Lulu's lease of life

Life could be a lot tougher. Imagine living on an island which has views of the Gulf and the Abu Dhabi skyline and is packed with all the amenities you need - from leisure to shops and entertainment. Sorouh Real Estate hopes to create such a community with its Lulu Island project, which it envisages to be a premier mixed-use residential development, just a few hundred metresoff the Abu Dhabi Corniche.

Comprising 15 neighbourhoods spread across 4.73 million m², Lulu Island will be developed by Sorouh in partnership with the Abu Dhabi government. The emphasis will be on fostering a sense of place among its neighbourhoods and balancing urban spaces with public areas, says Sorouh's chief executive officer, Gurjit Singh. "This can be achieved by balancing land use, resource consumption and infrastructure investment to create a healthy, vibrant and sustainable community that also acts to enhance the natural environment," he says.

Turning a vision into reality

The project is an integral part of the government's elaborate urban plan. "We recognise that Lulu Island has an important role to play — to become a new district in Abu Dhabi," says Singh. "That's something which the Urban Planning Council (UPC) here is very keen to see as well. So we are working very closely with the UPC to ensure the master plan of the island is in alignment with Plan 2030."

Sorouh's aim is to create an environment that is both distinct from the rest of Abu Dhabi, yet connected to it.

"You can essentially escape to this destination. When you cross the water, whether it is via one of the bridges that will connect with the city or the tunnels proposed in the surface transport master plan, you will find an environment where there is a sense of escapism to it — with a much more relaxed and calmer pace of life," Singh explains.

Self-contained neighbourhoods

Lulu Island's master plan gives an outlineof a community which is completely self-sustained. "The fundamental thingswe are trying to incorporate in the master plan are that if you are a resident of Lulu Island, you can live fairly self-sufficiently in the sense that there will be all the services you would want in a great neighbourhood or a series of neighbourhoods. There will be schools, plenty of walkable retail environments, a large amount of open space in terms of parks, 5km of beaches and 30km of water edge," says Singh. Since it is alarge project, the developer has divided the overall development strategy into neighbourhood parcels.

"We want to ensure there is differentiation in each of those parcels, which is based on the characteristics of the existing conditions of the island, the natural environment, the topography, access to the beach and the views. If you look at the residential components, there will be a series of community and civic facilities within those neighbourhoods so that people can live self-sufficiently," Singh says.

No wonder then that the physical-environment characteristics of the island are highly influenced by pedestrian-friendly features and walkable neighbourhoods. With availability of such facilities, the developer hopes residents will prefer to walk to the shopping and leisure destinations within the development, rather than driving.

Island components

The development will be divided into two: a city-facing side that will be urban in design and a Gulf-facing side themed like a traditional coastal village. About 80 per cent of the built-up area will be residential while 40 per cent of the island will be dedicated to open space for the public.

Residential units will include villas, townhouses and apartments, with the latter mostly on the city-facing side.

Gurjit says the Gulf-facing side will consist of "lower density housing, typically in the form of villas. Importantly, our overall positioning for the project is authentic island living and we are giving people the opportunity to live by the beach — an opportunity to return to the coast."

There will be 55,000ft² of retail "and that will be in the form of destination and neighbourhood convenience retail. At the heart of the island is where a large part of our retail is based. At the other end of the island we have what we refer to as ‘Gulf-side village' which will be a combination of souq markets, retail centres and waterfront dining precincts," says Singh. Six schools are also planned for the island.

Plenty of facilities

The hospitality components comprise a combination of beach resorts and business hotels as well as a range of offerings within the star rating spectrum.

The developments will also featurea Dune Park which will preserve the redAl Ain sands.

"There will be all the services you would expect in terms of police, petrol stations, post offices, clinics, mosques [11 of them], recreational centres, community and development centres. There are six marinas proposed for the island, so there will be yacht clubs as well," says Singh.

The master plan also makes provision for office space as the developer anticipates that the location of the project will attract a diverse range of potential businesses. Lulu Island has been granted the investment zone status, which means UAE nationals, GCC citizens and expatriates can buy properties in the development. Emiratis can own freehold land and residential units "while expats can have the strata title to the residential unit and can buy the property as per 99-year-old lease schemes," says Singh.

While Singh refused to discuss the prices, he believes the location of the project will command a premium. "Obviously the beach frontages and water frontages we are creating will enable people to live by the water and have great views. So, we anticipate thatit should command a premium pricing inthe market place."

Timeline

The project was announced in May 2008, when General Shaikh MohammadBin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince ofAbu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, issued a decree making Sorouh Real Estate and Mubadala Development Company the co-owners of Lulu Island.

Sorouh took possession of the island in January 2009. "Our first step is to get the UPC planning approval which we anticipate will be in place by the fourth quarter of this year. At that time we will make an assessment in terms of the market environment as to when would be the appropriate time to launch the project. Over the course of the next six months, we will also be having discussions with government departments about the infrastructure programme for the island," says Singh.

The development is expected to be ready in the next 20 years.