They are the first 300 residents out of an expected 125,000 to move onto Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island.
Last week 7DAYS reported that the occupants had taken up residence in the St Regis Apartments near Manarat Al Saadiyat on the 27sqkm project.
The island, once an out-of-the-way natural beauty spot, will soon sport golf courses, boutiques, more luxury apartment blocks, a cultural centre and big-name museums such as the Lourve and Guggenheim. Its developers, the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), say it will be transformed from a sandy, windswept location to the cultural capital of the UAE.
A representative of TDIC told 7DAYS the next big project to open on the island would be the Saadiyat beach villas.
All 254 units in the first phase have been sold. There will be a second phase of 90 villas that will be finished in the fourth quarter of this year. More apartments will be ready in early next year.
"It's very impressive," says Indian investor Rajjit Kumar as he reviewed the various models of how Saadiyat will look at last week's Cityscape conference in the capital.
He and a group of business colleagues lost a lot of money after investing in 12 units of the Time Towers development on Al Reem Island, a project that has been stalled for two years.
He is still considering another investment in Abu Dhabi because he made so much money in the property boom years between 2002 and 2007.
"It is definitely worth a look," he said. "The plans on Saadiyat are exciting but obviously I am going to be cautious." Caution is a word you hear a lot these days and it looks set to affect the development of Saadiyat.
In the latest version of Abu Dhabi 2030, the Urban Planning Council's master plan for the city, it notes that the expected population density for Saadiyat has been reduced to reflect market realities.
For those buying on the island, a lower density may be a very good thing, but will people live there?
"Absolutely," said Jackie Thomas, who is considering buying two villas on the island. The way I look at it, there are people living all over this country in apartments and villas that are in the middle of nowhere, with no infrastructure and nothing to do. Here we have a Louvre and already there is a top-class motorway on Saadiyat."
However, having been burned in the Dubai real-estate market, she absolutely refuses to buy anything off plan.
"Not till they've put down the welcome mat will I hand over my money," she said.
"Saadiyat looks very exciting and I really want to invest there, but I want to see four walls first."
© 7Days 2012
