29 August 2017
Sweid & Sweid, the Dubai-based property development business set up by Maher Sweid, the son of company chairman and Depa co-founder Mohannad Sweid, is building a new, 32-storey branded residential tower on the edge of Dubai's Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) district. The 100,000 square foot project will contain studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments in a single block on a corner site of the Jumeirah Lakes Towers master community.
Maher Sweid, managing partner of Sweid & Sweid, confirmed to Zawya that the company is "currently building a luxury branded residential G+31 tower".
He added that the tower is “located in a prominent island site at the intersection of DMCC, the Emirates Golf Course and the Montgomerie". DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre) is the master developer of the JLT district.
Sweid & Sweid is understood to be in talks with a well-known hospitality brand that will manage the serviced residences, but it has not named the operator.
The tower is scheduled for completion by the middle of next year. Signboards at the site state that the tower is being built by main contractor Civilco, with Arcan as project manager.
Sweid & Sweid was founded in 2006. To date, it has developed a pair of office buildings that were built to cater for international tenants, including a 130,000 sq ft building in Cairo known as The 47th and a 100,000 sq ft office block in Dubai Internet City known as The Edge, which completed last year and is already fully let. Five of the building's six floors were pre-let to Oracle. Other tenants include Snapchat's parent firm Snap Inc and American publisher McGraw Hill.
According to its website, Sweid & Sweid is also developing plans for a 115-bed, 26,000 sq ft hospital in the Jumeirah area that will be built to house "a world-renowned healthcare operator".
A press release issued by the company on Monday stated that infill developments (developers buying up vacant or available plots within established communities) was a growing trend in Dubai's market, but one that needs to be done properly.
Maher Sweid, managing partner of Sweid & Sweid. Image supplied by Sweid & Sweid
“In recent years, Dubai’s main population hubs have crossed a critical threshold, with the urban landscape becoming a highly developed environment where few pockets of vacant land remain," Maher Sweid said.
"While developers continue to expand and launch projects inland (away from the coast), there has also been a resurgence of activity within more developed areas such as Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Lakes Towers and Downtown."
He said that when completing infill developments, "the onus is on the developer to recognise the opportunities and to work responsibly to create something that not only complements the surrounding context - but that is seamlessly woven into the urban fabric”.
“In many ways, it is easier to start with a blank slate than to add something to an existing framework. Developers need to consider various aspects of their surrounding neighbourhood such as architecture, pedestrian passageways, traffic circulation, and view corridors – and not only the views from their own development, but others as well."
The developer also extolled the benefits of infill opportunities within JLT, citing the area's established population base, its connectivity and its developing F&B scene.
Last week, Dubai-based developer Invest Group Overseas (IGO) announced plans for a 40-storey tower on an infill site in Jumeirah Lakes Towers which it bought in May this year. The IGO 101 tower is due for completion by the end of 2020.
(Correction: To amend the project's built-up area to 100,000 sq ft, to remove an incorrect project title and to clarify that Sweid & Sweid was founded solely by Maher Sweid, with Mohannad as chairman).
© Zawya 2017
