Palm penthouse sets record

Melanie Swan

• Last Updated: June 23. 2008 10:40PM UAE / June 23. 2008 6:40PM GMT

The 62-storey stainless steel and glass tower will be the tallest structure on Palm Jumeirah and is expected to be completed in summer 2011. Courtesy Nakheel

Records were shattered yesterday when a buyer offered US$3,000 (Dh11,100) per square foot, or close to $30 million for a penthouse, more than twice the going rate of Dubai’s next most expensive properties. At current prices, a seafront penthouse costs about $12m, property experts said.

The penthouse was one of two that went on sale yesterday in the Trump International Hotel and Tower, a joint venture between Nakheel and the Trump Organisation, on Palm Jumeirah.

Other properties in the development sold for an average of $2,450 per sq ft. Also on offer at yesterday’s public sale were 399 one- to four-bedroom residential units, ranging in size from 890 to 7,500 sq ft.

The development is the first in the region for Donald Trump, the US property magnate. He has reserved a penthouse apartment in the tower for himself, which will have views across the Gulf.

Mr Trump, the chief executive of the Trump Organisation, said: “I have created some of the world’s most spectacular buildings and hotels, but my project with Nakheel will be one of the most impressive undertakings I have ever been a part of.”

Mr Trump said Palm Jumeirah “is on course to becoming one of the world’s premier tourist destinations and the perfect location for my first venture in the Middle East.

“I’m thrilled with the early sales of the residences. The hotel will be a destination in itself, providing a stunning centrepiece to the skyline of Dubai,” he added.

The 62-storey stainless steel and glass tower will be the tallest structure on Palm Jumeirah and is expected to be completed by the summer of 2011.

The property will comprise two free-standing towers that straddle the centre line of Palm Jumeirah, at the gateway to the heart of the development.

The towers stand on a four-storey bisected podium, converging at the 40th floor to create the building’s diamond-shaped pinnacle.

Kelly Hoppen, an internationally recognised interior designer, will plan the tower’s two plush penthouses. Ms Hoppen is one of Architectural Digest’s top 100 interior designers.

The development will be situated in the midst of five-star marinas, hotels, the Atlantis resort and Cirque du Soleil.

“Nakheel is best known for creating larger-than-life developments, such as the Palm islands and The World, and Donald J Trump is synonymous with luxury and glamour,” said Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the executive chairman of Nakheel.

“It’s no surprise that, with such a … sought-after project we have broken sales records in Dubai,” he added.

mswan@thenational.ae