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Dubai: More than 60 families are now living the personal vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, after moving into their Palm Jumeirah homes.
Six years after Dubai's rulers commissioned master developer Nakheel to add 78km to Dubai's coastline in the form of a colossal palm tree, 100 villas and 650 apartment units have been handed over to owners and are awaiting occupancy.
However, residents have faced a lengthy wait for the keys to their dream homes. Nakheel originally slated handover for May 2006, then put the date back to November.
All units in the 20 Shoreline Apartments buildings will be delivered by this May, say Nakheel officials, adding that it will have handed over up to 4,000 villas and apartments by the end of the year.
Community facility
Chris O'Donnell, CEO of Nakheel, admitted that the company now faces a two-way challenge - keeping sub-developers and contractors on deadline with construction schedules and now managing the needs of residents living on an occupied housing development.
"This is turning from a construction zone to a community facility and we now have to tenderly manage customers expectations," he said.
"We've only just flicked the switch on the island and customers have been understanding that we're not going to have everything 100 per cent right immediately [in terms of fittings or services]."
Residents living on the Palm will be living on a construction site as work progresses on the second phase of the project. However, O'Donnell said construction interference will be minimal for residents in the Shoreline Apartments.
"For the villas on the fronds, people are sharing roads with concrete trucks, but what road in Dubai don't you do that?" said O'Donnell.
"With the road systems we have in place and the hoarding used to protect the community space from the construction zone, I think it's some of the best we'll see in Dubai when you compare it to what's happening in the rest of the city."
Many observers have commented on the limited space between villas on the fronds. O'Donnell said the distance between buildings is 4-5 metres - an amount comparable to beachfront properties in other developed countries.
"The houses focus on the beach and the water, rather than your neighbour."
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