TheWorld

Is It The End For Dubai's World?

What in the world is happening to The World? The London Times reports that one of the world's most ambitious building projects, a series of islands in the Arabian Gulf shaped like a map of the Earth, may be in real trouble. We've been following this project for years watching as various people laid claim, or were rumored to have laid claim to country-named islands. Richard Branson even planted a Union Jack on one of the islands as one of his infamous stunts. But now the project is becoming an ocean wasteland, a half-finished project of rocks and sand surrounded by breakwaters. Work has stopped inside the manmade lagoon and instead of neatly defined islands in the shape of recognizable countries and continents, ragged sandy blobs pushed barely above the water remain. The Times article quotes a Dubai property agent as saying that the project has been cancelled, a fact which leaves many investors in the lurch.

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Tags: dubai, real estate development, RealEstateDevelopment, the world, TheWorld

Karl Lagerfeld To Design Homes In Dubai

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld's already packed schedule is getting a little busier. The quirky fashion icon has signed a deal with Dubai Infinity Holdings to design limited edition homes on Isla Moda, the world's first dedicated fashion island, located on Dubai's The World project. Lagerfeld will design 80 homes total.

Lagerfeld has designed for Chanel and for his own lines for years, is also a photographer and has created campaigns for brands such as Dom Perignon. He has opened a bookshop on the leftbank of Paris and start a new venture as a publisher of art books with his publication house, 7L. He has designed his own homes but this is his first commercial residential project. In a press release, Lagerfeld described Dubai as "a fashion bud on the verge of blossoming into the next fashion hub of the world."

Isla Moda will include a fashion hotel and a variety of luxury residential villas. The Hotel Moda will have approximately 250 rooms and serviced apartments as well as boutiques representing the world's most prominent designers.. There will also be design studios and dedicated areas for fashion shows and project launches. Isla Moda is set to open in 2011.

Gallery: Designer Hotels

Tags: dubai, isla moda, IslaModa, karl lagerfeld, KarlLagerfeld, the world, TheWorld

The World's Shanghai Island Sells For $28 Million

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

When Nakheel announced the project to create The World, the cluster of Earth-inspired man-made islands off the coast of Dubai, some people, myself included, wondered if they would ever sell them for the exorbitant prices they were charging. For a while there it looked like the project was more rumor and speculation than hard cash. But as the islands are emerging from the water, more and more developers from around the world seem ready to plunk down the cash. The Gulf News reports that Nakheel has sold has sold 35 plots of The World this year. Around 45% of the 300 islands have been sold. The latest big deal is for the Shanghai island which was sold to Chinese businessman Bin Hu for $28 million. Hu is shown here on the island planting the Chinese flag (rather like Richard Branson did on the Great Britain island last year). Other big sales this year include the Greece island which sold for $15.5 million and the Tokyo island which went for $45 million.

[Thanks, Lana]

Previous stories on The World:
Nakheel sells Ireland to Irish consortium
Schumaker gets a piece of the world
Angelina and Brad checking out The World?
Perseus Spa Hotel Planned For The World in Dubai
Michael Jackson Tours The World

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Tags: china, dubai, nakheel, shanghai, the world, TheWorld

Nakheel Sells "Ireland" To Irish Consortium

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

I've been following the development of "The World," Nakheel's Earth-shaped development in Dubai for a few years. The ambitious project to create islands representing the land masses of the world off the coast of Dubai has been steadily proceeding. Now comes the news that Nakheel has sold the island of Ireland to an Irish business consortium. Ireland sold for AED 142 million (around $38 million). The consortium will turn the island into "Ireland in the Sun" a resort with homes, restaurants and leisure opportunities with an Irish theme. Sometimes this whole project seems like a huge and luxurious version of Epcot Center.

Now that the world is reaching completion, interest in the project seems to be accelerating. Several celebrities have been rumored to have bought in to the project and last fall, race car driver Michael Schumacher was gifted with his own island. The islands are 92% reclaimed and construction should finish up by the end of 2008.

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Tags: dubai, ireland, nakheel, the world, TheWorld

Schumacher Gets A Piece Of The World

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Mariah Carey may have gotten a diamond necklace from a prince but race car driver Michael Schumacher received an even higher ticket item. Dubai's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has gifted the Formula One driver with a piece of The World, the manmade island development located off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Schumacher's island is part of 'Antarctica' on the artificial globe, is worth about $7 million.

The World has attracted some big names so Schumacher is in excellent company. Richard Branson has visited, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are believed to have checked it out and Michael Jackson has stopped by and David Beckham and Rod Stewart are also rumored owners. When completed the development will also be home to several lavish hotels.

[Thanks, Lana]

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Tags: dubai, formula one, schumacher, the world, TheWorld