REGIONAL ROUND-UP - UAE | ABU FEATURE DHABI Le Carrousel Mall, Rabat, Morocco (IMKAN)
RETAIL LEASING IN
MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENTS During her nine-year tenure in UAE, Luann has worked for MAF & IMKAN Properties where she managed business and delivery development, and retail leasing initiatives. A proud native of Brooklyn, NY with over 20 years of experience in real estate development, she has led and executed growth plans for Fortune 500 companies (Macy’s, McDonald’s, Yum & Clearview Cinemas).
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he UAE retail market remains robust despite a contraction in total retail sales volume in 2020. Accordingly, the Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts 2.6% annual growth over the next three years. Macro factors contributing to this are the country’s highest vaccination rate globally, labour law reforms, new flexible visa options and a revised work week to align with the western world. Moreover, the UAE’s economy is significantly fueled by SMEs which account for over 85% of its businesses. In 2021, 69% more business licenses were issued than the year prior. All the above has paved the way for real estate leasing in mixed-use projects to be a more productive and unique proposition.
PAST The origins of mixed-use typology can be traced back to medieval times in ancient Rome for example with shops and apartments co-existing in multi-unit structures. Fast forward, this concept advanced globally at different rates and scales
RETAIL PEOPLE . MAY - JUL 2022
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LUANN PARKER
Real Estate Consultant
but reached an impressive inflexion point as land became scarce and cities quickly grew crowded as a result of massive migrations from the outlying communities. However, the UAE and surrounding countries evolved in this respect at a much slower pace given the vast greenfield area available to be developed. As a very young nation, UAE chartered an overall plan for base-level municipal and infrastructure planning to ensure the future-proofing of such developments. By the 1990s, mixed-use projects were primarily low-rise residential or hybrid (residential and office) with relatively small areas of retail space for lease. The typical tenants found in these complexes were daily needs/services such as supermarkets, pharmacies and dry cleaners. Sub-par F&B locations existed mostly with fair to average aesthetics and operations. By 2007, an unprecedented rise in residential construction occurred mostly in Dubai. Most projects lacked a complete synergy between the residential/office and retail
