The show must go on

The public Open Day was designed to showcase the company's portfolio of existing businesses and future projects. The scenic areas adorned the exhibition hall, giving visitors an "almost there" feel of the five new-sprung projects of UP.

People were dazzled by the uniqueness, elegance and the high quality they saw, project after project, from the neighbourly and cosy UPTOWN Mirdiff, to the classy, luxurious Park Lane Apartments, to the most alluring and exceptional Motorcity, or the therapeutic environment of Green Community West, culminating in the grand finale, One Central Park.

UPTOWN Mirdiff is the heart centre of Mirdiff. This project is built on 23 hectares of land with an investment value of 700 million Dirhams. The Anchor supermarket is already operating and the remaining development of villas, apartments, shopping centres and the primary school's handover are expected to open during the 3rd quarter of 2005.

Park Lane Apartments, crowning the upper corner entrance of DIFC, is an investment of 1.5 billion Dirhams set on a land of 247,500 sq.ft.This project is still in the design stage, pending to commence in March 2005 with a construction period of 3 years.

Motorcity, a business park for the motor and the motor related industries, is the evolution of Dubai Autodrome. It is the highest investment among the 5 projects, valued at 7 billion Dirhams and built on a land of 30 million sq.ft.

The residential complex, Green Community West, built after the great success of Green Community, is completely booked while still at its design stage. This community is due for completion in the 4th quarter of 2007.

One Central Park, a diamond in the rough, is an 80-storey skyscraper designed by Foster and Partners with an investment value of 1.8 billion Dirhams and a plot size of 215,200 sq.ft. This project will undergo a construction period of 3 years and will be completed in the 3rd quarter of 2008 at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

Having a large portfolio of properties, residential and retail, with a 100 percent occupancy in each and every one of them, UP has generally never failed to exceed expectations and to provide something different and unique in every project.

This extremely high occupancy within all UP's properties even before completion, gave them confidence in other projects. They are able to guide architects with UP's vision, expectations and experience of the local market. They build only where there is demand.

As per cue, and as this has been one of the recipes of their success, the conversion rate of spectators to actual depositors was high: 2005's public Open Day contribution was higher than usual.

Following the vision of His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who wants "Dubai of the future" to exceed every dream, Dubai will be growing at an incredible pace over the next ten or fifteen years, while historically, cities develop over hundreds of years. He is completely committed to his vision, which has given confidence to regional and international investors in Dubai. "We are all building on the confidence of the government. I feel that since the government is so involved, then so should we be as investors," stated Mr. Simon Azzam, CEO of Union Properties.

The fact that the number of visitors increases every year while overbooking the large number of hotels, tells us that there is still room for a great deal of growth. To satisfy the demands of Dubai there needs to be many more projects. The pace in Dubai is changing so fast. It is moving at incredible speed. This requires the injection of a word of caution: Sometimes when you do things in a rush, mistakes and imperfections can compound. The bigger the project, the bigger the potential for mistakes, and this is why Union Properties is very cautious and prudent, adhering solely to high quality standards in parallel to innovation and uniqueness in order to maintain reputation and credibility.

Ten years from now, the skyline will be completely transformed. Where you find desert now, there will be projects of all types, be it residential, commercial or entertainment, catering for a large spectrum of people. A happier, better and easier place to live.
Union Properties will continue to be one of the main driving forces behind the successful business and quality of life of yesterday, today and the future Dubai.