Work on 302 apartments at Bloom Properties’ Soho Square development on Saadiyat Island is due to start next month after Bloom awarded an enabling works contract for the project to Dutch Foundation Company and Concrete Rehabilitation.
Bloom said that the contractor would start site preparation, creating access routes and installing facilities such as security fencing and ramps from September and was scheduled to complete the work at the start of next year, when main construction work is scheduled to begin.
The project, which will be next to New York University’s Saadiyat campus, will have 10 storeys of homes ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments, town houses and penthouses as well as shops and offices.
The project was unveiled last September and is the second project on Saadiyat Island for the Abu Dhabi developer, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi conglomerate National Holding. In April, Bloom started marketing Park View, a mixed-use development on the island that comprises two buildings – a residential tower and a hotel that will be managed by Rotana.
The Saadiyat Island developer TDIC started selling plots of land close to NYU’s recently opened Rafael Viñoly-designed campus in 2012.
Unlike the area of the island around Saadiyat Beach, which was developed by TDIC, all of the land around NYUAD has been earmarked for sale to private developers.
Agents said that prices for the new apartments would reflect the fact that construction projects are to remain in the area for 10 years.
Saadiyat Island has become one of the most expensive places to live in Abu Dhabi.
“The awarding of enabling works of Soho Square is an important first step in preparing the site for the main construction work and reiterates our commitment to delivering the project in a timely manner,” said Sameh Muhtadi, Bloom’s chief executive.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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