Popularity of co-living, co-working spaces revealed amid coronavirus lifestyle switch
Dubai-based developer Nshama has revealed strong interest in its co-living and co-working spaces at its Town Square development, boosted by a change in lifestyle forced by the coronavirus pandemic.
The UNA project, which consists of 478 units, including 96 studios, was launched last month, but Nshama CEO Fred Durie told Arabian Business sales were already promising and said plans were already in place to build a further 478 units, with the foundations in place.
He said: “The response since we did the launch three weeks ago has been tremendous. We’ve done really well. We’re really happy with it.”
Measuring in at over 10,000 sq ft, the lobby lounge serves as the social hub of the building and has been designed to create the perfect balance between work and play.
With workstations, a music room, games corner, communal smart TV, reading space and creative zones, it also has a concierge service as well as amenities including a cinema, recreation zones and co-working spaces, offering an engaging and invigorating communal space.
Co-working and living spaces have proven extremely popular across Europe and the United States, particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, which witnessed a huge shift to working remotely as part of measures to curb the spread of the virus.
Durie said: “I think the way we live and the work ethic has changed since Covid and more and more people are working from home. In fact, statistics have shown that 71 percent of self-employed people living and working in Dubai would like the flexibility to work from home.
According to a report from JLL in November last year, since 2015, global funding for co-living had increased by more than 210 percent a year, with the trend grossing more than $3.2 billion.
“It was something we thought of maybe 18 months ago,” said Durie. “There’s a huge potential for co-working, co-living spaces going forward. The UAE has a predominantly young population and we can see a demand for this.”
He said he expects other developers to follow suit, adding: “I know when we launched, we spearheaded the affordable sector in 2015 and it was a great success and everyone copied; every developer in Dubai copied and now they have smaller sizes of units. But I don’t think anybody will replicate the community we have in Town Square.
“I think other developers when they see the success of the co-living, co-working, will jump on the bandwagon. But we have the advantage of being first to market in both of these cases.”
Nshama expects to complete its Town Square development in the next 10 years – from a total of 30 million square feet of GFA, 10.5 million have been launched to date; with 11 projects and 7,500 units handed over so far, comprising 5,400 apartments and 2,100 townhouses.
Sales for Q2 were 375 percent higher than Q2 2019, while Q3 sales, year-on-year, were 265 percent higher, with buyers predominantly UAE nationals, followed by Indians, Pakistanis and Brits, with Saudis also showing interest.
And while the focus, for now, is very much on Dubai, Durie insisted he would be interested to replicate the community development elsewhere in the UAE, across the GCC and even further afield.
He said: “We have had enquiries from various places, Saudi Arabia, other places in the UAE. But we wanted to establish in Dubai first and make our name here, set the standard and that’s what we’re doing. That’s not to say we won’t look to work elsewhere and replicate the concept. It has been very successful. We want this one to be up-and-running, which I believe it now is, with a third of the density already in there.
“Perhaps we could look but it depends on the market. It’s a tough market worldwide at the moment, so it’s maybe not the best time to go somewhere and start up a new venture.”
UNA — Town Square
This is the first “co-living and co-working concept” in Dubai. Located within Dubai’s Town Square, the project will have two ground-level lobbies as part of a Ground + eleven-floor building with 478 residential units of studios and one-bedroom apartments.