GLOBAL UPDATE |
| UAE The German Cube
Dubai Sports City (DSC) will be the home of the recently unveiled ‘Cube’ project, valued at US$70 million. The Cube, led by Trend Capital, the German issuing house is the first example of German investment in Dubai as well as being the first residential project to be announced in DSC. Initial artist’s impressions of the Cube resemble the le’ Grand Arc of Paris, France, though no detailed designs have been released yet. BRT Hamburg is the appointed architectural practice for the Cube and has promised a cutting edge design. BMG from Berlin has also been appointed as the contractor. UAE All aboard for the Bin Hendi experience Designed by Terry Dougall, the man behind The Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, the new Bin Hendi Avenue, Bin Hendi’s first own branded mall was scheduled to open in November at the Deira City Centre shopping mall in Dubai. Inspired by the old English shopping arcades (with touches of Greco Roman), the Avenue is split over two floors, covers an area of 70,000 sq. ft (6,500 sq. metres) housing a host of Bin Hendi fashion brand outlets including Hugo Boss, GF Ferre, Zilli, Brioni, Paul & Shark, Artioli and Baldessarini. Other brands within the Avenue include G Star Raw, Phat Farm, Ungaro Fever and Byblos Blu. Two women's handbag and shoe stores are also to open including Braccialini with products from UK designer Vivienne Westwood and Rodo. Bin Hendi Avenue will also house a boutique market and to complete the destination, the Avenue offers a variety of food and beverage outlets including many of Bin Hendi’s own brands as well as others. In addition to the outlets, the Avenue features a central space totalling more than 3200 sq. ft. (300 sq. metres) designed to house exhibitions and events. NIGERIA Against all odds The country has suffered from a corrupt government and a culture of violence. Its infrastructure is crumbling. Imports including furnishings and carpets are banned by the government. Bribery of officials is common. The country is oil-rich, yet ranks last among OPEC countries. It is plagued by heroin trafficking, money laundering, Aids and more recently Polio. Yet, the developers of the new 215,000 sq. ft. (20,000 sq. metres) world-class shopping mall named The Palms are confident of their investment. Aimed at the richer Nigerians and the expatriate communities, the shopping centre aims to uplift the whole retail market in Nigeria and serve as the benchmark for retail in the future, according to the developers, Persianas Properties, a joint venture formed by Actis Capital (the investors with US$ 40 million) and Lagos-based development firm Snap Blu. Incidentally, Actis Capital, a private equity group specializing in emerging countries is a spin-off of CDC Capital Partners, a London-based project finance institution owned by the British government that also is a partner in the project. The ‘A-grade’ retail venue occupies a site of 10 acres (40,500 sq. metres) and will house a cinema, two anchor stores, 63 in-line shops and high-grade finishes equal to those in the United States and Europe as well as provide parking for 700 cars and a designated area for chauffeured cars. In response to the contextual realities, a concrete block wall 9 inches (23 cm) thick and nearly 8 feet (2.4 metres) high, with massive steel gates at the entrances, will encircle the Palms to protect it from the riots and mobs that have rocked the city in the past. Another unusual aspect of the project uncommon to construction in the developed world is the need for an electric generator to supply power during Lagos’ chronic outages. Further, the centre will treat its own sewage and also purify and store water for drinking and fighting fires, rather than rely on hard-pressed municipal services. One of the biggest challenges faced by the developers is the fact that such a project type, of this size or stature has never been built in Nigeria before, so finding contactors that can execute the work to international standards proved difficult. Further except for sand and cement, the remaining building materials need to be imported, yet there are government enforced restrictions on imports, forcing the developers to source locally and pay a much higher premium. Despite the numerous hurdles, the anchor stores have been signed up and the smaller retailers following suit. Developers of The Palms are determined to deliver this world-class shopping mall and pave the way for the development of Nigeria. LEBANON Retail therapy Lebanon’s café and retail culture is showing a continued growth. Dubbed as the ‘Paris of the Middle East’, Lebanon was famed for its shopping and socialite culture before the civil war broke. Recent figures in retail expenditure and an increase in tourism are being seen as the return to the good old days of Lebanon. The streets are dotted with cafes again, the resorts are busy and shopping centres are booming.Solidiere is busy building the ‘Souks of Beirut’ project at an estimated cost of US$ 10 million. Covering an area of one million sq. ft. (93,000 sq. metres) the open air project is currently under construction in the city centre and includes 200 shops, a jeweller’s market, cafés, an art gallery and an archaeological museum. In the northern suburbs of Beirut, also under development is the Dora Regional Commercial Centre measuring 750,000 sq. ft. (70,000 sq. metres).These new projects are expected to boost Beirut’s shopping centre density from about 620 sq. ft. (58 sq. metres) per thousand inhabitants to roughly 2,500 sq. ft. (233 sq. metres) and from 250 sq. ft. (23 sq. metres) per thousand to 570 sq. ft. (53 sq. metres) countrywide. Meanwhile Beirut’s total gross leasable area, currently about two million sq. ft. (185,800 sq. metres), will probably reach almost five million sq. ft. (464,500 sq. metres) by 2008. UAE Trump comes to Dubai Dubai-based real estate developer Nakheel in conjunction with the Trump Organisation unveiled The Palm Trump International Hotel and Tower recently. The partnership means both companies will invest substantially into the US$ 400 million development to be built on the Palm Jumeirah development. The Palm Jumeirah, spanning 5 km in length and 5 km in width, is one of the world's largest man-made islands in the shape of a palm tree in the Gulf. The Palm Trump International Hotel and Tower will provide a luxury centrepiece hotel on The Golden Mile, the residential and retail boulevard on the trunk of The Palm Jumeirah. The development will comprise about 500 apartments (1/2/3 bedroom studios and penthouses) that will be available to own, and each residence will have 5-star hotel services and amenities. The development will be the first project in Dubai where each room will have a sea view according to the developers. The Palm Trump International Hotel and Tower is the initial development in Nakheel and The Trump Organisation's exclusive joint venture in the Middle East. The Trump Organisation's agreement with Nakheel includes exclusive rights for 19 countries in the Middle East region and 17 major brands. UAE Another bypass Dubai Municipality will construct an outer bypass road linking the Dubai-Al Ain Road with the Jebel Lehab Road in Dubai. The construction on the 23 kilometre long four-lane dual carriageway will start in two months and is expected to be completed within two years. The new road will contribute to reduce traffic congestion on other roads of the emirate by providing a viable alternative to motorists travelling between emirates. UAE Name a brand, any brand..! Dubai based real estate developer Nakheel announced there will be more than 25 of the top international hotel brands located on the Palm Jumeirah development! Those already confirmed include Movenpick, Anantara, Fairmont, Radisson SAS, Hilton, Metropolitan, Shangri La, One and Only, and Atlantis, which will be creating a water-theme park hotel resort at the centre of the Crescent. Other key brands currently in serious discussions with Nakheel to locate on the development include Starwood, Marriott, Oberoi, Chedi, Taj, and Dusit. QATAR Independent evidence The Criminal Evidence and Information Department (CEID) has been given the green light for its own independent premises. The new building will be located opposite the forensic laboratory on Salwa Road in Doha and cost QR 20.2 million (US$ 5.5 million). Work on the building that will house finger printing services, finger printing archives, technical and other sections is expected to start in December 2006 and complete by end 2006. QATAR Cause for housing shortage identified USA Fifth Avenue Charges World's Highest Rents It's official, New York’s Fifth Avenue is the most expensive shopping street in the world! Rents in New York rose by 38 per cent during the past year according to New York based Cushman & Wakefield’s latest report published in October this year. Rents on Fifth Avenue have reached US$ 13,990 per sq. metre from US$ 10,226 per sq. metre at the same time last year. In other parts of the world, rents in Causeway Bay in Hong Kong jumped 90 per cent to US$ 11,653, placing it second and pushing Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Paris into third with US$ 8,024 per sq. metre. In fourth place in the world’s most expensive street is London’s New Bond Street which toppled Oxford Street and also earned itself the title of London's most expensive shopping street for the first time in 20 years after rents rose 25 per cent in local currency terms to US$ 6,753 per sq. metre. Oxford Street rents increased 5.3 per cent to US$ 5,788 per sq. metre. Ginza in Tokyo takes fifth place with US$ 5,578 per sq. metre followed closely by Dublin’s Grafton Street with US$ 4,423 per sq. metre. Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall earns seventh place with US$ 3,807 per sq. metre, Seoul’s Myeongdong in eighth place with US$ 3,764 per sq. metre followed by Munich’s Kaufingerstrasse with US$ 3,632 per sq. metre. Zurich's Bahnhofstrasse leapt into the top ten cities after rents in Switzerland's largest city jumped 47 per cent to US$ 3,513 per sq. metre. Moscow's Tervskaya Street was the only one to drop out of the top 10, falling to 11th place from seventh as rents fell 2.9 per cent to US$ 3,400 per sq. metre. Rents on Krasta in the Latvian capital of Riga fell 38 per cent to US$ 363 per sq. metre a year, the cheapest in the survey. From the Middle East, Beirut is the most expensive city, costing US$ 1,500 per sq. metre in the city centre. The escalating rents are blamed on the world’s top shopping brands vying for limited space on the world’s most popular shopping destinations in response to the growth of the luxury brand market. READ COMPLETE ARTICLE Text & Images: Various |
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