Construction has begun on Water Gardens, a Dh5.14 billion mixed-use project inside the Dubai International Financial Centre, with four buildings of offices, hotels and homes due for completion in 2028.
The project matters to anyone tracking Dubai real estate because it shows demand for DIFC property has not slowed, even as the developer, H&H Development, pushes through a wider regional downturn. For investors, it also signals that branded residences in the financial district are still commanding premium prices, a trend that touches how GCC buyers and funds value office and residential space across the emirate.
Key facts
- Water Gardens is a $1.4 billion, or Dh5.14 billion, project at the heart of DIFC.
- The scheme covers four buildings: offices, two hotels, and residences.
- H&H Development is leading the project, due for completion in 2028.
- DIFC is already home to 10,018 firms, according to Gulf News.
- About 85 per cent of the branded residences have sold, at more than Dh8,000 per square foot.
What is being built at DIFC Water Gardens
The project is split across four buildings. One component is purely commercial, adding office space to a district that already hosts more than 10,000 companies. The hospitality side includes two hotels, one of which will bring 154 rooms alongside 40 residences in the same building. A separate residential tower, Eden House, will hold 132 apartments. H&H plans to keep Eden House rather than sell it, running it instead as a rental-income asset once it is finished.
On the sales side, branded residences within the scheme are already largely spoken for. According to Gulf News, 85 per cent of these units have sold, with pricing running above Dh8,000 per square foot. That price point sits well above the citywide average for Dubai apartments, underlining how much buyers are willing to pay for a DIFC address with hotel-style branding attached. Bloomberg reported separately that the site already has 30,000 workers on the ground, a scale that points to how fast the developer is trying to move through construction.
What it means for Dubai property investors
For investors watching the real estate market, the Water Gardens numbers offer a reading on appetite for DIFC product specifically. An 85 per cent sell-through rate on branded residences, at prices above Dh8,000 per square foot, suggests buyers still see the district as a safe bet for capital, even with regional tension affecting sentiment elsewhere. Bloomberg’s reporting, cited by Gulf News, noted that the ongoing Middle East crisis has already left a mark on property transactions and construction costs more broadly in the region. Work on Water Gardens continuing at pace, with tens of thousands of workers on site, points to the developer pressing ahead regardless.
For companies weighing office space in Dubai, the addition of a new commercial building inside DIFC adds supply to a district that is already home to over 10,000 firms. That is relevant for professional services companies, banks and funds that use a DIFC address as a base for regional operations, since available space in the free zone has been tight in recent years as the number of registered firms has grown. A new office building, alongside hotels aimed at business travellers, suggests the developer is betting on continued demand from exactly that type of tenant.
The rental-income strategy behind Eden House is also worth noting for anyone studying how developers in Dubai are structuring their own holdings. Rather than selling every unit, H&H is choosing to retain the 132-apartment building and collect rent from it directly, a sign that the company expects steady occupier demand in the district once the scheme opens.
What happens next will depend on how construction proceeds toward the 2028 completion date and whether sales on the remaining branded residences, and the wider commercial and hotel components, keep pace with the strong early take-up. According to Gulf News, work on site continues despite regional disruption, with the project’s scale and pricing likely to be watched closely by developers and investors elsewhere in Dubai looking to gauge demand for premium, branded property in the emirate’s financial hub.
