Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre (DMCC), the free zone operator and master developer of the Jumeirah Lakes Towers community, has relaunched plans for its Burj 2020 district.

The company said that the district, now branded as Uptown Dubai, will contain seven towers sat on top of seven podium levels. It will comprise 10 million square feet of built-up space in total, featuring offices, approximately 3,000 residences, and a two-level, central entertainment plaza that will be bigger than New York's Time Square, it said, with a shopping centre beneath.

The district will contain two 'super-tall' towers on either side of the plaza, but DMCC did not give specific heights. A super-tall tower is typically defined as a building that is over 300 metres by the United States-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

DMCC had previously said that it would build an office tower on this site, Burj 2020, that would be the largest commercial tower in the world, which would have meant it would need to have been higher than the 541 metre-tall One World Trade Center in New York.

Both of the super-tall towers have been designed by the same practice, AS + GG Architects, as the Burj 2020, which was initially unveiled two years ago at the Cityscape Global event in 2015.

DMCC said that the Uptown Dubai district will also contain a number of luxury hotels and more than 200 retail and food and beverage units.

Uptown Dubai will be delivered in three phases, with work on the first phase comprising 2 million sq ft of development starting by the end of this year. A DMCC spokesperson told Zawya in an emailed statement that phase one is due to complete by 2020 and that “pending market conditions”, the entire district should complete within seven years.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman of DMCC, said: “Uptown Dubai is a world-class smart district unlike anything on the market.

"Two super-tall towers and a vibrant central plaza will anchor the 10 million sq/ft development, creating an ultra-connected, energising district designed to meet Dubai’s next wave of growth," he added.

DMCC said the development of Uptown Dubai district could lead to 10,000 jobs being created over the next 10 years.

© Zawya 2017