“The right sense of community can bring people together”, says Deyaar’s VP

The interview explores Deyaar’s flagship project, Midtown, which has garnered significant attention for its outstanding features, amenities, and sustainable practices.

Can you provide us with an overview of the property and community management industry in the region, including some of the key challenges and emerging trends?

The region’s property management sector is in the midst of a dynamic phase, buoyed by strong demand fundamentals from population and GDP growth in countries such as the UAE and supported by a healthy pipeline of projects.

As a sector of choice for investors, real estate always reflects the evolving nature of the region’s economy – and one of the key trends in property management is the increasing attention being given by both developers and homeowners in nurturing a vibrant community.

I take this as a sign of a maturing real estate market – when the focus moves from providing world-class customer experience to unlocking an unmatched community experience. As one of Dubai’s leading property developers and real estate service providers, this is a key area of differentiation for us at Deyaar, as we have come to be known for developing happy and fulfilled urban communities rather than a cluster of world-class buildings.

Overall, despite global macroeconomic uncertainties, Dubai’s status as a progressive and resilient city of the future continues to attract global investors to the property market, and fulfilling the demands of such investments will be the key aim of the property management industry in the future.

Midtown community developed by Deyaar Development has gained significant attention. Can you highlight some of its unique features, amenities, and sustainable practices that set it apart from other communities in the region?

As Deyaar’s flagship community project spanning six districts and comprising 26 buildings across a built-up area of nearly 5 million square feet, Midtown elevates the overall community experience to new heights with its state-of-the-art amenities and sprawling infrastructure. All previous phases of Midtown have already sold out, and we recently announced the launch of Jannat, the final residential district of the community.

There are several features and facilities that set Midtown apart: from its landscaped piazza stretching a kilometre, idyllic community parks for family and community gatherings, to children’s play areas, a nursery, and the massive retail boulevard featuring fashion boutiques, book shops, and restaurants, Midtown is a meticulously planned community. In particular, the retail boulevard includes a clinic, pharmacy, supermarket, salon, café, tailoring, and F&B, as well as shops for flowers, cakes and decorative lights.

Midtown also features an exciting range of amenities and recreational activities, such as over 8,000 sq feet of nursery, a fully equipped gym, a tennis court, multipurpose games rooms, daycare facilities, an outdoor BBQ area, and an attractively designed kids club with a dedicated swimming pool. Jannat’s interconnected towers, for instance, offer a lavish infinity swimming pool on the 9th-floor terrace. A comfortable and convenient lifestyle is at the heart of Midtown, and that’s why it has become a preferred destination for all.

In addition, we regularly connect with the local community at Midtown to enhance the neighbourhood experience by organising various events throughout the year. From festive celebrations such as Christmas and Eid to fun-filled water theme events during the summer and even cosy outdoor cinema nights, we always ensure there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Building a vibrant and cohesive community is crucial for fostering a sense of belonging among residents. What strategies has Deyaar implemented to ensure the creation of such a community within the Midtown development?

As the real estate sector evolves and redefines its business and operating models to cater to changing customer needs, community management has emerged as a core area of focus. Today it is no longer enough for a developer to offer amazing physical facilities and amenities in a new project – along with state-of-the-art facilities, residents today seek a strong sense of belonging and a robust community when choosing their home.

An integral part of building a loyal community of owners and tenants is by creating a unique community culture that complements the development’s world-class amenities, sustainable practices, energy-efficient infrastructure, and leisure facilities.

This vibrant and cohesive sense of community manifests itself everywhere in Midtown – whether it is in building deeper relationships with customers, offering them bespoke amenities such as an infinity pool on the terrace, arranging regular community gatherings, taking care of the giant green nursery, or featuring a multitude of retail options.

The right sense of community can bring people together to create wonderful memories, and the excellent community at Midtown is a testament to Deyaar’s vision to create natural living environments while placing customers at the core of its strategies.

Looking into the future of property and community management, what innovative approaches, technologies, or sustainability practices do you anticipate will play a significant role in shaping the industry?

As the preference and aspirations of home buyers continue to evolve, the property and community management industry must be responsive to those changes. Many homeowners and tenants alike today seek a bigger, more sustainable personal space and a loyal, like-minded community they can call home.

Developers, therefore, need to integrate their in-depth customer knowledge, data analytics, property management technology and community initiatives into a cohesive strategy that ultimately offers a personalised customer experience. We will increasingly see such an approach shaping the future of the industry rather than common drivers such as bargain prices, faster product delivery, and proactive after-sales service.

Another major area of focus will be sustainability, where homeowners will increasingly scrutinise the products, facilities and lifestyle on offer based on their green credentials. It will be incumbent upon developers to offer a truly sustainable and meaningful lifestyle to their customers.

With your expertise and experience, what insights can you provide on the evolving role of property and community management in creating sustainable and livable communities, especially in the context of the region?

As a region that is actively shaping the future of the real estate industry – especially in the dynamic city of Dubai – the Gulf and the Middle East will play a critical role in creating sustainable cities and communities. We are already seeing several examples of that around the region, and Deyaar is playing a pivotal role in this regard. Deyaar’s focus on creating a sustainable community is backed by our in-depth market intelligence, over two decades of expertise, world-class services, and unrivalled property management support for communities across diverse portfolios. That’s why Deyaar projects today are a byword for pioneering communities across the region’s real estate landscape.

Nurturing communities with a clear property management strategy – by engaging residents more actively and curating unique lifestyle experiences – can bring exponential benefits for both property owners and tenants and radically improve the return on investment (ROI) over time.  These are thus factors that will largely define the success of future projects in the region.

Moreover, sustainability has become one of the most important areas for our projects. As 2023 marks the Year of Sustainability in the UAE and the country set to host biggest and most important annual climate-related conference later this year, we have also stepped up our efforts to support national efforts towards boosting environmental sustainability.

We are committed to achieving the maximum degree of sustainability for our projects by integrating an innovative approach to further reduce the negative impact on the environment. We have been continuously working on implementing new ways and making the best use of a wide range of technologies to reduce energy and water usage in all our projects that ultimately contribute to broader efforts to cut GHG emissions.

Our efforts have paid off, and we have seen positive results. For example, with our efficient water, energy, and waste management practices, we were able to achieve electricity savings of 2.7 million kWh and 0.5 million IG (Imperial Gallon) water savings during 2022. In addition, we have significantly reduced paper usage by embracing digital transformation in our services and businesses through several projects.

It includes automating the daily sanitation reports, promoting online payments, using online three-dimensional (3-D) technology that allows customers to view the project and explore it from the inside before the construction work is completed, and switching to electronic signing (eSignature). All this has helped to save at least 124,595 pages being used in 2022. There are several other initiatives that we have launched, and more are in the pipeline to join global efforts toward issues like climate change and its negative impacts.