Dubai Marina Photos

Dubai Marina is clearly a work in progress. The six tower and villas project known as Phase One was completed with the first towers opening for occupancy in 2003. In 2004 the Marina Walk shopping arcade began operations. Since then the Marina has been the stage for the construction of residential towers on a massive scale.


The photo above (taken 26-Oct-06) shows Emaar's Al Sahab towers surrounded by some of the Jumeirah Beach Residence towers and others rising at the edge of the Marina. An upcoming Dubai Marina special photo essay will include dozens of photos from across the full length of the Marina and the surrounding areas. The photo below (24- Oct-06) reveals the trunk of the Palm Jumeirah, easily visible from the Marina towers rising up along Al Sufouh Road.


Stay tuned for this extensive collection of up-to-date photos.

Postscript

Still a work in progress the first set of photos, Dubai Marina & Vicinity (October 2006), p1, has been uploaded.


Photo essays included Too Many Buildings? and Evening Sun.

See also Dubai Marina & Vicinity, p2.

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Four Metro Stations for Dubai Marina

The print addition of the Gulf News today included a wrap-around press release for the Dubai Metro announcing Eid Mubarak, the traditional greeting for post-Ramadan celebrations.


All graphic images compiled from the Dubai Metro website.

The notice featured smart diagrams of what the future transport will look like. Of even more value was a detailed graphic (almost too detailed to read in fact) of the route and stations of the Red and Green lines.

The good news for Dubai Marina residents is that four stations will be built within relative proximity. Starting from near the Greens and moving toward Ibn Battuta Mall, the stations will be called, Nakheel, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Marina and Jumeirah Islands. Although, presumably all four stations will lie on the Jumeirah Lake Towers side of Sheikh Zayed Road, opposite Dubai Marina, they will offer reasonable proximity to residents of different parts of the Marina.

Nakheel station will be roughly in front of the golf course, not far from the new Interchange 5 and roughly opposite the American University. This will put it within about 10 minutes walk of the edge of the Upper Marina, or tallest block area of the Marina.

Further along will be the Jumeirah Lake Towers station. As one heads from Dubai toward Jebel Ali, this station will be just beyond the Phase One Dubai Marina developpment, within 8-10 minutes of the Upper Marina area as well.



Continuing in the same direction, the Marina station will be just beyond the center of Dubai Marina and in the vicinity of the Marina Mall.

Finally, going beyond the far end of the Marina will be the Jumeirah Islands station. It will be at least a 10-15 minute walk from that edge of the Marina.

Most Marina residents, at least on the SZR side of the Marina, will probably have a 5-15 minute walk to the nearest station. Those on the Jumeirah Beach Residences side will probably have to add another 5 minutes or so depending on their proximity to the bridges which cross the Marina.



10 or 15 minutes in the hot desert sun could be quite a hike, and no DM residents will have the convenience of a station just outside their tower's entrance. But perhaps in conjunction with moving walkways or shuttle services of some sort, using the Metro and other public transport should offer a substantial degree of convenience.

And what sort of time frame are we talking? Direct from the RTA site:

Red Line Phase 1, is planned to be completed and to start generating revenue by 09/09/2009.

Not the 8th of September or the 10th, but the ninth. That ought to be quite a bash!



Postscript



Image of station with highway crossing. All Dubai Marina access stations will need to have crossings over or below SZR.

Go to DM Blog latest posts, Dubai Marina Communities or MAG 218 Community homepage.

The Wild West of Real Estate

JBR towers nearing completion and the Grosvenor Hotel in Dubai Marina.

The good and the bad of the real estate or property market in the UAE is that almost anyone can buy or sell. From a property buyer's perspective it could hardly be easier. You see an ad or brochure of an off-plan property and after some scrutiny decide you'd like to make a purchase. You contact the agent or developer, submit a deposit (usually 10%) along with a passport photocopy and voila, the property is secured. All else that needs to follow is completion of payments over installments, up to the completion of construction. Once final payment is made the property is yours. Simple really. It doesn't matter who you are, from which country or where you currently live. There are no forms to fill out--save a booking contract and later a sales agreement--no lawyers to consult, and no approvals to await.

What could be easier from the buyer's perspective? The bad is that there is no one to advise or warn as to whether the property is a sound investment or not. It is up to the buyer to seek his own counsel. There are no guarantees of protection should the developer or agent default before the property has been handed over. There is usually no escrow account in which to secure one's deposit and installments. Thus, you have the wild west. It is very much in the hands of the buyer to either do his homework or chance it.


New tower rising along Sheikh Zayed Road.

For the developer likewise, embarking on a project could hardly be easier. He need only finance purchase of the land to build on and have his building plans approved, without the onus of strict scrutiny of his credentials. His primary measure of success will not be to have built the structure but only to have sold it. Since sales take place mostly off-plan he need only submit a project that is at least good on paper.

What could be easier from the developer's perspective? The bad is that like the careless buyer, the inexperienced developer may attempt to bite off more than he can chew, by embarking on a scheme beyond his capabilities. Although likely to have received substantial payments upfront, the unqualified developer may find himself unable to secure and adequately deal with contractors. He could eventually loose money by not being able to recoup costs spent on the land purchase and on materials and labor as the project gets underway. He may find himself mired in legal disputes with both buyers and contractors.

It is a bit of a wild west scenario for both the buyer and the developer, although the eventual fate of the project is much more in the hands of the developer than the buyer.


Towers rising in Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lake Towers district.

"Real estate investment projects need a regulatory framework," says Manoj Nair, editor of Property Weekly. Such a call deserves a big "Amen." Eventually, one would expect, the market will mature and such will be the case. But with the emergence of more regulation and controls will also come the increased burden of proving one's credentials. This could remove a lot of the existing simplicity for both the buyer and the seller.

Go to DM Blog latest posts, Dubai Marina Communities or MAG 218 Community homepage.