Nakheel’s Discovery Gardens Fully Leased, Developer Says

**Construction in Full Swing**

Leading Dubai property developer Nakheel said that all retail space has now been leased out at its new 8,700 square metre Discovery Gardens Community Centre scheduled for opening in early 2014. Construction is on track and is now 35 percent completed, with all 6,000 square metres of available shop space already booked by retailers and restaurants, Nakheel said in a statement on April 3.

**Tenants Secure Retail Space at Discovery Gardens**
More than 20 local and international brands have signed up to open outlets at the Discovery Gardens community mall, part of the Discovery Gardens residential complex. Among them is anchor store Geant Hypermarket, which will take up more than 40 percent, or 2,500 square metres, of the complex. Also on board is one of Dubai’s first authentic Chuck E. Cheese outlets. The American dining and children’s entertainment chain is one of the 11 cafes and restaurants at Discovery Gardens Community Centre and has taken nearly 1,000 square meters. The Dubai property developer also said that confirmed eateries include Pizzaro, Wendy’s, Second Cup, Arabian Grill, Burger King, Texas Chicken, Chappan Bhog and The Exit. Discovery Gardens will also host a children’s nursery and a wide range of everyday convenience stores including a dry cleaners, a pharmacy, optician, games store, money exchange as well as hair salons.

Nakheel said last month that demand for retail space in the new mall exceeded the total number of spots to be available by 2-to-1 (Demand for Nakheel Mall Stores Exceeds Supply by 2-to-1). Robust interest in the retail space in Nakheel’s Discovery Gardens confirms that the retail segment of the Dubai property market is recovering steadily. According to a recent survey conducted by the UK’s Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the recent resurgence in demand for retail space in the emirate will result in an increase in rents for the first time since mid-2008, when the Dubai property market was struck by the global economic downturn (Retail Rents In Dubai Set To Rise).

**Jumeirah Park Community Centre Also on Track**
!m[Dubai Property Group on Track with Development of Its Community Centre ](/uploads/story/1806/thumbs/pic1_inline.png)
The Discovery Gardens mini-mall is one of two community centres Nakheel is currently building to service residential projects. Jumeirah Park Community Centre, which will serve residents in Jumeirah Park, Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Islands and the surrounding areas, is slightly ahead of the Discovery Gardens project. Currently 40 percent complete, the Jumeirah Park centre is due to open by the end of 2013. It is already 100 percent leased to 30 retailers.

“Some tenants are common to both [Discovery Gardens and Jumeirah Park]. There is a diverse range of facilities, from your everyday supermarket to your cafes and restaurants and hairdressers — the kinds of things that you expect to have in a growing community,” said Rebecca Rees, a spokeswoman for Nakheel, as quoted by The National. Commenting on Nakheel’s strategy for “this year and beyond”, she said that the Dubai property developer is committed to enhancing its existing communities.