Al Bahar Palace Residences on Old Town Island were recently released onto the market at Dhs6,000 per square foot – well
fairly compact, since that is the nature of the building – and a very large duplex penthouse in The Residences that would be ideal for a family, which is a very rare find. In DIFC there are fewer properties overall than in Downtown but several fit our profile and are of a relatively high quality by UAE standards. Limestone House, which shares a building with The Ritz-Carlton, is the best, with really good finishes, although the units are generally smaller than in its closest competitor, Index Tower. Both are now priced at around AED 1,600–2,000 psf (from a peak of about AED 5,000), depending on the floor and the view, with units in Index Tower commanding a higher total price due to their larger size. Damac’s recently completed Park Towers sits below Limestone and Index in terms of finishing and price. Occupancy in this neighbourhood is relatively low; I would guess that at least 20 per cent of the properties are vacant – some are still owned by the developer, some are rented out and some are owner occupied, although many owners do not live there all year round. We would like to see some good-quality properties coming up in this neighbourhood, with big units, a good-quality product, proper services, maybe valet parking. The demand is certainly there and it would attract more permanent residents to what is, in fact, a superb location.
Index Tower offers an unusually high standard of finishings for Dubai. This 7,900 sq.ft (733 sq.m) four-bedroom duplex
David Terry was talking to Debbie Lawson
apartment is a fine example. It has views of the sea as well as Burj Khalifa. AED 28,000,000. Property Ref. 763
above average for the area. Situated above Souk Al Bahar and originally part of the Palace Hotel Residences, they were offered directly to Emaar’s premium clients about 5-6 months ago. One of our clients bought a three-bedroom unit for about Dhs16 million, which he has instructed us to list for resale at Dhs20m. That’s Dhs7,500 per square foot.
Autumn 2012
www.luxhabitat.ae
THE JOURNAL
CIAO ROBERTO Giving DIFC another claim to gourmet fame,
UAE culinary stalwart Roberto
Rella (of Bice and Bice Mare) opened the eponymous Roberto’s this summer. It’s already buzzing with an after-work crowd unwinding at the bar and in-the-know neighbourhood residents enjoying a Live in the tallest tower in the world: this four-bedroom, six-bathroom, 6,430 sq.ft (597 sq.m) apartment has floor-to-ceiling windows with stunning views of The
menu that mixes much-loved Italian clas-
Dubai Fountain and Downtown. It is offered for rent, unfurnished. See p18 for more information. AED 750,000 per year. Property Ref. 967
sics with new signature dishes. A great innovation is the raw bar – a first in Dubai – featuring seafood so fresh it’s almost flipping. And there’s a lovely terrace for al-fresco lounging. “Roberto’s embodies the essence of la dolce vita,” says its owner. We say that sums it up very well. Tel: 04 386 0066; www.robertos.ae
FRESH FOODIE HEAVEN The minute you walk into Baker & Spice at Souk Al Bahar and see the colourful dishes on display, you know that everything is going to be good for you. The kitchen serves dishes made from locally grown produce and mainly organic ingredients – bought daily from farms and markets of the region and changing with the seasons. The menu is simple, with a European heritage adapted to the Middle East to create its own version of local soul food. Following the philosophy of the original Baker & Spice in London, its owners say they know how
food ought to be grown, cooked and served. “We have made a conscious decision to work with what is grown here rather than hanker for European, American or Australian fresh produce,
Once the weather cools down, its shaded terrace is one of the loveliest spots in the city, right on the edge of the Burj Khalifa lake with a direct view of the dancing fountains. Tel: 04 425 2240; www.bakerandspiceme.com See a world icon from your balcony in this furnished five-bed in The Residences. POA. Property Ref. 859
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THE JOURNAL
Autumn 2012
www.luxhabitat.ae
FEATURED PROPERTIES
Property Gallery
Scan the QR code with your smartphone to www.thejournal.ae
When you check into a hotel do you never want to leave? Well your wish can come true if you buy this four-bedroom penthouse in The Address - Downtown Burj Dubai. Furnished to the standards you would expect of a five-star hotel, this makes the perfect base for owners who may not live in Dubai all year round and need an easily maintanable space with high security, full services and restaurants, bars and shops on the doorstep to ensure maximum convenience. AED 23,000,000. Property Ref. 956
Also pictured on p17, if you love heights, this four-bedroom apartment in Burj Khalifa has floor-to-ceiling windows, and also
This well-planned two-bedroom apartment in Armani Residences, within Burj Khalifa tower is ideal for a couple or small
comes with a huge private terrace complete with a hot tub. For rent, unfurnished. AED 750,000 per year. Property Ref. 967
family. With spectacular views of the Dubai Fountain, the 2,237 sq ft property comes fully furnished. POA. Property Ref. 731