Business Hub

Samana sells offices, and keeps the pool

Samana Developers built its name on apartments fitted with private pools, from Dubailand to Warsan. With Business Hub, the developer puts out a fully commercial project: 18 office floors sitting on a five-level podium, a ground-floor retail strip and four basement levels. The tower sits in Downtown Jebel Ali, the same district where Samana is already building Portside, its residential scheme. Handover is set for June 30, 2029. The most notable part isn't the height but the mix: office floorplates sold unit by unit, paired with amenities normally found in a residential building, such as a pool, cabanas and a sauna.

Five podium levels under 18 office floors

The building totals 28 levels, four of them underground and given over to parking and back-of-house services. The podium houses the retail units and shared spaces, with landscaped terraces stretching the tower out horizontally. Above that, the facade mixes panoramic glazing, curved lines and vertical light strips, giving the silhouette a clean read from Sheikh Zayed Road. Inside the offices, the developer went with a neutral palette, wood-look textures, glazed partitions and built-in lighting. Floor-to-ceiling glass is mainly there to push natural light deep into the floorplates, a real consideration given how shallow some of the units are.

Eighteen unit types from 610 to 1,656 square feet

The brochure lists 18 office unit types. The smallest measures 610 square feet, roughly 57 sqm, and the largest 1,656 square feet, around 154 sqm. In between, most units fall somewhere between 800 and 1,100 square feet, or 75 to 100 sqm. That layout clearly targets small operators: consultancies, agencies, representative offices, logistics firms tied to the nearby port. Price per square foot varies noticeably between unit types, so it's worth comparing unit by unit rather than trusting an average. Freehold status lets foreign buyers own these offices outright, opening the product up to individuals looking to lease space to companies.

Pool, cabanas and a cigar lounge for staff

The podium brings together a list of amenities that reads more like a business hotel than a standard commercial tower. There's an adults-only pool with a lounging area and cabanas, an indoor gym, a Pilates studio and a sauna. A cigar lounge, an outdoor amphitheater and an outdoor lounge round out the offer, along with indoor and outdoor cafes. On the work side, the scheme includes a conference room and a coworking area, useful for tenants in smaller units who don't have room for their own meeting space. A prayer room, a meditation space and pedestrian walkways complete the package.

A residential developer's first commercial project

Up to now, Samana has made its name with mid-market residential buildings, often with a pool in every unit: Parkville and Samana Ibiza in Dubailand, Greenfield in Warsan, Ocean Crest on Dubai Islands. Business Hub marks a move into office space. The same commercial logic shows through, though: compact units, an accessible entry price and amenities used as the main selling point. Investors should keep in mind that the office rental market runs on different rules than residential, with longer leases and vacancy rates more exposed to economic swings. That said, having Samana Portside a few streets away lets the developer build on a district it already knows well.

Ten minutes from Al Maktoum and Expo City

The location leans on southern Dubai first. Expo City Dubai, Dubai Investment Park and Al Maktoum Airport are about a ten-minute drive away, according to the developer. Jebel Ali Port and its free zone, the emirate's main logistics hub, are also right nearby. Dubai Marina, JBR and Mall of the Emirates are reachable within 15 minutes. Business Bay, Downtown Dubai and DIFC take 20 to 25 minutes, which positions Business Hub as a cheaper alternative to the established business districts rather than a direct competitor.