Open-air films plus 70 shops and restaurants for Dubai's The Beach

The leisure and entertainment development being built at Dubai's Jumeirah Beach Residence will feature an open-air cinema and 70 retail outlets.

Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai will feature an open-air cinema and 70 retail outlets. Sarah Dea / The National
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The leisure and entertainment development being built at Jumeirah Beach Residence will feature an open-air cinema and 70 retail outlets.

Scheduled for completion within 18 months, The Beach will be a district of more than 15 individual buildings of varying sizes and boasting a central plaza of shops and restaurants.

"I think it will be a great success," said David Macadam, the head of retail for the Middle East at Jones Lang LaSalle, the property specialist. "There's enough of a catchment to make it all work very well and the demographics are strong."

The development will be sandwiched between a 10-screen cinema, including an outdoor screen, and a beach club.

There will be a park, playground and a water sports centre, as well as two promenades winding out to sea.

Details of the development were revealed on a model last week at Cityscape Global in Dubai, and Meraas Holding, the developer, gave a statement to The National outlining further details.

"The destination will include a dynamic mix of top brands ranging between casual to signature offerings," Meraas said.

"Formed around a pedestrian esplanade that meanders between four distinct plazas, The Beach is a retail, [food and beverage] and entertainment destination that sits between the beachfront and the existing promenade of JBR."

But residents and store managers currently trading at JBR have expressed apprehension as they already have to deal with heavy traffic along The Walk, the existing promenade along JBR.

The new development is already proving divisive as residents worry about the effect that construction and the subsequent increase in visitors will have on the area.

Joe Nicolas, who lives in the Al Bahar section of JBR, previously told The National: "They are going to mess up the whole neighbourhood and no one is going to find a place to park."

Meraas hopes to solve parking problems by building underground parking that can hold up to 1,200 cars, accessible by two roads that lead from the back of JBR.

"It's waterfront. Waterfront projects that are located in high density areas are always successful," said Mr Macadam.