Dubai: The final design and layouts of the Meydan One Mall — which will add a further 5.8 million square feet of retail capacity — is to be confirmed by the first quarter of 2016.
Along with Nakheel’s Deira Islands Mall and the flagship shopping destination it is building on Palm Jumeirah, the Meydan project will be the most keenly anticipated retail projects in Dubai’s project pipeline.
“We have just held workshops with potential retail partners and there were also discussions held on what it is we are trying to create with the Meydan One Mall,” said Mohammad Al Khayat, Meydan Group’s Head of Commercial and Free Zone. “We are sourcing feedback from them and by Q1-16, we will have a pretty clear idea as to how it should look and these will be communicated to all stakeholders.”
A 400-metre long ‘boulevard’ will house the luxury brands, while more than 650 retail shops, department stores and a hypermarket will occupy the rest of the destination.
In more ways than one, the developer is intent on pushing the envelope on what can be fitted into a new mall development in Dubai. From the moment the project was announced in August, what has been the most striking aspect is the ‘world’s longest indoor ski slope’ stretching over 1.2 kilometres. (To place this in perspective, the longest run at Mall of the Emirates’ Ski Dubai is 400 metres.)
The Meydan One Mall will also build a ‘multi- purpose ice arena’ than can take in up to 12,000 visitors.
“Each of the individual elements at the mall and within the master-development will be used to create an end-to-end destination,” said Al Khayat. “Our strategy with each of our developments has been to offer multiple attractions rather than just focus on one aspect. This is what we are doing at District One in MBR (Mohammad Bin Rashid) City, which will not be just a high-end villa community.”
With what’s being planned at Meydan One, he sure has a point. The master-development will incorporate the world’s tallest residential high-rise (Dubai One Tower), at 711 metres. This will include 885 apartments and a 350-room hotel.
Plus, there is a 420-metre long dancing fountain and backed by a 600-metre long digital screen to ‘accentuate the display, along with [a] projection on the facade of the Dubai One Tower’.
