Dubai's lunar dream: A $5 billion leap to the skies
Dubai鈥檚 $5 billion real estate project plans to build a 900-foot replica of the moon to elevate the city鈥檚 grandeur even further. Fueled by pandemic refugees and Russians escaping conflict, Dubai鈥檚 hot real estate market supports ambitious architecture.
Rendering of MOON, a $5 billion project envisioned by Canadian entrepreneur Michael Henderson. The project consists of a 900-foot replica of the moon atop a 100-foot building on the coveted Dubai Pearl, further elevating the city's iconic skyline.
Michael Henderson/AP
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Who says you cannot reach for the moon? A proposed $5 billion real estate project wants to take skyscraper-studded Dubai to new heights 鈥� by bringing a symbol of the heavens down to Earth.
Canadian entrepreneur Michael Henderson envisions building a 900-foot replica of the moon atop a 100-foot building in Dubai, already home to the world鈥檚 tallest building and other architectural wonders.
Mr. Henderson鈥檚 project, dubbed MOON, may sound out of this world, but it could easily fit in this futuristic city-state. Dubai already has a red-hot real estate market, fueled by the wealthy who fled restrictions imposed in their home countries during the coronavirus pandemic and Russians seeking refuge amid Moscow鈥檚 war on Ukraine.
And even though a previous booms-and-bust cycle saw many grand projects collapse, Mr. Henderson and others suggest his vision, funded by Moon World Resorts Inc., where he is the co-founder, might not be that far-fetched.
鈥淲e have the biggest 鈥榖rand鈥� in the world,鈥� Mr. Henderson told The Associated Press, alluding that the moon itself 鈥� the heavenly body 鈥� was his brand. 鈥淓ight billion people know our brand, and we haven鈥檛 even started yet.鈥�
The project Mr. Henderson proposes includes a destination resort inside the spherical structure, complete with a 4,000-room hotel, an arena capable of hosting 10,000 people, and a 鈥渓unar colony鈥� that would give guests the sensation of actually walking on the moon.
The MOON would sit on a pedestal-like circular building beneath it and would glow at night. Mr. Henderson discussed the project at the Arabian Travel Market earlier in May in Dubai.
Already, artist renderings commissioned by Moon World Resorts have played with the location for his MOON 鈥� including at the Burj Khalifa, the world鈥檚 tallest building at a height of 2,710 feet. Others have placed it at the Dubai Pearl, a long-dormant project now being destroyed near the man-made Palm Jumeirah archipelago, and on its unfinished sister, the Palm Jebel Ali.
The Pearl and the Palm Jebel Ali represent two 鈥渨hite elephant鈥� projects left over from the 2009 financial crisis that rocked the sheikhdom and forced Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to provide Dubai with a $20 billion bailout.
Now nearly 15 years later, Dubai largely has turned around. Rents on average across Dubai are up 26.9% year-on-year, even with anti-price-gouging protections. Dubai saw 86,849 residential sales last year, beating a previous record of 80,831 from 2009.
鈥淒ubai is in a completely different world compared to鈥� 2009, said Lewis Allsopp, the CEO of the prominent Dubai real estate agency Allsopp & Allsopp. Launched products are 鈥渟elling out on the spot.鈥�
Inflation and interest rate hikes around the world have led to fears of a global recession. The UAE鈥檚 currency, the dirham, is pegged to the dollar, meaning it has followed lock-step the hikes imposed by the Federal Reserve.
But cash still remains king for Dubai buyers, with fourth-fifths of transactions paid in currency without financing in 2022, said Faisal Durrani, the head of Middle East research at real estate agency Knight Frank.
鈥淵ou could argue that the interest rate hikes that are taking place, to an extent the market is a little bit shielded from that given the fact that so much of the transactional activity has been driven by cash,鈥� Mr. Durrani said.
Other major projects are moving ahead.
Nakheel, the state-owned developer behind the Palm Jebel Ali, has relaunched development plans for it. The developer also unveiled a multibillion-dollar plan to build 80 resorts and hotels on the man-made Dubai Islands, though it remains largely empty and under the flight path of the nearby Dubai International Airport, the world鈥檚 busiest for international travel.
The MOON project also includes space for a possible casino as well. Gambling remains illegal in the UAE, a federation of seven hereditarily ruled sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. However, major brands like Caesar鈥檚 Palace already exist or hope to build in Dubai. Wynn Resorts plans to build a $3.9 resort in Ras al-Khaimah north of Dubai with gambling to open in 2027 鈥� meaning a change to the law is likely to come.
Like other high-profile, eye-catching marvels, the MOON could fit well into 鈥渢he legitimacy formula of Dubai鈥檚 ruling elite,鈥� said Christopher Davidson, a Middle East expert who wrote the recent book 鈥淔rom Sheikhs to Sultanism.鈥� Dubai also hosts the UAE鈥檚 space center, which has sent a probe to Mars and unsuccessfully tried to put a rover on the moon.
鈥淭hey can be seen as a nondemocratic elite but nonetheless believe strongly in science and progress 鈥� and that鈥檚 ultimately very legitimizing and a megaproject like this would seem to tick all of those boxes,鈥� Mr. Davidson said.
Mr. Henderson鈥檚 plan would go a step further than other globe-shaped projects, such as the MSG Sphere, a $2.3 billion dome blanketed by LED screens, that is set to open in Las Vegas later this year.
His structure would be fully spherical, and could be illuminated alternatively as a full, half, or crescent moon.
The brightness may not go down well with potential neighbors 鈥� plans to build another MSG Sphere in London were halted after residents protested the significant light pollution and disruption the structure would cause.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to please everybody,鈥� Mr. Henderson acknowledged. 鈥淵ou might need dark curtains.鈥�
聽This story was reported by The Associated Press.