Earlier this week Dubai officials inaugurated “District One,” the first phase of the $8.16 billion mega-project known as Mohammed Bin Rashid City, or MBR City.
The mixed-used development, which is very appropriately referred to as “a city within a city,” will span 54 million square feet of land. In fact, the project is so big that District One alone will cover four million square feet. Here’s how MBR City-District One developers, The Meydan Group, break it down:
District One [will be] a community of exclusive homes, delivered in four phases, each covering 1 million square meters (65% of which will be open space), creating 1030 acres of the lowest-density, luxury residential environment possible, including arboreal parks, crystal lagoons, woodlands, a retail zone and a water park.
District One’s piece de resistance will be the aforementioned Crystal Lagoon — nearly 4.5 miles (seven kilometers) of water lagoons and man-made beaches.
Created by a company that bears the same name [Crystal Lagoon] with well proven, state-of-the-art technology, the Crystal Lagoon will be the largest and most usable, artificial inland body of fresh water in any residential development in the world. Consisting of 90 acres of turquoise water surrounded by a 3 meter wide boardwalk and an 8 meter wide beach [pictured below], accessible from any part of District One.
The residential portion of MBR City will also include sports facilities, bike paths, equestrian trails, mosques, schools, restaurants, and a theater — all of which promise to make District One “as engaging to the senses as the best of resort destinations around the world.”
All four phases of MBR City-District One are expected to be completed before the city-state plays host to Expo 2020.
