Dubai: Palm Jumeirah residents, currently served only by small outlets, won't need to venture off the island come next year as Waitrose and other facilities open up in the Golden Mile.
Developed and run by a joint venture between IFA Hotels & Resorts (HR) and Istithmar World, the Golden Mile will initially include the supermarket, Starbucks, Pinkberry, Drs Nicolas&Asp, Boots Pharmacy and Optivision.
"The retail area will boast a variety of convenient, daily retail needs from doctors and beauty salons to supermarkets, book stores and apparel outlets. There will be a number of restaurants available as well," Joe Sita, president IFA Hotel Investments (HI), told Gulf News.
The outlets will start to open from May and June next year and Waitrose is tentatively scheduled to open in April, he added.
The supermarket will be located in one of the buildings of the 36,000 square metre shopping promenade, another one will house restaurants and entertainment. In total the commercial and retail part of the Golden Mile comprises 11 buildings.
Sita believes branded retailers moving onto The Palm is proof of an economic recovery and will bolster investor confidence in Dubai's luxury developments .
"Of course, we are also happy to be able to provide Palm Jumeirah residents with some much-needed and long-awaited shopping outlets. We are making a real push to finalise agreements on any remaining retail space, so that we can deliver this project to residents of the island as soon as possible," he added.
The Golden Mile itself started handing over residential units in May last year. Some residents on the island have been complaining about limited, and with that more expensive, choices. Others are quite happy with the more exclusive offerings popping over to Knowledge Village or Dubai Marina for bigger grocery shopping.
The lack of shopping though hasn't affected buyer or tenant sentiment towards a sought after life on The Palm as supermarkets and malls are at most a 15-minute drive away, Ian Hollingdale, Head of Project - The Palm, Asteco told Gulf News.
"There are enough basic retail outlets to service the Palm's community within the shoreline apartments that sell basic household essentials, a shop supplying high-end essentials and luxuries, as well as a dry-cleaners and bakery," added William Neill, senior surveyor, Cluttons Middle East.
Increased competition
He reckons the future presence of a large supermarket will no doubt bring a greater benefit to the residents and increase the competition between the existing retail outlets, but is unlikely to influence property prices. "There is no evidence that the absence of a flagship supermarket has affected occupier demand in the past nor that it will subsequently increase freehold and leasehold values," he said.
Increased competition will hopefully reduce prices and not just offer retail convenience, but for now Golden Mile retailers can count on being ahead of the game.
"There is no retail at Oceana other than W14 restaurant. The Regatta Club will open in the future but that will only be food and beverage. There is currently no other competition other than shoreline deli's and convenience stores," said Hollingdale.
New project: Kingdom of Sheba
IFA's other major project on The Palm Jumeirah, The Kingdom of Sheba, originally slated for completion around now, is going ahead with the first phase construction.
The first phase comprises the Balqis Residence (the freehold residential part of the resort) and Fairmont Heritage Place.
The second phase is the hotel and vacation club, which is currently undergoing design improvements, Joe Sita, president IFA HI told Gulf News.
Do you think this is a welcome respite for residents in the area? How would this impact their shopping habits? What do you think are some of the facilities an ideal neighbourhood should have?
