At the heart of Arjan, Dubailand, opposite Dubai Hills Estate, the 10,000m2 Samana Hills resort-themed residential property is taking shape, having completed its latest concrete pour in February 2020. The $27 million (AED100 million) project by Samana Developers, part of the Samana Group of Companies, is a free-hold, G+5F+R property with 205 apartments including an assortment of studios, one and two bedroom apartments.
The construction of Samana Hills began in December 2019. The concrete strength specified for the project is C50/20 N/mm2, and the total estimated ready-mix concrete requirement for the construction is 11,087m3. So far, ready-mix supplier Cemex has delivered 3987m3 of concrete to the site via 443 mixer trucks with capacities of 9m3 and poured using six truck-mounted concrete pumps.
Having appointed Atcon Construction as the main contractor for the Samana Hills project, the developer estimates that the main structure will be completed by September 2021, and handover to customers will take place by December 2021.
Alan James Gammon, general manager, Samana Group, says: “Market research indicates that the main factors driving property investment are affordability, attractive payment plans, location, quality, convenience, and, of course, delivery on time. Samana Hills ticks all the boxes, whether its access to schools, hospitals, and malls around Arjan; road accessibility via Emirates Road and Al Khail road; or proximity to tourist attractions such as the Dubai Miracle Garden.”
“Atcon was appointed due to several factors, namely their competitive price, and more importantly, their commitment to our delivery schedule. We have a two-pronged target agreement with Atcon: they are on accelerated payment plans to ensure that they deliver on time, or they will be penalised if they don’t,” he adds.
Alan James Gammon, general manager, Samana Group.
Samana Developers’ operating practice is to undertake one project at a time, with each project having an average duration of 30 months from start of construction to handover.
“Our first project, Samana Greens, which started in April 2018 will be ready for handover from June 2020. With steady progress in the Samana Hills construction, we’ve announced our third project, Samana Golf Avenue, which will break ground in September 2020,” says Gammon.
Samana Developers is positioning its new projects as lifestyle-themed residential properties, with the proposition of providing better facilities than hotel apartments and cheaper rates than 3 or 4 star hotels.
“The Dubai real estate market has a shortage of such offerings. The city has are plenty of residential communities that look and feel the same, which makes it difficult to identify their unique aspects. So, we decided to move away from the traditional, standardised ‘block’ style design for our real estate developments. A resort-themed lifestyle with leisure components within the facility at an accessible price point is a big shift from what traditional developers have offered to the Dubai market. The unique selling proposition of Samana Hills is its leisure offering, which includes indoor and outdoor gyms, mixed-use outdoor court, pool and relaxation areas for adults and children. It gives more reasons for occupants to spend time within the property and eliminates the need for a general sports, fitness or leisure membership,” explains Gammon.
To reduce construction costs, Samana Developers decided not to have underground parking for Samana Hills. Furthermore, to reduce living costs, Samana Hills will incorporate the latest energy and water saving features. According to Gammon, the decision to opt against basement parking saved the company at least 20% of the construction costs.
“Considering that customers will always want a fast return on investment, we are highly cautious about construction costs. We have no intention of digging any of our sites for construction of underground parking, but then, we have no intention to build high-rise towers. The maximum height of our projects will be G+6F. We have a strong argument for this approach. There’re are too may tower blocks in Dubai, and not everybody wants to live in a tower. People, especially families, want easy and fast accessibility in and out of buildings with convenience of parking vehicles,” says Gammon.
Samana Hills also presents a new business opportunity for both Samana Developers and apartment owners. The property will mark the entry of the Samana Group into the short-term rental business of ‘holiday homes’. With close to 5000 units in its rental portfolio, short-term rental is a natural progression for the Group, according to Gammon.
“We plan to set up a new company named Samana Holidays for short-term rental of holiday homes. We will manage the units in Samana Hills on behalf of the owners, giving them the flexibility to sub-lease their apartment for a month or few month. We’ll drive the business with additional services such as airport pick-up and drop off,” says Gammon.
The target customers for short-term rental are those who want to use properties for 3–6 months of the year; for example, people who want to live in Dubai during the winter season and rent it out for the rest of the year or during the summer season.
“The UAE attracts different nationalities throughout the year, depending on its weather. For example, South Asians may prefer visiting Dubai during the winter, but Europeans love the summer.
Investment in Samana Hills also indicate this trend: we have a higher level of interest for studios and one bedroom apartments. Compared to our previous project, Samana Greens, where the majority of customers was UAE nationals; over 70% of the buyers of Samana Hills are international customers, mainly from China who plan to stay in Dubai only for a few months every year.
So, there’ll always be a category of visitors that will want to rent short term in Dubai, and therefore, there’ll be a market round the year. The Expo 2020 Dubai will only enhance these opportunities,” says Gammon.