Qatari Diar to open regional office in Washington

Tribune News Network Doha Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company has announced that it will open a regional office in Washington DC to pursue new strategic investments throughout the western hemisphere. The office will be located in City Center DC complex, Qatari Diar's flagship North American development currently nearing completion in conjunction with Hines. Designed by Foster + Partners, City Center DC is a 148,000 square metre urban redevelopment programme in the heart of downtown Washington DC. In addition to City Center DC, Qatari Diar is also part of the joint venture developing Panama Pacifico on the site of the former Howard Air Force Base in the Republic of Panama. Announcing the opening of new office, Khaled Mohammed al Sayed, group chief executive officer of Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, said,"The success of the City Center project, together with Qatari Diar's project in Panama, have encouraged us to look for additional opportunities in the Americas. Qatari Diar's new regional base will manage existing projects and explore other strategic investments within the region." The Washington DC office, due to open later this year, will be headed by Stephen J Pettit, Qatari Diar Regional Director Americas. "Qatari Diar's new base in the Americas will bolster the company's operations in the western hemisphere, allowing the regionally-based team to oversee the effective management of current and future projects," said Pettit. Qatari Diar is currently involved in 49 landmark projects in 29 countries across the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. The first phase of City Center DC comprises six buildings containing 458 rental apartments and 216 condominiums, in addition to 48,000 sqm of office space and more than 17,000 sqm of retail space.

Doha News A highly anticipated, Qatar-backed development in the American capital of Washington, DC will include a cultural center run by the Gulf country when it opens next year, Qatar Foundation International has said. The $1 billion CityCenterDC, one of the largest construction projects on the American east coast, is primarily financed by Qatar, and considered the country's first major real estate investment in the US... Qatar to establish ‘Al-Bayt’ cultural center in American capital By: Shabina S. Khatri | 54 mins agoView as "Clean Read" | 0 Comments Email 118 A highly anticipated, Qatar-backed development in the American capital of Washington, DC will include a cultural center run by the Gulf country when it opens next year, Qatar Foundation International has said. The $1 billion CityCenterDC, one of the largest construction projects on the American east coast, is considered Qatar’s first major real estate investment in the US. The country became involved in the development in 2010, when the Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co. put up some $622 million in financing. When completed, CityCenterDC will take up three pedestrian city blocks in downtown Washington and include two condominium buildings, two rental apartment buildings, two office buildings, a luxury hotel, a park, a plaza and an underground public parking garage. Al-Bayt Construction on the project began in 2011, and CityCenterDC already has a bit of the Qatari touch. According to the Washington Post, the investment made by the Qatari Diar, an extension of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, was sharia-compliant. Thus, the development will not lease to any bars, though some restaurants will be granted alcohol licenses. This week, QFI announced that it will establish a cultural center within the 10-acre, mixed-use urban village called “Al-Bayt,” or “home.” In a statement quoted by the Post, Maggie Mitchell Salem, executive director of the foundation, said the center was “designed to increase knowledge and understanding of Arabic language and culture in the America.” The newspaper continues: The foundation’s real estate adviser, Audra Cunningham, vice president at CBRE, said the cultural center would provide a little bit of everything that Qatari culture has to offer. “You will walk into that space and get very familiar with their art, their language and their cuisine,” she said. Meanwhile, even though apartments at the development go for a whopping $2,000 to $7,700 a month, tenants are already lined up to rent, according to developer Hines Interests LP. Residents are expected to begin moving in next month, and the project should be completed early next year. Thoughts?