JEDDAH — The Urban Development and Real Estate Investment Event, known as Cityscape Jeddah 2004, closed on Tuesday with the announcement of the winners in real estate development. Presented before an audience of investors, developers and real estate professionals, the awards honored exceptional projects in the commercial and mixed-use, residential and retail. Prince Sultan Cultural Centre was adjudged winner in the commercial and mixed-use category. The other winners were the Rayadan Housing Complex for residential project category and the Jamea Plaza renovation and expansion project for the retail project category. The Prince Sultan Cultural Centre, a project of Prince Sultan Cultural Centre Company, is located in north Obhur which also seeks to provide housing for 15,000 people, an ultra-modern cultural center, luxury hotels, villas, apartments and the largest man-made lake in Saudi Arabia. The construction is set to begin later this year. Receiving the award, Dr. Ahmed Al-Sanousi, CEO of Prince Sultan Cultural Center, said the project is visionary that would be built in response to needs of Jeddah. “The project is unique by all means and certainly deserves such a prestigious award,” he said. The Rayadah Housing Complex is developed by Rayadah Investment Company. Located in Obhur Al-Janoubia north of Jeddah, it will comprise 972 luxury villas in Arabic contemporary and Arabic-modern styles on an approximately 2.5 million square meters of land. The Jamea Plaza renovation and expansion project by Kinan International Real Estate Development Company is both a residential and commercial project in Jamea District. It's mall is being expanded to accommodate more stores. It is undergoing a makeover to transform it into a “visual icon for the neighborhood,” the developer said. Majed Al Gethmi, Director of Leasing and Business Development at Kinan Real Estate Company, expressed his appreciation and satisfaction while receiving the award. “A Cityscape award is a prestigious award that real estate developers aspire to win and what we have done to rejuvenate the mall is something new in the Kingdom and obviously entitled us for the award,” he said. The awards ceremony culminated with the announcement of the Community and Culture award won by the project that seeks to revive the old ladies' souq in Dammam. Spearheaded by the Dammam Municipality with AFM Consultants as lead architects, the dilapidated souq is being transformed into a tourist destination, reflecting the traditional architecture of the Eastern Province. A training center, aimed at improving the craft-making skills of low-income women, will also be housed within the renovated souq. Supporting the vision for growth in the real estate industry, Cityscape Jeddah 2014 was held under the patronage of Prince Mishaal Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah. Its main sponsors are Sumou Real Estate (principal sponsor) and Ewaan Global Residential Company (founding sponsor). Cityscape Jeddah is the leading real estate event in the Kingdom, highlighting iconic architecture and innovative development, and providing direct access to the region's biggest real estate market – Saudi Arabia. More than 8,000 visitors came to take a look at the real estate developments displayed in miniature forms. Among those who came were institutional investors, real estate developers, government officials, architects and real estate professionals involved in the design and construction of major real estate developments. Riyad Al-Thagafi, Chief Executive Officer of Ewaan Global Residential Company, call on consumers to “change their consumption and buying patterns and on developers to build smaller homes that buyers can afford. “People should change their consumption and buying patterns (and) developers should come out with solutions to convince the consumers to buy smaller houses that are suitable to their needs,” he said. He said that while some people buy bigger houses and appreciate projects that provide entertainment like parks and clubs there are those who “do not need extra space in their homes.” He said that Ewaan lauched the Al-Mayar City project, which includes 2,000 housing units, with that concept in mind. “We are targeting the youth, we want to make people be aware (that they should) buy houses that are suitable to their needs, especially with the rising prices of building materials,” he said. “At Ewaan we focus to building and creating a community, we are not just building houses,” he said. “People also should be aware about the benefits of home finance,” he added. Sultan Batterjee, President of Lifestyle Developers, said the company seeks to build community-based projects that would raise people's standard of living, which means that it doesn't only build villas or apartments but communities focused on middle-incme groups. “Most of our projects have amenities like gyms, libraries, nurseries. All our apartments and villas have been fitted with Italian kitchens, appliances, central air conditioners and furniture, in an aim to set up a one stop shop so they have everything under control,” said Sultan. “We are targeting middle income people who earns from SR10,000 to SR40,000, who are not a millionaires but want to live well and look for a certain lifestyle. We convince and get them away from renting and to have them owing their own homes,” he said. Lifestyle is expanding its projects in Egypt and Dubai. Batterjee said the company is not afraid to invest in Egypt despite the current situation. “I believe Egypt is a growing economy; the real estate market is actually booming in Egypt and I believe it will continue to boom. People are buying real estate like crazy and I believe it (market) will continue to grow,” said Batterjee. Properties being offered at Cityscape have different features to entice buyers. Dallouni of the United Arab Emirates presented Sustainable City which uses solar energy. Ali Al- Saadi, Financial officer of Sustainable City, said the project seek economic and social sustainability. “Economical sustainability because of the exemption from high fees on electricity because the project is powered by solar energy,” he said.
