UAE developer Arada has launched two new apartment buildings and signed an important partnership agreement at Naseej District, a new creative neighbourhood located within its 24-million-sq-ft mega development, Aljada, in Sharjah.

Sales have steadily gathered pace at Naseej District since its launch in December last year, which is now 50 per cent sold out following the launch of nine buildings in the neighbourhood.

Arada has also signed a partnership agreement with Eight Inc, a San Francisco-based strategic design advisory firm, to help bring the district’s focal point, the Naseej anchor museum, to life. The museum aims to be the UAE’s only design institution that curates and combines the design world’s most interesting and exciting people, brands, programmes and opportunities for the creatively curious.

Naseej District will comprise 17 residential blocks, containing nearly 2,000 premium apartments, including Vida Aljada Residences, Sharjah’s first-ever branded residences. To date, nine buildings have been released for sale, with especially strong sales demand witnessed from young people – as more than half of all homebuyers are under the age of 40 – and from foreign investors. The remaining residential buildings in Naseej District will be released for sale before the end of the year, with the first homes due to be handed over to buyers in the first quarter of 2023.

The two new buildings being launched, the second Sokoon apartment block and the seventh Tiraz apartment block, together contain 168 homes.

Both apartment blocks face onto the ‘green spine’, a park with lush foliage and dense tree coverage, with workshops belonging to the maker’s district on both sides.

The green spine will provide residents of the two buildings with direct access to the Naseej anchor museum. Smart home features come as standard at all Tiraz and Sokoon apartments, and residents can also enjoy exclusive access to a health club, two swimming pools, children’s play areas and a family barbecue spaces. 

 Arada says in addition to the museum, the area will also contain a maker’s district, which will feature a group of small workshops at street level that will play host to artists, artisans and craftspeople.

Meanwhile, Arada has announced that it has secured a AED250 million ($68.1 million) shariah-compliant facility from Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) to finance general construction at  Aljada.

This credit facility is in addition to an initial AED300 million financing arrangement secured from the bank at the start of this year.

The funding will help to accelerate the Sharjah developer’s construction work at Aljada, where a number of major contracts have already been handed out this year, including the construction of a student housing community, Nest, and The Boulevard, which is a set of three nine-storey apartment blocks. 

Aljada is spread over a 24-million-sq-ft plot and features residential, hospitality, retail, commercial, entertainment and education components. The first homes at Aljada were handed over early this year.