DAMAC Properties to start handing over apartments in Lake View tower

New homes now ready for customers at JLT development

Luxury lifestyle real estate provider DAMAC Properties has announced the completion of its Lake View tower – the second of the company’s projects to be completed at Jumeirah Lake Towers.

The final completion certificate was awarded to DAMAC Properties last week and customers will now begin moving in to the 40 storey tower which occupies a prime location at JLT just minutes from Dubai Marina.

The final completion of the 536 apartments and retail outlets at LakeView marks the end of a significant year for DAMAC Properties (2008) in the UAE where the company has fulfilled it promise of delivering around 2,000 units into the market. Less than ten apartments are left at the Lake View development and the company is currently offering special incentives for these ready to occupy units.

Chief Executive of DAMAC Properties Peter Riddoch said the successful conclusion of the LakeView project marked a positive indication that the company was remaining focused at a time when there were still many challenges across the property industry.

‘Completing this development is a superb way for us to start the first quarter of 2009 and shows that we have not lost our focus or our commitment to our customers,’ he said.

‘There is no doubt that the second half of last year saw a big shift in terms of the affect of the global economic crisis on the property market in Dubai but it has always been, and will continue to be, our intention to deliver our goals and to meet the commitments that we have made. We firmly believe that the market will continue to reward those companies that deliver on the quality they promised.

‘We are pleased to see our first customers now able to move into LakeView and enjoy an area that is becoming more and more popular with the recent opening of Dubai Marina Mall and with the new metro due to open later this year which will have stations close by.’

Aside from the significance of finishing several other towers in 2008, DAMAC Properties is continuing to make impressive progress at other key developments across Dubai. At Ocean Heights, the company’s flagship building at Dubai Marina, construction has already reached the 39th floor with one floor being completed every week. Meanwhile at TECOM, DAMAC Properties’ Executive Heights building is completed and at Smart Heights, the building has reached floor eleven. At the company’s only project at DIFC, Park Towers, the twin tower development is now taking shape on the landscape and is rising at a floor every six days.

Mr Riddoch commented:‘There is no denying the progress that we are making at these major sites and we are pleased to report that it is very much business as usual.’

DAMAC Properties has already announced its intention to deliver a further 7,000 units into the market during 2009/10 and Mr Riddoch believes that despite continued economic gloom in some areas, that property will continue to be a solid investment.

Mr Riddoch added: ‘This is a new era for the UAE property market. Whilst it was reported by Colliers that property prices fell in Dubai by eight per cent in the last quarter of 2008 –overall prices were up 59 per cent on the previous year – something worth keeping in perspective.

‘We are fully aware that the market conditions will remain tough in the UAE during 2009 but believe that by staying focused and continuing in the way we have that we will be in a strong position when the market starts to recover. Construction is continuing steadily across our developments and we look forward to reporting more progress in the coming months.’