JBR tenants will pay for beach club

Dubai Properties Group has confirmed that tenants in its $1.6bn Jumeirah Beach Residence development will have to pay for access to the long awaited beach club when it opens next year. The state-backed developer in August said the beach club, which is located in its former sales building, would be managed by the Meydan Group. At the time it was not clear if tenants would have to pay for access. “The agreements with Dubai Properties Group residents do not include a commitment to a ‘free beach club access,’” a spokesperson told Arabian Business.   “We are currently in negotiations with the developer of the beach club [and] once an agreement is reached, we will update you accordingly.” JBR residents have long complained about delays in the opening of the beach club and gym facilities. In a 2008 letter to homeowners the group said “the development of four privately run beach clubs are well underway”. Dubai Properties Group in August pledged to spend millions of dollars upgrading facilities at its development after widespread complaints from tenants of poor maintenance. The group’s CEO, Khalid Al Malik, told Arabian Business on Wednesday that he expected the beach club to be open by next year. New gym facilities and a mosque will also be completed by 2012, he said. “We intend to move on in terms of investing in that area and adding more value in terms of the requirements of the public. For example, we have given the beach club to Meydan Hospitality… which I am expected to be finished in 2012,” he said. “We are working on the gymnasiums for the JBR; those are going to come in 2012,” he added. The developer said it also planned to revamp the podium area to include a children’s play area and representative offices for government departments such as the RTA and DEWA. JBR, which spans 36 residential towers able to accommodate 15,000 people, became a popular expatriate destination on its completion in 2007. The project faces 1.7km of beach that features a string of luxury hotels, popular eateries and retail outlets. But residents in the development have said lax security, badly maintained communal areas and dirty swimming pools are all contributing to a declining standard of living in the 36-tower project. Analysts said the poor upkeep of facilities in the emirate’s largest residential development could drag down house prices, making apartments difficult to rent out or sell. “Management and maintenance complaints are common [in JBR],” Jones Lang LaSalle said in May. “Those developments that do not invest now in proper management will face rent deterioration and stagnation in the short to medium term. “In the long term, once the broader market recovers, these assets will face slower growth and will be outperformed by well maintained and managed assets.”