New York living comes to New Dubai

That is what life would be like if you moved into a penthouse costing Dh50m at Ocean Heights, Dubai.

The 83-storey building at the entrance of Dubai Marina has nine penthouses – five half-floor ones and four full-floor ones.

The Dh50 million apartment – the most expensive – is on the 83rd floor and is still waiting for a buyer. Measuring 3,050 square foot, it is a full-floor penthouse with a breathtaking view of the Arabian Gulf and The Palm Jumeirah.

The penthouses offer the ultimate in bespoke fittings – international interior designers Hirsch Bedner Associates created the contemporary look, with lavish features such as leather floors in the entrance to the master bedroom and marble floors elsewhere.

Buyers have the option of working with developer Damac’s interior designers to customise their home. For the main feature wall, buyers can choose their own artist to create a mural, with Damac covering the cost.

The penthouses cost almost as much as one of the smaller, cheaper islands on the offshore The World development, where prices start at Dh55m. But according to Damac’s Chief Executive, Peter Riddoch, the prices are reasonable by international standards.

“Even though these are not inexpensive, at Dh35 to Dh50m, a similar apartment in Tokyo, London or New York would cost you substantially more,” Riddoch told Emirates Business.

Penthouses such as those at Ocean Heights are in a league of their own, with the latest in smart technology, five bedrooms, a jet spa and a private lift lobby.

Riddoch said the technology system, which controls the temperature, security camera, lights and curtains, is just as important to tenants as the luxury interiors.

“What we’re finding is that they want luxury and luxury goes beyond just the fancy finish, it’s everything that sings and dances as well.”

So far, three of the full-floor penthouses have been sold and Damac is negotiating with investors who are interested in two of the half-floor ones. Riddoch would not reveal the nationalities of the buyers but said they were from the GCC and Europe.

“The interesting thing is the customers who we’ve already sold to or who we’re now in negotiation with are very, very varied.

“They’re from different parts of the world. A businessman who has bought from us is from Russia. He spends quite a lot of time here but his headquarters is still in Russia and he just wanted something different from staying in a hotel or serviced apartment.

“He wanted his own place and he’s actually – when he moves in – planning to use it as a combination office-cum-home.

“Then we have a GCC national who sees his apartment as something to use when he brings his family here. This might happen once a month, it might not happen for six months, but it’s theirs, that’s where they can go. So we’re talking to a variety of different people.”

The building has shared facilities such as a barbecue area, a jogging track, a juice bar and a health club. It is due to be completed by the end of 2010 and the first tenants are expected to move in by the first quarter of 2011.