Damac teams up with Ivana Trump in luxury Beirut tower

Dubai: Real estate developer Damac Properties has teamed up with the ex-wife of billionaire businessman Donald Trump in a luxury residential tower project planned for Lebanon's capital Beirut.

The $150 million La Residence tower will be built at the intersection of Omar Daouk and Fakhreddine streets in Beirut's downtown area with a three year construction period set to start in 2007.

Interior design work on the 27-storey tower's one to three bedroom apartments, duplexes and penthouses will be influenced by Ivana Trump, the former vice-president of interior design for the Trump Organisation, whose marriage to the host of TV's The Apprentice ended in divorce in 1992.

"We are honoured to be endorsed by Ivana Trump, a world-renowned celebrity who is considered a symbol of style, glamour and class," said Peter Riddoch, CEO of Damac.

Damac officials admitted apartments in the La Residence tower will not be cheap, due to Beirut's surging land prices, and are targeted at mid- and high-income end users. Apartment prices are being released by the company today. "Land in Beirut is very limited and the prices have been going up and up," said Sofyan Khatib, executive director at Damac Holding.

The project represents Damac Properties' first venture on Lebanese soil and follows the launch of its recent $3.5 billion mixed-use project in China and a $400 million 14-building real estate venture within Lusail's Fox Hills community in Doha.

The company's real estate portfolio now stands at more than Dh15 billion, excluding its China project, and features 20 projects containing a total of 52 buildings, the vast majority of which are in the UAE.

Khatib said the company is aiming to diversify its portfolio, admitting "if your market gets stuck, you are stuck".