A development project in Morocco. The country is not affected by the Middle East utrmoil and provides a safe investment for buyers looking for safe and solid real estate investment, said developer Monte-Carlo SMB who are developing prime property in Morocco’s historic Menara District.
Dubai: If the Middle East and North Africa has been hogging global headlines, it has namely been for the wrong reasons, or in other words, for the internal conflicts in Libya and Syria.
So, why would a European developer choose the present to launch what will be its first hospitality development outside of Monaco? Haven’t they been tuned into the news?
Monte-Carlo SMB is developing ‘Jawahar’ on a 14-hectare stretch of prime land in Morocco’s historic Menara District, which will include a 93 all-suite hotel and a top-notch wellness centre. There is a residential element in the form of 25 super-premium homes to be developed by Aerium Atlas Management and managed by Monte-Carlo SMB. The interiors will be done up by the French designer Jacques Grange, whose roster of clients have included Jackie Kennedy and Yves Saint Laurent.
While the development has its obvious merits for the type of clients the developer is targeting, wouldn’t investors be concerned about Morocco’s proximity to the region’s strife zones?
“Although Morocco is the front door to North Africa, Marrakech has political stability that means it has a stronger position in region for economic growth,” said a spokesperson for Aerium Atlas Management, which has four on-going mixed-use developments in the country and due to be completed by 2013.
“Morocco is not affected by the political upheaval in the Middle East and therefore will provide a safe investment for buyers looking for a safe and solid real estate investment. Marrakech has the country’s biggest concentration of high-end hotels, with a third of all four and five star establishments. The vision is to increase the number of tourists to two million by 2020; there is [thus] potential for real estate to grow in Marrakech and Jawhar will provide the vehicle for further developments and luxury real estate in Morocco’s premier destination.”
Sales programme
With the euro in soft mode, the developer is rolling out the sales programme for the two, four- and six-bedroom units in the pre-construction phase itself. The prices range from ¤3 (Dh15.8 million) to 7 million.
The developer expects the core of the investors to emerge from Europe, the UAE and Morocco. Roadshows will be the held in key Gulf cities, though no schedule has been drawn up. “The property prices are lower than in Spain and other leading European sunshine resorts, and Jawhar will offer an investment opportunity for buyers looking for a certain quality of lifestyle, with full-serviced residences and access to five-star hotel facilities,” the spokesperson added.
“Real estate is going to be one of the vehicles that take Morocco on the verge of economical growth into next level. We purposely wanted to avoid building a mass development and by building just 25 residences, Jawhar, Marrakech will offer a lifestyle investment and there is a shortage of high-end villas within the city of Marrakech.”
The developer is also offering an optional full rental management programme for the investors to generate rental income, which is tax-free for the first five years in Morocco.
Conceived as mixed-use luxury cluster, the Menara District is located on the western side of the city. Its creation will go a long way to help meet the unfulfilled demand for high-end new homes tailored to investors’ requirements.
There will also be a luxury retail boulevard as well as The Marrakech Gallery, designed by David Chipperfield, which will display permanent and temporary photographic collections from leading artists.
All of which proved to be compelling reasons for Aerium Atlas Management to hone in Marrakech for its Middle East and North Africa journey. “Morocco is in the front line of the tourism industry and also provides long-term investment opportunities on real estate with capital gains tax at 20 per cent, falling to 10 per cent after five years and dissolving altogether after 10 years,” the spokesperson added.
http://gulfnews.com/business/property/gulf/european-builder-enters-morocco-1.860130
