Schon Properties has sold its Dubai Lagoon project to Xanadu Real Estate Development a move aimed at speeding up development of the AED 7bn master-planned mixed-use project.
The agreement involves the development of 2.33 million square feet of three phases of Dubai Lagoon, including Rowan, Lilly and, Winterberry developments, Schon said in a statement. It marks a major turning point for Dubai Lagoon which will now be developed by Xanadu Real Estate Development a Dubai-based private developer.
Consisting of 17 buildings spread over seven phases, Dubai Lagoon was originally launched in 2005 but was stalled by the financial crisis.
Noorul Asif, Chief Operating Officer of Schon Properties, said: This historic agreement will ensure Xanadu Real Estate Development will deliver Dubai Lagoon. We are confident with Xanadus track record, they are the perfect partner to acquire the projects and deliver Dubai Lagoon to the buyers.
We would like to thank all stakeholders, RERA and Dubai Land Department officials for their continued support towards the sector and the project to ensure completion happens. Their approval was mandatory on the deal for us to allow for the acquisition of the projects.
Due to the sites proximity to the Dubai Expo 2020 site and the planned new metro line Expo Link passing by the site, the developments market value started to rise, Schon said. As a result, Xanadu has decided to increase its investment to acquire the residential component of Dubai Lagoon and build the project with its own resources.
Noorul Asif says the deal will enable Schon Properties to focus on developing iSuites a huge home-grown hospitality portfolio that will see the development of 2,550 hotel apartments. Additionally, Schon has committed its focus towards hospitality, and this further proves their commitment toward the sector.