Dubai Lagoon by Schon: After 15 years, the first building will soon be ready for handover

Dubai: The first building at the Dubai Lagoon site – a project launched in 2005 – in Dubai Investments Park could be delivered shortly, according to its property investors.

“The builder said they will initially deliver one building in this particular zone (Lily),” said Bibhu Dutta Jena, who bought a property at Dubai Lagoon in 2006. “The Civil Defense approval is underway and once that is done, there is the need to get the BCC (Building Clearance Certificate) before the handover to property owners.

“What the builder is saying is they will deliver two more buildings within this year and two more buildings thereafter. There are two more zones - only partial construction was started a long time ago. They will start working on those after the Lily Zone delivery.”

The original project, initially launched by Schon Properties, was supposed to be delivered in phases from 2008, but ended up failing to meet any of its project milestones or promises to its investors. Multiple efforts were made by Schon to try and get this project revived and delivered, but none of these attempts worked.

The masterplan had envisaged 50 odd buildings, and was one of the most successful offplan launches during 2005-06.

Hundreds of investors were left in the lurch with no indication of the status of their properties. This was then that Dubai Land Department and RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Agency) intervened and handed out parcels within Dubai Lagoons to multiple builders to get it off the ground.

Investor relief

Finally, some investors in Dubai Lagoon – which on its launch was one of the first affordable freehold projects in Dubai at the time – will finally have some relief knowing they will soon get delivery of the keys to their home. “Many investors had paid full amount on their units, and some also filed cases against Schon and won the case to recover the amounts,” said Jena. “But there was no one to return his or her money.”

Dubai Lagoon sits on prime land at DIP, where land and property values have risen steadily over the years. Recently, the master-developer, Dubai Investments, took over another Schon project there, the Schon Business Park, for failure to meet contractual obligations.

Persistent push

Jena is part of a group of 109 investors who had been pursuing their rights to their properties for years now. They made direct approaches to Schon, and when that came to nothing, took up their case with RERA. “The Dubai real estate authorities were diligent in trying to find a solution and ensure that property owners were not left with anything to show,” said a buyer at Dubai Lagoon. “It’s taken time, but when the first building gets delivered, it will again bring back the project into the limelight.

“And Dubai Investments Park is a happening location – that too will work in the developer’s favour. That of the owners too.”