Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina (مرسى دبي), aka Marsa Dubai, is a district in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is an artificial canal city built along a 3 km stretch of the Persian Gulf shoreline. As of 2018, it has a population of 55,052. When the entire development is complete, it will accommodate more than 120,000 people in residential towers and villas. It is located on Interchange 5 between Jebel Ali Port and the area which hosts Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, and the American University in Dubai. The first phase of this project has been completed. Dubai Marina was inspired by the Concord Pacific Place development along False Creek in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

There have been many instances of marine wildlife (especially whales and sharks) entering the marina because of its proximity to the open sea.

Development
In order to create the man-made marina, the developers brought the waters of the Persian Gulf into the site of the Dubai marina, creating a new waterfront. There is a large central waterway excavated from the desert and running the length of the 3 km site. More than 12% of the total land area on the site has been given over to this central public space. Although much of this area is occupied by the marina water surface, it also includes almost 8 km of landscaped public walkways.

The marina is entirely man-made and has been developed by the real estate development firm Emaar Properties of the United Arab Emirates and designed by HOK Canada. Upon completion, it is claimed to be the world's largest man-made marina. The current largest man-made marina in the world is Marina del Rey in California, United States. There is a publicly accessible foreshore-way around the marina and some sections of public ocean way along the beach with views to Palm Jumeirah. Its largest development is the Jumeirah Beach Residence. In October 2013 Dubai Marina opened its first mosque, Masjid Al Rahim, which is situated at the southern end of the Marina; its second mosque, Mohammed Bin Ahmed Almulla Mosque, opened in December 2016.

Phase I
The first phase of Dubai Marina covers 25 acre, which includes six freehold apartment buildings called the Dubai Marina Towers. Phase I of Dubai Marina cost more than AED 1.2 billion. Three of the towers are named after precious stones: Al Mass, Fairooz, and Murjan; the other three are named after Arabic scents: Mesk, Anbar, and Al Yass. The scheme was designed by HOK and the contractors were Al-Futtaim Carillion and Nasah Multiplex.

Phase II
The Phase II of Dubai Marina will consist of high rise buildings, which are mainly clustered into a block, known as "Tallest Block in the world" with the majority of the skyscrapers ranging between 250 m to 300 m. This includes Cayan Tower, Ocean Heights, Marina Pinnacle, Sulafa Tower and Ciel Tower, which rises to 366 m meters. A few are taller than 350 m meters and 400 m, including Elite Residence, 23 Marina, Princess Tower, Marina 106, Marina 101, DAMAC Residenze, and the supertall Pentominium, which rises to 516 m meters.

Jumeirah Beach Residence
Jumeirah Beach Residence is a 1.7 km long, 2 km2 gross floor area waterfront community located against the Persian Gulf in Dubai Marina. It is the largest single-phase residential development in the world and contains 40 towers (35 residential and 5 hotels). JBR can accommodate about 15,000 people in its apartments and hotel rooms. The Project has 6,917 apartments, from 900 sqft studios to 5,500 sqft penthouses. Jumeirah Beach Residence was launched in August 2002 by the developer, Dubai Properties (a subsidiary of Dubai Holding) with a cost of 6 billion dirhams and was completed in 2007. The Walk at JBR restaurant and shopping strip, which is adjacent to the beach behind JBR, is a very popular location for Al Fresco dining. There are five hotels, rated as 5-star or 4-star, three of which are purpose-built hotels, while the other two are converted residential towers.

The Walk
The Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence is a 1.7 km strip at the ground and plaza level of the complex, it was developed by Dubai Properties, and was completed by 2007 and opened officially in August 2008.

The Beach
The Beach at Jumeirah Beach Residence is a retail complex being constructed on the beach in front of JBR by Meraas Holding, a company owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The development, comprising four plazas, will occupy the bulk of the beach between the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah and Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort hotels. The complex houses several levels of parking as well as seventy retail and food and beverage outlets, together with entertainment facilities. Many yacht rental companies offer boat trips in Dubai which take in many of the key locations such as Dubai Marina, Bluewaters Island, Palm Jumeirah and the Burj Al Arab.

Al Sahab
Al Sahab is a residential high-rise development that consists of two towers; Tower 1 is a 44-story structure, and Tower 2 is a 24-story structure. The complex is on the waterfront and directly overlooks the largest bay of water at Dubai Marina. The buildings are in the northern end of the marina across from the Al Majara Towers near the Marina Quays. The complex features a gymnasium and squash court, swimming pool and open community area, a mini-theater, sheltered assigned parking, multi-function rooms, and meeting rooms.

Al Majara
Al Majara is a five-building residential complex comprising high-rise waterfront apartments adjacent to where the old Dubai Marina Yacht Club used to be and overlooks the largest part of the bay.

Marina Promenade
Marina Promenade is a residential enclave in Dubai Marina. Nestled within the panoramic confines of Dubai Marina, it overlooks the widest and most scenic part of the bay and is ideally located opposite the Dubai Marina Yacht Club. The Marina Promenade comprises six residential towers and villas with views of the bay.

Marina Quays
Marina Quays is a complex designed by Arif & Bintoak, also responsible for the Concorde Tower. Along with apartments and villas, the development has shops and other outlets. The three residential buildings are joined by a shared podium. It has luxury apartments with panoramic views of the marina. The buildings are Quay East, Quay West, and Quay North. The two shorter buildings are cantilevered, extending 20m over the Dubai Marina waterway. Amenities include a movie theatre, 24-hour security, a pool, concierge service, and a swimming pool. As of 2016, luxury penthouses in the buildings sold for in excess of 10 million Dirham. In 2018, five million tonnes of rock was added to create a breakwater for Marina Quays.

Park Island
Park Island is a four-tower residential development comprising Blakely, Bonaire, Fairfield, and Sanibel. The towers within Park Island have been placed with parks and landscaped gardens.

Dubai Marina Mall
Dubai Marina Mall is a shopping mall located in the center of Dubai Marina and is one of the main shopping malls in Dubai. It features 140 retail outlets, spread over 390,000 sqft of gross leasable space, making it one of the largest shopping malls in Dubai. Opened in December 2008, the mall is linked to the 5-star JW Marriott Hotel Marina.

Sobha Realty (Dubai Metro)
Sobha Realty (Arabic: شوبا العقارية) (formerly Dubai Marina) is a rapid transit station on the Red Line of the Dubai Metro in Dubai. It opened on 30 April 2010 as part of an extension to Ibn Battuta. Dubai Marina station is located near Interchange 5 of Sheikh Zayed Road, around 20 km southwest of Downtown Dubai. It lies to the east of the northern half of the Dubai Marina and the west of the northern portion of Jumeirah Lake Towers. Dubai Marina Station lies on a viaduct paralleling the eastern side of Sheikh Zayed Road. It is categorised as a type 2 elevated station, indicating that there is an elevated concourse between the street and platform level. Pedestrian access to the station is aided through walkways above Sheikh Zayed Road, connecting to developments on either side of the road. In September 2014, Damac Properties acquired the naming rights for the Dubai Marina Station, which resulted in it being renamed the Damac Station.

Dubai Tram
Al Sufouh Tramway is a tramway that operates in Al Sufouh, Dubai Marina. It runs 14.5 km along Al Sufouh Road from Dubai Marina to the Burj Al Arab and the Mall of the Emirates. It interchanges with two stations of Dubai Metro's Red Line. The Sufouh Tram also connects with the Palm Monorail at the entrance of the Palm from Sufouh Road. After completion in 2014, it serves the residences of Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence.

Attractions
A zipline advertised as the "longest urban zipline" was installed here, which links Dubai Marina with the Dubai Marina Mall.

Education
Emirates International School is close to Dubai Marina.

Incidents
On 27 April 2006, a protest broke out among workers in Al Ahmadiya Contracting that caused the blocking of the company's construction site at Dubai Marina, damaging eight cars and two buses, destroying office property and documents, and roughing up a site engineer. The riot control wing of Dubai Police rushed to the scene to control the situation and the police succeeded in dispersing the agitating workers.

In August 2015, various people (including police officers) were arrested after they were caught with prostitutes and illegal alcohol on a boat in Dubai Marina.