Nakheel opened its Golden Mile Galleria retail centre on the Palm Jumeirah yesterday.
The 400,000 square feet complex, located within the Golden Mile residences, is anchored by a 12,000 sq ft Spinneys supermarket that opened in August, and the 70-outlet complex is leased out.
"We think that by next year Nakheel's revenues will be 25 to 30 per cent generated by retail," said Sanjay Manchanda, chief executive of Nakheel. "If the development delivery schedule changes, so may those figures."
Nakheel has more than 11.5 million sq ft of gross leasable area (GLA) in the pipeline and 3.4 million sq ft of GLA currently in operation. The push into retail was a strategic change for the developer as it searched for cash-generating assets after the financial crisis.
Nakheel has 10 large new projects under development ranging from the 3 million sq ft Deira Mall to the 432,000 sq ft Circle Mall in Jumeirah Village Circle and a number of neighbourhood malls due for completion in the next five years.
On the Palm Nakheel is due to deliver The Pointe, a 1.4 million sq ft, 135 outlet waterfront destination, across from Atlantis in December 2016 and Nakheel Mall, a 300-plus outlet retail space in 2018.
“Only time will tell whether the retail bubble will burst, but the pre-leasing numbers show the appetite from retailers is still there,” said Mr Manchanda.
Nakheel Mall is already 60 per cent leased and The Pointe has more than 100 food and beverage outlets signed up.
“Better late than never, I think,” said David Macadam, chief executive of the Middle East Council of Shopping Centres. “The Galleria seems to have everything a community mall needs, and the Palm definitely needed that outlet.”
He added that tourists traffic would be key factors for The Pointe and Nakheel Mall.
ascott@thenational.ae
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