AAA in Dh2.2bn tower developments

AAA Appraisers, the development arm of the Dubai-based AAA International Group, will launch three more towers in Dubai by year-end with an estimated investment of Dh2.2 billion, after it unveiled The Eclipse Tower, a $200 million (Dh734m) commercial tower, in Jumeirah Village South yesterday.

"We will launch three more towers by year-end apart from the Eclipse and we estimate each of the towers to cost $200m," Carlo Dorofatti, finance manager, told Emirates Business.

The Eclipse Tower, a high-end property development, will have a gross built-up area of 350,000 square feet with 55,000 sq ft of retail space. According to Yousef Yaqoob Ibrahim, general manager, AAA Group, the tower will incorporate the concept of a nine-hole sky golf course, which will feature bunkers, water hazards and a pioneering water management system that maintains the golf course with minimal wastage of water.

"The project has been approved by the Land Department and we have set up an escrow account facility with the Emirates Islamic Bank."

Moreover, the company will offer its investors a "ready to move office space" in Downtown Jebel Ali.

Every investor will get three years use of a fully furnished office at the in Galleries Towers at Jebel Ali Downtown along with a trade licence and an investor visa for every office.

The sales of this tower will be launched within the next couple of months, with the office space being sold from Dh1,600 per sq ft.

"We expect 50 per cent of the building to be sold out in the pre-launch phase, while prices are expected to rise by 15 per cent post launch," Ibrahim said.

Web Real Estate, the real estate brokerage arm of the AAA Group, has been appointed the marketing partner. "Construction will start by September-end and we are yet to award our enabling contracts. We expect to complete the project by end of 2010," Ibrahim said.

The Dubai market will see an additional 80 million sq ft of office space being added between 2008 and 2011.

"By 2015, Dubai will have 110 million sq ft of office space and an estimated 4.1 million population, raising the population to office space ratio to 26.83 square feet per capita.

"It is similar to Seattle, which had an office stock of 86.69 million sq ft in 2007 and a population of 3.26 million, with a resulting ratio of 26.56 sq ft per capita," Nicholas Maclean, Managing Director – Middle East region, CB Richard Ellis, told Emirates Business.

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