Real Estate

Dutco Balfour Beatty (DBB) has been awarded a Dhs 150 million contract to build the clubhouse and golf academy at The Tiger Woods Dubai.

The Tiger Woods Dubai is a golf course and resort project at Dubailand. Features include:

• Golf Course – A 7,800 yard, par 72, 18-hold championship golf course, Al Ruwaya, designed by Tiger Woods.
• Clubhouse – 145,000 sq ft clubhouse with restaurant, bar and lounge, and golf shop.
• Golf Academy – Staffed by PGA professionals this facility will offer high tech tuition and analysis, plus a driving range.
• Hotel – A luxury boutique hotel.
• Residences – Luxury houses and villas.

The Tiger Woods Dubai is a joint venture between Tiger Woods Design and Tatweer, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding.

Arabian Business reports that the Burj Dubai will open on December 2 2009, UAE National Day.

The Armani Hotel, occupying the lower floors of the building, will open on the same day.

The final piece of glass cladding was manufactured last week and is currently awaiting installation.

Real estate developers the Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari Group have appointed Dhabi Contracting as the main building contractor for Wadi Walk.

Wadi Walk is a mixed-use waterfront development at the City of Arabia in Dubailand. It consists of Mediterranean-style low rise residential buildings with 1600 one to four bedroom apartments running alongside an 8 km canal. The ground floors of the buildings will be occupied by shops, cafes, and restaurants.

IFA Hotels and Resorts (IFAHR) has announced that major building work on the Fairmont Palm Residence has been completed.

The development, on the trunk of the Palm Jumeirah, consists of over 550 deluxe apartments and penthouses. They are housed in 2 buildings, separated by the Fairmont Palm Hotel and Resort.

Full completion is expected in the third quarter of 2009, with handover to owners shortly after.

UAE newspaper The National reports that the Burj Dubai will open in December.

The world’s tallest tower is situated at Emaar’s Downtown Burj Dubai development. The company had previously stated that it would open in September, coinciding with the launch of the Dubai Metro’s Red Line.

Zabeel Properties, a division of Zabeel Investments, has announced that it has handed over homes at the Tiara Residence to owners.

The Tiara Residence is located on the trunk of the Palm Jumeirah and comprises 644 apartments in seven 15-storey towers.

The development also includes the Essque Hotel, set to open in 2010.

Owners of residential units at the Golden Mile on the Palm Jumeirah began receiving their keys last month.

The development on the trunk of the artificial island includes 860 residential units (one, two and three bedroom apartments, plus townhouses and penthouses). It is a joint venture between Nakheel and IFA Hotels and Resorts (IFAHR).

All residences will be managed by the Fairmont Palm Hotel, scheduled to open in 2010.

IFA HR recently introduced a scheme allowing Golden Mile owners to either occupy their apartments or lease them through IFA HR.

The United Arab Emirates will begin shortly begin issuing multiple-entry visas to foreign property owners.

From June 1 2009 an expatriate owning a property in the UAE will be able to obtain a multiple-entry visa that will be valid for six months.

A visa will cost AED 2000 and can be renewed provided the property owner leaves the UAE for at least one month.

Conditions include:

• The property must be worth at least AED 1 million
• The owner must have a monthly income of at least AED 10,000
• The owner must obtain the title of the property from the registration authority in the relevant emirate.

The visa does not give the holder the right to work.

Property prices in Dubai plummeted in the first quarter of 2009 according to a leading real estate advisor.

According to the Dubai House Price Index Q1 2009, published this week by Colliers International, property prices declined 41 percent between Q4 2008 and Q1 2009.

Prices have now dropped to the level experienced in the second quarter of 2007.

Dubai-based property developer Limitless has made 38 of its staff redundant (7%) and delayed the second phase of its Arabian Canal project.

The Arabian Canal is a 75 km man-made waterway and series of waterfront developments. It will run from the Dubai Waterfront at Jebel Ali, past the new Dubai World Central International Airport, and back towards the Palm Jumeirah.

The company will continue work on the first phase of the project, excavation of an 8 km stretch of waterway. The whole project is likely to be split into around 10 phases.