Meraas: the developer that builds the neighbourhood first

Meraas inverts the usual sequence. The normal order is to build a tower and hope a neighbourhood forms around it. Here a public place is created that the city comes to, and housing is fitted into it.

The company

Meraas sits within Dubai Holding, the emirate's state holding company. That determines two things: access to land in central locations, and a planning horizon measured in decades. Projects of this shape rarely make sense to a private developer.

For a buyer the practical consequence is that the same party responsible for your building is responsible for the environment around it, and continues to manage it.

What it builds

• City Walk — a quarter of European-style streets, shops and restaurants in the centre of the city.
• Bluewaters Island — an artificial island with an observation wheel, a promenade and housing.
• La Mer and Port de La Mer — beachfront and marina development along the Jumeirah coast.
• Design Quarter in d3, and Nad Al Sheba Gardens, villas closer to the centre than most suburban communities.

What the approach delivers

• A broader tenant base. In a district the city visits, housing does not depend solely on the offices next door.
• Walkability, which is scarce in Dubai and priced accordingly. A district you can walk across is a distinct product here.
• Central land. These sites sit where new development can no longer easily be placed, which constrains future supply next to you.

The reverse side

• Service charges. A maintained promenade, landscaping, security and cleaning of public space cost money, and part of that reaches owners.
• Footfall. What makes the district alive also makes it busy — a drawback rather than a feature for a family with small children.
• Entry price in the central projects is above the city average.

What to check

• Service charge per square foot per year, and its trend in already-delivered phases of the same district.
• What belongs to your building's common property and what belongs to the public realm.
• Short-let rules in the specific building. In tourist-facing locations these are sometimes restricted by the owners' association, which matters if your model depends on nightly rates.
• Escrow and Oqood, as with any off-plan purchase.
• Which way the flat faces. A promenade view and a courtyard view are different assets with different tenants.

Who it suits

• A buyer purchasing to live in the city who values being able to leave the building on foot.
• Short-let investors, where the building permits it: the location does the work.
• Not somebody after quiet and a low service charge.

Based on the Dubai Land Department project register and the structure of Dubai Holding.