HQ by Arista Properties

A mid-size office building aimed at pulling SMEs out of DIFC and Business Bay

The scheme comprises 48 office units and 8 retail spaces, spread across seven office floors sitting above a ground floor and three basement levels. With HQ by Arista (also referred to as HQA in the brochure), Arista Properties steps away from high-end villas and into commercial real estate. The developer is targeting companies looking for mid-size, Grade A office space outside the saturated business districts. Handover is set for December 31, 2027, on a freehold basis. It stands as one of the few purely commercial projects in Al Furjan, a district where new supply is still dominated by residential stock.

48 units rather than full floor plates

The approach comes down to one figure: 48 offices across seven levels, so roughly seven units per floor. That is a far cry from floor plates spanning several thousand square meters leased to a single multinational. Units are delivered shell-and-core, meaning unfinished, with each occupant fitting out the space to their own requirements. Every unit comes with a water supply and drainage connection, and each floor includes a wet pantry and shared technical rooms. According to the brochure, all layouts benefit from natural light, made possible by floor-to-ceiling glazing. The target market is clear: consulting firms, family offices, trading companies or founders who want to own their premises, along with investors buying to lease to this type of tenant.

John R Harris & Partners, the firm behind Etisalat Tower

Design was entrusted to John R Harris & Partners, a firm under the Aukett Swanke group with more than 55 years of practice. In Dubai, the name is tied to a piece of the city's history, having designed Etisalat Tower along with other buildings from the first wave of modernization. Its cited portfolio also spans Moscow (Arcus III) and Nairobi (Vantage Point Towers), as well as Istanbul and London. For HQA, the design rests on clean geometry, strong facade lines, a double-height atrium and outdoor terraces on the upper floors. Architectural lighting highlights the atrium, the roofline and the landscaped surroundings.

Grade A and LEED Gold: worth checking against the paperwork

The developer advertises a Grade A specification and LEED Gold certification. The brochure is not consistent on this point, though: one page describes the certification as "targeted," another presents it as "achieved." For a building not yet built, only the first wording holds up, since LEED is validated after construction. The brochure also contradicts itself on retail, citing four units on one page and eight on another. The technical summary lists 8 retail units, 4 parking levels and 6 high-speed elevators. A careful buyer should request the project's RERA registration record and the pre-certification file before signing.

Podcast studios, a pool and a rooftop garden

The developer lists more than twenty shared amenities, mostly concentrated on one dedicated floor. On the work side, there is a coworking space, meeting pods, a conference room and two podcast studios, an unusual feature for a building this size. On the wellness side, there is a gym, a training zone, an outdoor yoga deck, a pool and a rooftop garden. An in-house café, a games room and a separate service lobby round out the offering. Access is managed through smart control, with AI-assisted security. These shared services let a small business skip permanently leasing a large meeting room it would only use a few hours a week.

Between E11 and E311, ten minutes from Jafza

Al Furjan sits between Sheikh Zayed Road and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road. The developer makes this its main selling point against DIFC and Business Bay, where traffic congestion, limited parking and high occupancy costs weigh on business operations. The building borders Furjan West Park and sits one minute from the Furjan West Community Centre. Al Furjan metro station, on the Red Line, is six minutes away, and the future Etihad Rail station is five minutes away, with service set to launch in September 2026. Jebel Ali Free Zone is ten minutes away, Dubai Investment Park nine, Dubai Marina twelve and Dubai Internet City around thirteen. Al Maktoum Airport, poised to become Dubai's main aviation hub, is 28 minutes away.

Arista Properties moves from Wadi Villas into commercial real estate

Arista Properties made its name with Wadi Villas, a top-tier villa development designed with HBA and Coopers Hill. According to the developer, that project is running ahead of schedule. HQA is therefore its first office building, and the expertise required is different: technical management, shared services and a functioning commercial strata setup all need to come together. The brochure cites Dubai's commercial market figures, with occupancy running at 90 to 95 percent in prime zones and average lease terms of three to five years. These figures come from the seller and are worth checking against independent market reports before making any decision.