Reem Mall is a major retail, dining and entertainment destination built in the Najmat district of Reem Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), with an investment of $1.2bn.
The project was developed by Al Farwaniya Property Developments, a real estate development company jointly owned by United Projects for Aviation Services Company, a subsidiary of Agility, and the National Real Estate Company.
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The Abu Dhabi Department of Transport approved the transportation impact study of the project in December 2015, while approval for detailed planning was issued by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) in January 2016.
Construction on the project began at the end of 2017 and the foundation-laying ceremony was held in 2018. The mall had its soft opening in February 2023.
Location
The Reem Mall is located on Plot 1, Zone A at Najmat Abu Dhabi, a residential and mixed-use development situated on Al Reem Island.
The mall is a five-minute drive away from Abu Dhabi’s central business district, which makes it easily accessible for residents, visitors and tourists.
Reem Mall details
The Reem Mall has a floor area of 2.9 million ft² (269,419m²), which includes up to two million ft² of leasable area. The superstructure of the building was constructed using reinforced concrete.
The walls, roof and glazing of the mall are made of high-performance materials and highly efficient insulation optimised with a 12cm-thick exterior insulation finishing system.
The lower levels of the mall primarily cater to parking for 6,800 vehicles across three levels, two of which are basement storeys. These levels also contain service installations, storage and goods access.
Retail offerings at the mall
The Reem Mall consists of 450 stores including a hypermarket, four departmental stores and a diverse range of retail options for visitors. A few of the retail stores at the mall include Adidas, Nike, Paul, Ray-Ban, Sephora, Zara, Mango and Massimo Dutti.
Better Life expanded its presence in Abu Dhabi by opening its third showroom at Reem Mall. The showroom offers a diverse collection of appliances catering to various budgets, occasions, and functional needs.
Reem Mall embraces the latest digital technology solutions to enhance the customer experience. It boasts to be the region’s first fully integrated omnichannel retail ecosystem, offering digital, e-commerce, and logistics capabilities.
It includes a digital platform for hands-free online shopping, digital lockers for order pickup and home delivery services. The omnichannel retail ecosystem enables customers to seamlessly transition between online and in-person shopping experiences.
Dining and entertainment facilities
The Reem Mall includes 85 food and beverage outlets, two food and cafe courts and a range of family-focused entertainment offerings including a multiplex cinema, children’s entertainment activities and a chocolate museum.
Food outlets at the mall include Paul, McDonald’s, La Perle Sweets, Subway and Papa John’s.
The entertainment facilities include a 15-screen VOX Cinemas that utilises high-resolution digital projection systems with IMAX Laser advanced projection technology, providing audiences with clear and sharp visuals for an enhanced cinematic experience.
The cinemas offer immersive digital 3D content, featuring Dolby Atmos sound systems. They are equipped with 7.1 multidimensional surround sound systems, further enhancing the audio quality and spatial distribution of sound.
Tailored for younger audiences, the KIDS experience is designed to make movies more enjoyable for children.
Orange Wheels is a creative and innovative play area designed for children aged six months to eight years.
The mall is also home to the world’s biggest indoor Snow Play Park. Developed by Majid Al Futtaim, the 125,000ft² snow park features activities such as sledging, zorbing and luge.
Sustainable features of the mall
The project has obtained Estidama 2 Pearl Design Rating from the Abu Dhabi UPC for its sustainable design.
The mall is equipped with high-efficiency air-conditioning and lighting systems. It also incorporates efficient water irrigation systems and appliances to minimise water consumption. In addition, up to 70% of the waste generated at the site is recycled.
Financing
Al Farwaniya signed a seven-year $457m senior credit facility for the project in November 2017 with regional and international banks including Gulf Bank Kuwait, Standard Chartered Bank, the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Noor Bank.
UPAC invested $224m in the project through its affiliate Al Arfaj Real Estate Company.
Contractors involved
RTKL Associates was selected as the architect and design consultant for the mall, while WME provided civil, structural and building services engineering for the concept design of the project.
Dewan Architects & Engineers provided master planning, design, engineering and post-contract services for the project.
The Itinera Ghantoot joint venture between Italian construction company Itinera and UAE-based construction and development firm Ghantoot was awarded a $620m contract to build the Reem Mall in November 2017.
UAE-based company mSquared was chosen to provide retail consultancy, leasing, and asset management services for the mall, while AESG, a UAE-based consultancy, engineering and advisory firm, delivered independent commissioning agent services.
Mace was appointed to manage the development of the project in January 2015, while Faithful+Gould provided full cost and commercial management services.
Design and project management service company Funtastic was appointed to co-ordinate and manage tenant construction of the Reem Mall in February 2016.
Meinhardt Group provided building maintenance unit (BMU) and facade engineering services.
Pascall+Watson played a crucial role as part of a multi-disciplinary team, providing architectural design services for the Reem Snow Play Park.
Tesar Gulf, a part of the Swiss-based R&S Group, was selected to supply 27 cast resin transformers for the mall due to its high efficiency, quality and reliability.
Al Rakha Group specialised in construction and transportation, was appointed for shuttering and casting works and rebar fixing.
AZE Engineering Consultancy was involved in the fixing of precast manholes.
TGP International was responsible for the design and development of two food courts at the Reem Mall.
KONE, Acoustic Logic Consultancy and CML International are some of the other contractors involved in the project.
