‘Demand is very healthy’: Dubai Holding Real Estate presses ahead with major d3 expansion

“Demand is very healthy,” Khalid Al Malik, chief executive officer of Dubai Holding Real Estate, told reporters on Wednesday, adding that demand has been “improving year on year” and has not weakened since the pandemic.

The expansion centres on an updated masterplan for Dubai Design District, known as d3, alongside the launch of The Edit at d3, a three-tower residential development overlooking Dubai Creek and the Ras Al Khor wildlife sanctuary.

The district, located between Downtown Dubai, Business Bay and Dubai Creek, has been positioned by the developer as a walkable, mixed-use neighbourhood aimed at residents working in design, fashion, art and other creative industries, while also catering to a broader luxury residential market.

Al Malik said the objective was to create an integrated destination where residents could live, work and spend leisure time without relying on cars or travelling outside the district.

“The idea is to have a very integrated destination where people can live, can work, can innovate and can play in one area,” he said. “In the future, you really don’t need to leave the space.”

Designing the d3 masterplan

Under the revised masterplan, d3 is divided into five zones: a creekside residential and leisure area; a Soho cultural hub with venues and exhibitions; a Mindspace area for studios, labs and creative offices; a Sanctuary wellness zone focused on parks and walkability; and the existing Design Quarter office district.

The masterplan is designed around pedestrian connectivity and cycling routes, with shaded walkways and limited internal car movement, reflecting a broader push by Dubai developers to prioritise wellness, sustainability and liveability in new urban districts.

Al Malik said sustainability considerations had been embedded into the design from the outset, including a target of achieving LEED certification at the community level.

“We decided from the beginning to aim for a LEED certificate,” he said. “That demands that sustainability, efficiency and wellness have to be embedded in the design, and at the end you have to deliver on those policies.”

He added that buildings within the district, including The Edit and future residential phases, would be required to meet energy-efficiency and sustainability guidelines set out in the masterplan.

The Edit at d3 will deliver more than 550 homes across three towers, ranging from one- to four-bedroom apartments as well as penthouses. The project includes shared workspaces, wellness facilities, pools and landscaped terraces, and is scheduled for completion around 2030.

The launch follows the earlier sell-out of Atélis at d3, a high-rise waterfront residential tower designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which marked the first residential building on the creekside portion of the district.

Al Malik said recent launches reflected strong appetite for residential projects in central Dubai locations with differentiated positioning.

“People love to be there,” he said, referring to d3’s proximity to established commercial hubs and cultural districts. “The location itself, and the features of the masterplan, make it a very strategic project for Dubai.”

Dubai’s residential property market has continued to post strong sales volumes in recent years, driven by population growth, inflows of foreign buyers and demand for branded and lifestyle-oriented developments, particularly in prime waterfront and central districts.

When asked about the level of investment going into the d3 expansion, Al Malik declined to disclose figures, saying the developer prioritised delivery quality and timing over headline numbers.

“I understand the subject of investment, but we really focus on delivery, on complying with standards and on making sure that the quality we put is delivered,” he said. “We keep the numbers on the side.”

Long-term vision drives d3 development

While the overall investment value has not been disclosed, Dubai Holding Real Estate has previously announced multi-billion-dirham construction contracts linked to the district, including for Design Quarter at d3, the first residential community currently under construction.

Within d3 itself, he said the residential mix would cater to different buyer profiles through a range of unit sizes, but pricing would reflect the district’s central location and design-led positioning.

“There are different customers, different appetite,” he said. “You have the small units all the way to the bigger ones.”

Al Malik also declined to give a completion date for the full masterplan, describing the expansion as a long-term project that would be delivered in phases based on market demand, infrastructure readiness and regulatory factors.

“We always focus on how to build it right, rather than allocating a specific time frame,” he told Arabian Business. “This kind of project is very detailed and very complex.”

He added that Dubai Holding Real Estate would continue to announce and deliver projects sequentially rather than committing to a fixed end date for the entire district.

“We push ourselves to deliver one after the other as we announce them,” he said.

The expansion of d3 comes as Dubai continues to position itself as a regional hub for creative industries, with government-backed strategies aimed at growing the contribution of design, culture and innovation to the emirate’s economy over the coming decade.

For Dubai Holding Real Estate, Al Malik said the focus remained on building a district that could sustain long-term demand rather than responding to short-term market cycles.

“This is about building a destination that adds value, not just to us, but to the city,” he said.