Business & Money | Saturday 11 February, 2017 2:32 am |

Building work is almost finished on First Avenue, the new shopping mall and hotel development in Motor City. The project’s backers say construction work for the mall is on track for completion by the end of this month, with fit-out for the retail units set to take another four months. The mall is expected to open in May, along with the adjoining hotel.

 

First Avenue’s anchor tenants are in place, taking up 40% of the mall’s leasable area. Carrefour, the leading shopping mall, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East and North Africa, will take up 11% of the leasable area. Prime Medical Centre, a leading provider of clinical, diagnostic and medical tourism services, will absorb 9% of the leasable area. Fun Block, part of Fun City by Landmark Group, will introduce a new generation of children’s entertainment space, occupying 9% of the leasable area. Reem Al Bawadi, a famous Arabic food and beverage chain, will take up 6% of the leasable space. ACE Hardware, the world’s largest hardware retail cooperative selling products to fix homes and businesses, will have 5% of the leasable area.

 

First Avenue, which is owned and operated by Saudi Arabia’s Al Tawfeeq for Development and Investment (ATDI), will meet rapidly scaling consumer and business demand in Motor City as Dubai’s tourism sector and the local population grow.

 

“We are delighted that First Avenue mall is on schedule for a ‘soft opening’ in May,” said Dr Ramy Moussly, ATDI General Manager. “The project will be a landmark development in Motor City, strategically located to serve local demand in a growing catchment area with a young demographic, and positioned to help meet rising business and leisure tourism numbers in Dubai.

First Avenue is part of Dubai’s newest suburban quarter. Among the signs that the area is popular is the planned move by media group MBC of a major part of its production to Dubai Studio City which is less than one kilometer from the mall and hotel. As Dubai’s development moves southwards, we are well sited to serve a growing and discerning market.”

 

First Avenue, based at the edge of the Dubai Autodrome, will have 70 high-street retailers and 15 casual dining restaurants. The adjoining four-star 150-room hotel, which can be accessed directly from the mall, will be operated by Park Inn by Radisson, with an all-day restaurant, lobby, meetings and events spaces, gym, spa and swimming pool. The hotel overlooks the race track at Dubai Autodrome.

 

First Avenue’s backers want the mall to be an all-week-round social and retail hub in the Union Properties-developed Motor City, with a distinct automotive and lifestyle theme. The two-storey development stretches across 500,000sq/ft., with a one-kilometre roadway linking each and an underground car park with 400 spaces.

 

Motor City is a rapidly growing area in Dubai, close to Studio City, Sports City and Arabian Ranches, and a short drive from Maktoum International Airport and the Expo 2020 site.