Dubai Marina (), aka Marsa Dubai, is a district in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is an artificial canal city built along a 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. Dubai Marina opened doors to its first mosque Masjid Al Rahim in October 2013, which is situated at the southern end of the Marina, and its second mosque Mohammed Bin Ahmed Almulla Mosque in December 2016.
Phase I
The first phase of Dubai Marina covers , 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, and 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 ranges between to , which includes Cayan Tower, Ocean Heights, Marina Pinnacle, Sulafa Tower and Ciel Tower, which rises to meters and few are taller than meters and , which includes Elite Residence, 23 Marina, Princess Tower, Marina 106, Marina 101, DAMAC Residenze, and the supertall Pentominium, which rises to meters.
Jumeirah Beach Residence
Jumeirah Beach Residence is a long, 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 are residential and 5 are hotels). JBR can accommodate about 15,000 people, living in its apartments and hotel rooms. The Project has 6,917 apartments, from studios to 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 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.