Beirut In the chequered history of Lebanon's real estate sector, five years may not seem such a long time to announce, shelve and then revive a project.
When Damac Properties set out to launch its first venture in Lebanon in 2006, it surely could not have foreseen the war that broke out the same year and the financial crisis that enveloped the region in 2008.
Under those circumstances there was nothing much for Damac to do other than shelve the development plans and bide time until the situation improved.
The Dubai company recently returned to Leban-on to relaunch the Damac Tower project in downtown Beirut, with a revised programme.
"We already have a piece of land which we purchased five years ago in a prime location in the heart of Beirut," Damac Properties chairman Hussain Sajwani told Gulf News from Beirut.
"We think this is going to be not just one of the top quality buildings in Leban-on, but also globally."
Damac has teamed up with the Italian fashion house Versace to provide the interior design for the project under the Versace Home label.
"We've done the research and no single designer of their [Versace's] competitors has the full range of products," Sajwani said.
Damac and Versace have cemented an alliance that was first struck in 2009 to launch a retail outlet in the Dubai Mall.
Damac said most of the apartments in the 28-storey high-rise would have a sea view.
"We will have one-bedroom to four-bedroom apartments and the areas will be from 90 square metres to 500 square metres," said Damac general manager Ziad Al Sha'ar. Apartments would be priced from $700,000, he said.
The first few buyers would receive Versace Home furniture included with their purchase. There was also an option to buy an apartment already fully furnished by Versace, or have it tailored by a Versace Home interior designer.
Construction was expected to be complete by 2013, Al Sha'ar said.
In his speech at the relaunch, Versace president Santo Versace compared the downtown Beirut district where the Damac Tower will be, to the Via Montenapoleone in Milan.
He said the Versace Home contribution would add the "Made in Italy" stamp to the residences.
"We will specifically cover the design of individual residences, provide interior design solutions for the different living requirements, and oversee the layout and furnishing of the common areas such as the lobby, spa and fitness suite," Versace said.
The strong link between Europe and Lebanon had made the move a lot easier for Versace, the company's licence division director Roberto Selva said. "I think the population is very European driven — we are not selling products, but an experience," Selva said.
Sajwani said: "There are 10 million Lebanese who live overseas and a number of the wealthy among them come for the summer.
"In addition, there are the Arabs from the Gulf and the Lebanese who live in Lebanon who would like to live in such a building.
"We believe in Lebanon and it's a good market for the future. For us it's a step forward for bringing an international designer like Versace and creating a global trend."
At the show apartment, the interior design by Versace Home was on display including everything from furniture to the tableware. Each bathroom came with its own jacuzzi, steam room and sauna.
Round-the-clock service such as housekeeping, concierge, maintenance and spa services will be available for residents, Damac Properties said.
Recovery
Delivering is priority
For Damac Properties, the top priority when it comes to the UAE market has been delivery and making sure their projects were all fulfilled.
"It is improving, but we're not out of it, there is still some instability," said chairman Hussain Sajwani. "I think we need more time for things to be more clear and for the markets to start moving forward."
