The Pearl is his oyster

Santhosh Joseph
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As more milestones are met for the construction of Dubai Pearl, the company’s founder and CEO explains the evolution of the design and the future in which the project will take its place

Dubai Pearl has undergone more changes and reviews than perhaps any other big project in the region, at the same time riding the wave of fluctuations in the wider industry. A partial building, a demolition, an overhaul in design, two contractors, an ambitious grid system and a prime location make for one of the most interesting tales in the global construction industry.

Big alterations in projects have occasionally signaled difficulties financially, or with investors – and with the latter of these there have been some notable issues. But by June 2010 the site has reached its most striking chapter by staying on track and thriving as the industry regains a stable footing.

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After reaching successful milestones in the foundation work last year, both developer and contractor are buoyant. The maroon signs on Sheikh Zayed Road indicating Dubai Pearl are a kind of herald to the future presence of the site, and the company is keen to emphasise its prime spot.

Its first selling point is that the Palm Jumeirah can be seen by residents, which is known not to be the case for those who actually live on the man-made archipelago. Indeed, even residents on the ground floor of the four towers in the centre of the project will have a good view of its striking outline, being in fact on the sixth floor above five floors of parking.

The issue of parking was central to the redesign, explained Santhosh Joseph, CEO and founder of the Dubai Pearl company, and indeed to a degree became representative of the changing priorities of the project.

“The original design was nine towers with a shopping mall in the middle, each was built from the ground, it was not a grid or on a car park up to level five, so the number of available car park spaces was a lot less.

“In the redesign Tecom demanded car parks, as it is a mixed use development, commercial space, retail space. We needed to provide 12,000 spaces as per regulations – we provided an additional 20%.” The current project will see 15,500 spaces.

A need for a “grand arrival”, too, for all motor based visitors, created the five-stories-from-ground-level concept. “You don’t want to be driving into a car park when you enter Dubai Pearl and then have to find your way to a first level. That is not a premium development, so in the redesign it is set on a grid system.”

Now, cars will be able to pass through the middle of the circular complex, but the residential and entertainment hemispheres either side will be totally pedestrianised – a distinctive element of the project. “One of the big challenges in Dubai is finding a place to park your car. The beauty is that it will be 100% pedestrianised, there are no vehicles allowed across the podium level.”

Residential space had sold up quickly during the boom years, and of the 1,445 homes in the 73-storey towers, 95% were sold. But at the beginning of this month it was revealed that some investors were given a 40% cut to the price of apartments bought at the height of the market, at the same time changing the split between office and residential space.

Joseph explains that the ability to offer the reduction came about based on a repricing of the construction cost of the project following renegotiations with the contractor. He has earlier been quoted as saying this was a reduction from nearly AED9 billion down to AED7.4 billion.