New Launch - India Real Estate Report 2026.
Palm Jebel Ali is getting its first community retail destination. Dubai Retail has revealed The Yard, a 70,000 sq ft gross leasable area retail and lifestyle hub set to open in 2027.
It will bring 26 concepts across retail, dining, wellness, healthcare and family services to the waterfront community.
McLaren Construction has been appointed as the main contractor. The Yard will be Dubai Retail's 57th mall or lifestyle destination across the emirate.
What The Yard Will Offer Residents
The mix is designed around everyday living for Palm Jebel Ali's growing residential population. Confirmed brands include:
- Waitrose: supermarket anchor
- American Hospital: healthcare services
- Piccoli: dining
- Jumeirah International Nursery: early education
- Bateel Café: premium café offering
- Friends Avenue: social and dining concept
The destination will also include open terraces and communal areas, with direct links to a waterfront promenade and nearby open spaces extending the community's outdoor connectivity rather than creating an inward-facing retail box.
Also Read: 9 UAE Projects Set to Transform Real Estate by 2030
Who The Yard Serves
The Yard is expected to serve approximately 20,000 residents living across Palm Jebel Ali and surrounding communities.
That catchment will grow as villa handovers which began in late 2026 continue to bring families into the Palm's residential fronds over the coming 12 to 24 months.
Timing The Yard's 2027 opening to follow the first handovers is deliberate: the community needs daily services in place as residents arrive, not years after occupancy begins.
Also Read: Nakheel Releases 44 Beachfront Villas on Palm Jebel Ali
Dubai Retail's Expansion Into Growth Areas
Dubai Retail, which operates under Dubai Holding Asset Management, described The Yard as part of its strategy to expand into key growth areas across the emirate.
Palm Jebel Ali represents exactly that kind of growth area a major new residential community with no existing retail infrastructure, a confirmed and accelerating population and a direct sea-facing address that makes it one of Dubai's most anticipated destinations of the late 2020s.
For Palm Jebel Ali as a community, The Yard's 2027 opening adds a layer of liveability that residents of a new development often have to wait years to access.
Having Waitrose, healthcare, nursery and dining in place as the community fills up means families move into a functioning address from the start, not a building site with homes on it.
That is increasingly what buyers in Dubai's villa communities are demanding and what developers like Dubai Holding are working to deliver ahead of, rather than after, occupancy.
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