Dubai Developers Launch Wave of Office Towers as Office Sales Pass Dh20 Billion

Developers are betting that demand for high-quality office space from local and international companies will last, and they are building it in places that have rarely had any. For tenants and buyers, more Grade A space is due between 2027 and 2031, much of it outside the established business districts.

Only two of the six latest launches have a disclosed value, and together they come to about Dh7.6 billion. AHS Properties, founded by businessman Abbas Sajwani, unveiled the Dh4.8 billion AHS Twin Towers on Sheikh Zayed Road, a redevelopment of the Shangri-La Dubai hotel property. The project has Grade A offices in a building of a ground floor plus 50 storeys, sold as full or half floors. AHS said more than 30% of the space was reserved before the official launch, and it is targeting completion in 2028.

On October 20, Ellington Properties and Al Hamra Group launched Berkeley Tower in Business Bay at a value of Dh2.8 billion. At more than 60 floors it is Ellington's largest and tallest commercial project so far, with 109 Grade A office units.

LMD launched the Christian A. Rockefeller commercial tower on Sheikh Zayed Road in October. The 400-metre, 87-storey building is due in the second quarter of 2031. Offices start at 1,077 square feet, full floors at 11,541 square feet, and the plan includes more than 1,100 parking spaces.

In the Dubai International Financial Centre, H&H Development launched Water Gardens in October. The four-building mixed-use complex has about 236,400 square feet of net leasable office space. It is targeting LEED Platinum certification, JLL holds the exclusive leasing mandate, and completion is set for 2028.

Outside the traditional centres, Omniyat's Beyond Developments launched The Yards Plaza in City of Arabia, Dubailand, on October 10. It has 272 offices across four buildings and is due in the third quarter of 2029. In Meydan Horizon, Accor and City View Developments announced Pullman Residences & Offices Dubai Meydan in September, which they described as the first Pullman-branded offices offered for sale anywhere. The scheme pairs offices with 282 homes, includes AI-based workplace systems and is due to open in 2029.

The earlier launches show the same spread across the city. In July, Avenue Developments and Kora Real Estate launched One District in Dubai Motor City, a Dh6 billion mixed-use project with six office towers. Arista Properties began construction in July on HQ in Al Furjan, 48 Grade A offices it said had sold out before their formal release, with handover planned for the fourth quarter of 2027.

In April, Dubai Healthcare City Authority began work on Pixel DHCC, a nine-storey, 13,000-square-metre office building. The same month, DMCC launched One Uptown Place and Two Uptown Place, which will add more than 560,000 square feet of Grade A offices in Uptown Dubai by the first quarter of 2028. Also in April, Khalaf Al Habtoor announced plans for a commercial tower in Al Habtoor City costing more than Dh5 billion, without giving its office area or completion date.

In March, the property arm of National Bonds launched a Dh500 million, 26-storey tower in Barsha Heights. Twenty-two of its floors are offices, offering about 225,000 square feet of leasable space, with completion targeted for the last quarter of 2028. Damac launched its Piazza Roma office project in Damac Lagoons in February.

Many of the towers will not be finished until 2028 or later. Whether demand still holds when they are, and how this supply affects rents in the established districts, is the question for investors buying space now.