Nakheel targets 'young and trendy' for Palm project

Nakheel Properties, the Dubai developer bailed out by the government in 2009, will start selling 500 sq feet studio apartments on the Palm Jumeirah, its second residential project since the real estate market crashed in 2008, its chairman said. Palm Views East and West, which will feature 192 pied-à-terre style studios priced at AED1m (US$272,250), went on sale Sunday, said Ali Rashid Lootah. “It is targeted at the young and trendy population of Dubai. We have seen there is demand for young people who want to be living on the Palm [Jumeirah] and sharing accommodation so we are bringing a unique product that brings privacy for….those that want to live on the Palm,” he told reporters at a press conference Sunday. Construction for the project, which will be split into two buildings either side of the marina on the luxury development, is slated to begin at the end of the year with completion due by the end of the first quarter of 2014. The ground floor will feature a fitness club and a selection of retail and food outlets. Financing for the project, the value of which is not yet known, has been secured, said Lootah. Palm Views is Nakheel’s second residential project on its luxury palm-shaped island since it restructured US$16bn of debt. The developer launched The Palma Residence, which features 102 townhouses on the island, in February. Nakheel, Dubai’s biggest developer by assets, was hit hard by the global economic downturn, which saw property prices in the emirate decline by more than 65 percent from their 2008-peak. The slump forced Nakheel to write down the value of its real estate by US$21bn and prompted the bailout. Nakheel last month said 2011 profit reached AED1.3bn (US$353.93m), up from AED1bn in 2010. The firm also said it would likely issue a third tranche of its sukuk – Islamic bond – in two months time.