Versace expects to finish Palazzo

Versace is committed to completing its Dh2.3 billion Palazzo Versace Dubai resort.

Versace is committed to completing its Dh2.3 billion (US$626 million) Palazzo Versace Dubai resort, although that depends on Dubai Properties putting the necessary infrastructure in place at its Culture Village location. "The Versace Group is 100 per cent committed to this project and we foresee it will be a huge success," said Santo Versace, the company's president, who visited Dubai last week. "Nothing equivalent has ever been built in Dubai to date."
Palazzo Versace is expected to open at the end of next year or early 2011, Mr Versace said. Construction, which started in 2007, is about 60 per cent complete. Culture Village has been touted by its master developer, Dubai Properties, as a Dh50bn leisure and tourist project at the edge of Dubai Creek. "Palazzo Versace can be viewed as a centrepiece of Culture Village, which is designed to become Dubai's cultural hub," said Soheil Abedian, the managing director of Emirates Sunland Group, which is developing the project.
Palazzo Versace was designed as a stand-alone resort and would remain largely unaffected by delays to the wider Culture Village project, he said. "All the fully operational resort will require is basic infrastructure such as electricity, water, sanitation and access road - and hopefully within the next 12 months these basic infrastructure elements should be provided," Mr Abedian said. The property will have 217 hotel suites and 169 private residences furnished with Versace furniture. It will feature a Vanitas restaurant, a health spa, a ballroom, convention facilities and a Versace boutique. It will also have a private beach and marina.
Plans for a refrigerated beach were scrapped because of concern about the impact such a feature would have on the environment. Mr Abedian said more than 80 per cent of the private residences were successfully sold off-plan in a series of collections at the initial launch of the project. He did not comment on how many had been sold since. The residences range from two-bedroom apartments to six-bedroom duplexes, with prices starting from Dh17.7m. The company is working to limit the impact of non-performing loans which have damaged many developments in the Emirates.
"Like any other development company actively constructing, they are facing some challenges with purchasers not keeping up with payments," said Mr Abedian. "Palazzo Versace is no exception to this situation and currently based on RERA and the Land Department guidelines, we have advised purchasers that they can make their payments in line with construction milestones and we are seeing very positive results from this action."
The first Palazzo Versace opened its doors on Australia's Gold Coast in 2000. While the "immediate focus" was to deliver the Dubai project, Versace was investigating "a number of potential locations for the fashion-branded hotel both within the GCC region and in key gateway and resort destinations around the world", Mr Abedian said. Room rates for the hotel in Dubai will be decided at a later stage. Dubai's hotels have experienced a sharp drop in occupancy levels and average daily rates this year.
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