The 35,000-odd residents of Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) will get more green space as one of the lakes in the master community gets converted into a park.

Lake C, located in front of Clusters O, P, Q and R will be converted into a 55,000 square metre park with construction starting next year.

“Work on the park will commence early next year and will be completed in 18 months,” Matthew Lomax, Director of Property, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), told Emirates 24|7.

“There was a lot of request from the community and it did make sense to have a park as there wasn’t much green space in the development. The decision, however,  wasn’t taken unilaterally. We went and sat with every developer and the owners associations... we got a resounding support from all.”

Lomax didn’t reveal the cost of building the park, stating the contracts had not yet been issued.

“The building cost would be borne by DMCC,” he revealed, adding the move was cost effective for the master developer as well.

JLT’s new planned facilities includes: two pedestrian boulevards; shaded pathways connecting the various areas of the park; children’s amenities; picnic areas; open lawn areas; exercise areas; a lake side plaza; a pedestrian link bridge to the south side of JLT and access to retail outlets on the promenade.

Asked if DMCC would convert any of the remaining three lakes into parks, Lomax added that there were “no” such plans at this stage.

A developer, who spoke to this website, confirmed the master developer had spoken to them and had sought their and the OAs' response on the move.

“I believe it is a good move and will help reduce the overall cost of managing the community and reduce the charges for the residents over the time.”

Residents, however, differ in their views: some believe the park is good for all,  while some raise the issue of security.

“Its good to have a park in the community as every weekend I used to take my kids to some other public parks. With the new park around, I can just walk with my kids… I don’t need to drive anymore,” says Sameer Raj, a resident in one of the towers in Cluster B.

Susan R, who owns an apartment in Cluster P, adds: “I bought the apartment just because of the lake view. I am not happy at all with the park. Besides, I believe there will be a security issue as we don’t know who all will be visiting the park. Hope they have good security there.”

R Krishnan, an apartment owner, echoes the same view.

“I don’t want my lake view to go. I paid a premium for it and I don’t want the park… I want the lake to stay there.”

JLT is a waterfront community, comprising 87 residential, office and mixed-use towers. In June last year, DMCC told this website that no projects have been cancelled to date in the master development.

The master development comprises 26 clusters of three towers or trios, with each trio having two towers of the same size and one tower that is five floors taller.

The man-made lakes which earlier consisted of four separate water bodies will cover 179,000 square meters and will be approximately three metres deep.