Sharjah property developer Arada has launched sales of its luxury project in Dubai, the Armani Beach Residences at Palm Jumeirah.
Prices at the project, located on the outer crescent of the man-made islands, start at Dh21 million for two-bedroom residences.
Designed by Japanese Pritzker-Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando, the project has 53 two to five-bedroom residences, as well as penthouses and two presidential suites.
The three-bedroom apartments cost Dh32 million ($8.7 million), the four bedrooms cost Dh51 million and the five bedrooms will start from Dh60 million.
Arada did not disclose the prices for the penthouses and presidential suites.
Each apartment features fixtures and fittings from Armani/Casa for living spaces, bathrooms and kitchens, as well as floor-to-ceiling glass facades, a circular or linear foyer (a signature Armani concept) and a terrace.
The amenities include a residents spa, multipurpose function room, cigar lounge, a compact movie theatre, children’s playroom and landscaped deck area, as well as a private beach. Buyers will also be able to choose between a light and dark palette for their apartment.
“The apartments are some of the largest apartments you will see on The Palm. They're in the top 5 per cent,” Rosa Piro, senior business development director at Arada, told The National.
The smallest two-bedroom apartment is 2,657 square feet, while the largest presidential suite is 43,830 square feet.
“They've introduced features which are very different from what's commonly available in the market in Dubai,” Ms Piro added.
The project is the first residential project collaboration between Tadao Ando and Armani and the first architectural project for Mr Ando in the Middle East.
He previously worked with the fashion house designing the Armani Teatro in Milan, which is where most of its shows are held.
“He's [Ando] famous for the minimalistic design and simple architecture,” said Ms Piro.
“This project in particular is very different from other projects you will find generally on The Palm. You see a lot of projects we have more of a decadence, luxury style. This is very unique in the sense that it's a subtle luxury project.”
The two presidential suites, located on the top floor of the property come with courtyard space, a pool, a gym, a library, a private cinema and a private parking area with space for seven cars.
Buyers will be flown to Italy to choose their design and meet Georgio Armani, who is personally involved in all of the interior design of Armani/Casa's work.
“[The presidential suites] will both be designed by Armani/Casa according to the guests' requirements,” Ms Piro said.
“We will organise a trip for the buyers to go to Milan and meet the interior Armani/Casa team and meet and greet with Giorgio Armani and they will be able to carefully select how they would like their penthouse to be.”
Ms Piro said the average price per square feet for branded residences in Dubai is Dh3,536, and the average price on The Palm is Dh4,895. Pricing per square foot at Armani Beach Residences “ranges from Dh8,000 and above”.
Several of the 53 properties have already been purchased, Ms Piro said with reported strong interest regarding the project.
Armani Beach Residences is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026.
Mr Piro said after two years of strong growth in Dubai's property market, Arada expects the momentum to continue but at a slower pace.
“We are expecting the growth to slow down but continue. We're looking probably at a more moderate single-digit pace of growth,” she said.
“The Palm will always will always stay strong because whenever you have a premium location the property will stay strong in pretty much any economic climate.”
Arada has another project that will be announced this year, which Ms Piro confirmed will be another branded project.
Tipping point
Dubai's prime market, which encompasses the neighbourhoods of The Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills and Jumeirah Bay Island, experienced price growth of about 16 per cent in the 12 months to the end of September 2023, according to Faisal Durrani, partner and head of research, Mena at Knight Frank.
“In 2024, we forecast a further 5 per cent increase for prime values, while the mainstream market is expected to grow by 3.5 per cent,” he said.
“While this may, on the surface at least, appear to be a significant decline on the 44.4 per cent prime price growth registered in 2021, it is simply a reflection of some of the extraordinary growth in 2021 slowly working its way out of our 12-month calculations.”
Dubai's prime residential market will still be the third-fastest growing in the world in 2024, behind Auckland at 10 per cent and Mumbai at 5.5 per cent, Mr Durrani said.
Dubai has “reached a tipping point”, with the city's property market “going toe to toe with the world’s long-established hubs as a magnet for the world’s wealthy”, he said.
“Outstanding transport infrastructure, unrivalled global connectivity and an exceptionally forward-thinking leadership have catapulted Dubai’s reputation and status globally, as evidenced by the unrelenting demand from international high net worth individuals to own second homes here, or indeed relocate to the emirate.”
