Several cafes and shops have been opened this week on Saadiyat by the island's master developer Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC). They are all part of Amwaj, a new community centre within the Saadiyat Beach Villas community.
For now, there is only Waitrose supermarket opened, but in the near future Starbucks, Tips and Toes beauty salon, Circle Café and Al Manara pharmacy will also open.
According to TDIC, Amwaj will add later on - dates yet to be announced - a Redwood Saadiyat Nursery that follows the Montessori Method. The method was developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori in 1897, based on her extensive research with special needs children and characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits and respect for a child's natural psychological, physical, and social development.
The community centre also has parking spaces for approximately 75 vehicles.
"Any new shops and cafes on the island are great news, but, to be honest, I just wish they open something in the Beach Residences as well," said Martin Oliver, a British resident there.
So far, there are three main residential areas on the 27 square kilometres island - St. Regis residences and villas, Saadiyat Beach Villas and Saadiyat Beach Residences, the least developed in terms of community services of the three.
Altogether, TDIC plans to have seven different districts, which will be home to over 145,000 people and a developed area of 2600 hectares. The famous Cultural District that includes the Louvre, Guggenheim and Shaikh Zayed museums is part of the development.
The much talked about Louvre, initially meant to open in 2012, was supposed to finish construction by the end of 2015, but TDIC sources say the US$ 1 billion building is yet to be handed over and once that it done it will take another several months for the artworks to be hanged and installed, so it is unlikely the museum will opened before December this year.
"No doubt, the museums will attract a lot of visitors when eventually opened, but the biggest attraction for residents are the proximity of stunning beaches combined with some beautifully designed properties," pointed out Oliver.
"The best place to be by far is the St. Regis Residences, where you benefit from a lot of St. Regis hotel facilities and services, including access to the hotel's beach, not to mention several nice cafes and sport centre, but despite the very high rents, it is very hard to find an apartment there," he added.
Oliver and his family were trying to move into a St. Regis apartment a couple of years ago, but since they were at the bottom of a six months waiting list, they decided to rent a few kilometres down the island, in the newly developed Beach Residences.
"There is just no comparison between the Beach and the St. Regis residences, there is still a lot of construction in the area, the gym is just a small room with a few machines in and there are no cafes within the community, but they are still very nice apartments," Oliver told Khaleej Times.
Another major development on the island is Hidd Al Saadiyat, a "collection" of luxurious 453 villas and 15 low-rise apartment buildings, right on the beach, built on nearly 1.5 million square metres of natural waterfront land on the North-East part of the island, which will be home to 4,000 people.
Although the development is not meant to be completed until the end of 2016, nearly 70 percent of the villas have been sold, a four bedroom property going for around Dh 10 millions.
Earlier this week, Hidd Al Saadiyat developer, the Saadiyat Development and Investment Company (SDIC) awarded the landscaping contract of Hidd to Gulf Contracting Company. This includes pavement of driveways, pathways and road signage, benches, light poles, and bollards.
Underground work is also about to commence, which involves irrigation, electrical, manholes and concrete bases for signage.
"Hidd Al Saadiyat's partnership with one of the most distinguished leading landscape consultants proudly marks the project's final steps towards completion," said Greg Slingerland, project director of Hidd Al Saadiyat.
The development's landscape will include interconnected park spaces, children's play areas, open lawn spaces and shaded seating areas.
silvia@khaleejtimes.com
Published: Tue 29 Mar 2016, 5:00 PM
Updated: Tue 29 Mar 2016, 7:09 PM
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