April 15, 2008 The property boom going on in the Persian Gulf at present knows no bounds, largely because it has been given a grand vision. Conceptualized to solve Dubai's beach shortage by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the person who has masterminded the emergence of Dubai, the Palm Trilogy is to be completed with a collossus , adding a few records to Dubai's already splendid set of man-made biggests. Nakheel will employ its now highly-refined island building methods to create the largest man-made island on the planet, housing more than a million people in fine style. With a surface area of 46.35 million square meters, the Palm Deira will be bigger than Paris. That's it on the right, next to the World, then Palm Jumeirah, then Palm Jebel Ali on the left. Check out the great piccies and renderings in the photo library.
The Palm trilogy was created to solve Dubai's beach shortage. The Ruler of Dubai drew a sketch of a palm tree, realizing its fronds would provide more beach frontage than a traditional circular island. From this insight, the idea of The Palm was born and three islands envisioned.
The development will occupy an enormous expanse of reclaimed land in the Gulf between Dubai Creek and the Sharjah border. It consists of several major elements which lead from the coastline of Dubai out into the Gulf to the four islands which collectively take on the form - made famous by the first of The Palm trilogy, The Palm Jumeirah - of a palm tree surrounded by a crescent. When completed, the islands will be linked to the mainland by bridges which will integrate into the current road transport network as well as the planned Dubai Metro train system.
Development of The Palm Deira began in 2003, and since then extensive planning and studies have been carried out to refine the initial masterplan. The design has evolved, not only to take into account improvements to the project itself but also to react to demand in the marketplace and to ensure that the plan fits with the predicted long-term needs of Dubai and the area of Deira in particular. Currently, reclamation is progressing on schedule with over 198 million cubic metres of sand already in place - 20 per cent of the total planned volume of the finished Palm Deira, and 80 per cent more than that used to create The Palm Jumeirah. The development will be created in distinct phases, with reclamation of the entire development expected to be completed during 2013.
The first phase of development is Deira Island, which features a balanced mix of commercial, residential apartment, and mixed use plots set to create a family orientated, self-contained community as well as a commercial hub for visitors and residents alike.
The Palm Deira will be a waterfront city of over one million people, providing a wide range of accommodation on a number of specially designed islands, as well as a wealth of tourism destinations and commercial opportunities. From luxury and boutique hotels to a multiplicity of jaw-dropping private beaches and marinas, The Palm Deira extends Dubai's tourist offering with the provision of a wealth of new resorts and experiences, situated right at the heart of the historic city centre. This historical background of trade will also be represented in areas of the crescent named after countries from the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.
The Palm Deira will be a home for hundreds of thousands of residents, offering villas, townhouses, and apartments across the various islands. One of the key themes of The Palm Deira's masterplan is community living, and as such, planned developments on The Palm Deira also include a science museum and library, schools, a hospitals and health centres, post offices, religious amenities, and other facilities to service the resident population, as well as supplement existing commercial and municipal facilities on the mainland of Deira and wider Dubai.
If the incredible property boom going on in the Gulf right now is of interest to you, might we suggest you check out the uaemegaprojects blog of one of our esteemed colleagues, Brett Siegel.
There's also the upcoming Cityscape Abu Dhabi International Property Investment & Development Event, an annual networking exhibition focusing on all aspects of the property development cycle with two parallel conferences running alongside the exhibition. The conference will see more than 300 projects on display, among them all of the amazing developments which are following the Palm, the World and other UAE megaprojects which have sparked the land rush.
The Cityscape events cover all the world hotspots, and attract regional and international investors, property developers, leading architects and designers to an annual forum that celebrates the very best in real estate, architecture, urban planning and design.