Al Wa'ab City is a uniquely positioned high-end residential development that sets the benchmark for the housing industry.
Brian Meilleur is a man with a passion a passion born out of expertise.
A licensed lawyer, over his 25-year career, Meilleur has held a variety of positions, largely in the field of real estate. Now his passion is the completion of a prestigious project the Al Wa'ab City.
A one of the kind real estate property aimed purely for families, which according to him will change the image of highend residential projects, in Qatar.
But Meilleur is not just concerned about completion on schedule. He is also looking at details, which will help achieve perfection with minimum resource wastage. Each facet of the construction is thus pre-planned and executed after much deliberation.Qatar Today speaks to Meilleur, President and Chief Operations Officer, Al Wa'ab City.
Al Wa'ab City is one of the largest privately owned real estate projects currently being developed in Qatar. Promoted by Nasser Bin Khaled Holding, this $2.5 billion multi-use development is the first of its kind that boasts of three USPs family-oriented, self-supporting and location, situated as it is along Doha's arterial road and in close proximity to some major academic institutions.
The project is expected to be completed in 2010.
Family first
"It is the first development that is specifically intended for families and that makes this project unique. All the lifestyle choices that families make are identified and provided within the complex.
There are walkways, green spaces, parks, and all the facilities within walking distance so that people don't need to use their vehicles inside the city. Twenty percent of the total area is dedicated to greenery. "The main retail area, Barahat Al Wa'ab, is the pulsing heart of Al Wa'ab City and is situated at the centre, a feature that will be the prime attraction. Coffee shops, restaurants, flower shops, retail spaces will add to the atmosphere that we have aimed for.
"It won't be a neighbourhood or regional retail centre but a boutique retail space. It will be the heart and soul of the whole project; the vibrant area, where interesting events happen."
Stretching over 44,000 square metres, Barahat Al Wa'ab is equivalent to seven international football pitches. It is a large civic space intended to serve not only the local resident population but also to be a regional destination for all residents and visitors.
The word "piazza" is used to evoke the feeling of famous old squares. "It can be compared to the area around Arc D' Triumph in Paris, France, for the huge meeting space. "The rest of the area will be private, secure, secluded and comfortable. A lush green, low-density area where families bond is what we envision."
Al Wa'ab City is derived from the Arabic word for a spacious green plot of land.
Using this as an inspiration, one fourth of the total land area will be devoted to extensive landscaping. As well as the exciting piazza, Al Wa'ab City will also offer Doha numerous verdant park areas, walking paths, water features, and play areas for children.
A substantial amount of high-quality retail space will be incorporated within Barahat Al Wa'ab, which will host public events, concerts and exhibitions amidst spectacular surrounding. A 5 star, 200-room luxury hotel will be the focal point of Barahat Al Wa'ab alongside a dining area.
A vision comes true
"The project in its entirety from the architecture, to planning and execution has all been done keeping the Qatari heritage in mind.
This was the vision of Sheikha Hanadi bint Nasser bin Khaled Al Thani, and she was sure of what the City should be a place where one can gather with family and friends and lead a peaceful life with all your requirements met within the confines.
"A lot of homework has been done to prepare the master plan. We took a lot of time to make this, as we had to maintain the vision Sheikha Hanadi had in mind. It is a very prestigious project for the NBK group."
The construction sector is accused of forty percent of global energy use and is responsible for one-third of green house gas emissions.
But Meilleur says that any real-estate project, if done with careful planning, will not overuse the resources.
"We have spent a long time in the planning stage, in the architecture of the building, the orientation, the shades provided etc., so that the buildings make use of the available sunlight.
The windows have been positioned in such a way that outside heat does not infiltrate the interiors, hence optimising the usage of air conditioning.
"Even the plants have been carefully chosen. We are opting for plants that need less water and less maintenance, plants that can stand the urban environment.
"We are working through Waste Management programmes since water is a scare resource here and we have to work through these issues.
We will optimise usage of energy through the construction phase. Even when the City is complete and fully occupied, we will constantly come up with solutions that make this project energy efficient."
Stem to stern
Al Wa'ab City will be home to approximately 8,000 people in over 2,000 residential units occupying an area of over 1.2 million sq m. This translates to the lowest population density ratio of any new major development in the country.
"Out of these 2,000 units, 300 villas will be for sale and the rest will be mostly for tenancy.
They will be offered to Qataris and GCC nationals. "It might be made available to foreign nationals in the future but that is yet to be decided." "There are lot of real estate projects that have created hype, and not risen above the earth.
We want ours to be perfect from the word go, make promises that can be kept, plan every detail and execute it with extreme care. "This is the first project of this kind, and we don't want to take any shortcuts here. We want our project to be the benchmark for high-end residential development.
"We are taking on the maintenance of the City. There is a team that will maintain the development for many years, even after the apartments have been leased out. After 10 years, we want the City just as we have dreamt it to be.
"We want to be very careful in marketing the project. "We haven't started marketing the leasing of apartments or the sale of residences but we have begun the marketing of our retail spaces.
"We are looking at an exclusive retail mix that will also be a long-term partnership.
"The office tenants are also being carefully scrutinised to make sure that we achieve a good partnership. But the interest generated has been tremendous."
Answering Needs?
Though only 300 villas are on sale, Meilleur says, "There is a genuine housing shortage so any small contribution will be vital at this stage. I think it is more about setting standards rather than answering needs.
"This project will raise standards in construction and will offer a long-term solution to the industry."
On constraints, like manpower shortage, resources non-availability faced during the construction, Meilleur views these positively and says, "These are issues that can be dealt with, when we have an economy that is booming, what more do we have to worry about.
"The advantage of being in Qatar is that we are at a nascent stage and we can work around any problems that pop up, as the people involved are very open to advice and new solutions."
© Qatar Today 2008
