Dubai’s once-iconic Lamcy Plaza finally sold at auction for Dh188.7 million

Dubai: Lamcy Plaza - a once-popular shopping mall that has been closed since a fire in 2017, has finally been sold at auction for Dh188.7 million ($51 million). The property and its land were auctioned on the Emirates Auction website last month.

The five-story mall, a central fixture in the Oud Metha area since its opening in 1997, was a key retail and entertainment hub before Dubai’s larger malls were built. It previously housed over 150 stores, a cinema, and a hypermarket.

The successful bid follows several previous attempts to sell the mall. It was first listed last year with a starting bid of Dh 200 million, but found no buyers.

A more recent auction, with a minimum price set at Dh185 million, also failed to attract any bids before this final successful sale.

The first auction process for the multi-storey property was last year, with the bidding price set at Dh210 million.

It is unclear who purchased the property and the land; however, strong demand for high-quality retail space, fuelled by robust economic growth and increasing tourism, is keeping rents and occupancy levels in retail spaces elevated.

Recently, Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates announced it is embarking on a massive Dh5 billion ($1.4 billion) transformation to mark its 20th anniversary.

This extensive overhaul, led by developer Majid Al Futtaim, will introduce 20,000 square meters of new retail space and 100 new stores.

The iconic shopping center

The Lamcy Plaza mall has been a prominent fixture in Dubai's Oud Metha area since it first opened in 1997. Its operations came to an abrupt halt following a major fire in 2017. While the fire led to the mall's immediate closure, the cause of the blaze was not publicly disclosed.

Following the incident, the mall’s then-operator, Lals Group, stated that the property’s unnamed private owner was responsible for the reinstatement and rebuilding of the structure. Despite initial hopes that the mall would be up and running within a few months, it remained shuttered for years, leading to multiple failed auction attempts.

This prolonged closure created a unique situation in the market, with a well-known property sitting dormant in a prime area, until its eventual sale this month.