Dubai Motorsport Business Park work on track

UAE-based Union Properties said work is progressing well on its Motorsport Business Park development with an ever-expanding range of apartments, shops and restaurants being added to the Dubai facility in its latest phase.

Due for completion this December, the project will complement the recently-established Grandstand Retail Plaza, which accommodates an array of shops overlooking the main straight at Dubai Autodrome, and The Ribbon Mall. The new Motorsport Business Park will house multiple companies and teams in units of 200 and 420 sq m, it added.

Developed jointly with Multilink Contracting, the 6,000-sq-m park, located in the centre of the 5.39-km race circuit, will bring together all of the major UAE motorsport businesses and racing teams, said a statement from Union Properties. Work is under way on a new hub for the UAE motorsport industry as part of the commercial transformation of MotorCity and its showcase venue, Dubai Autodrome, it stated. Ryan Trutch, Dubai Autodrome special projects manager, said: "This bespoke facility will be a game changer for the motorsports industry in Dubai as it brings the major stakeholders involved in UAE motorsports together under one big roof." "It will give these businesses easy access to our circuit, whether for testing or customer experiences," he added. Richard Birch, the general manager at Dubai Autodrome, said: "We have been overwhelmed by interest in the new project and have even contemplated a phase two for 2018." “But first we want to concentrate on getting phase one built. We had to overcome some frustrating delays in the past eight months, but I’m very pleased to say we have finally broken ground on the project and moving forward quickly,” noted Birch. In a 2016 survey conducted by Service Market, residents voted MotorCity as the best place to live in Dubai. The recent opening of the Grandstand Retail Plaza in the grandstand area of Dubai Autodrome added a range of cafes, motorbike shops, a gym and other outlets, all overlooking the circuit, which hosts a busy season of race meetings headlined by the Hankook 24H Dubai, one of the world’s top endurance events, he stated. "We have been selective in attracting only those businesses having good synergies with our own commercial operations and neighbouring business," remarked Birch. “With the opening in recent months of the Ribbon Mall and the Retail Plaza the focal point of MotorCity has shifted, creating a new buzz in the local community for residents and visitors,