1 Residences

Two 43-storey residential towers joined at the top, bordering Zabeel Park

Each of the two towers at 1 Residences stacks 43 residential levels above a ground floor, a mezzanine and three basement levels. Wasl chose to connect them at the top, and this link gives the project its distinctive silhouette, visible from Sheikh Zayed Road. The development sits in Zone 2 of wasl1, the freehold master plan the developer built in Al Kifaf, between Zabeel Park and the Karama district. Handover took place on 20 September 2022. The project is therefore no longer an off-plan purchase: it is a completed asset, to be assessed on the basis of actual occupancy and rents achieved rather than projections.

A high-level bridge rather than simple twin towers

On the master plan map, Zone 2 is the only one described as "two residential towers connected at the top." The other residential zones follow more conventional layouts. Park Gate Residences lines up four towers, while Zone 3 places two towers on separate podiums split by a large staircase. Here, the aerial link creates a gate-like shape that reads from a distance. Inside, the brochure lists wood, polished stainless steel and marble, a palette Wasl repeats across buildings throughout wasl1.

Three parking levels under a shared podium

Both towers share a single podium. It holds three basement levels, three floors of covered parking and a mezzanine. With six levels dedicated in whole or in part to vehicles, parking, often a sore point in older parts of Dubai, is handled on site. The roof of this podium hosts the shared amenities. Units start above this base, keeping the lowest apartments away from street noise.

From one-bedroom units to three-bedroom duplexes

The unit range stays tight. There are one, two and three-bedroom apartments, plus three-bedroom duplexes. No studios or penthouses are listed, unlike neighbouring Park Gate Residences within the same master plan, which offers podium townhouses and penthouses. This mix targets a tenant or owner-occupier working at DIFC or the Trade Centre who wants more space than a Business Bay studio provides. The duplexes will mainly appeal to families wanting separate floors for different uses without leaving the city centre.

Kids' pool, splash pad and prayer room

The amenities point to a family profile rather than a resort feel. Alongside the outdoor pool and shared gym, the project adds a children's pool, a splash pad and a play area. A jogging track and pedestrian paths round things out, along with barbecue areas and landscaped gardens. The prayer room and intercom system confirm the residential focus, with no hotel-style dimension. Cafes and restaurants sit at ground level, on wasl1's central plaza (Zone 4).

Max metro station five minutes away, Garden Glow across the street

Max metro station, on the Red Line, is about a five-minute walk away. The project faces Dubai Garden Glow, at the entrance to Zabeel Park. By road, Sheikh Zayed Road, Sheikh Rashid Road and the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed corridor all converge within minutes. DXB Airport, Downtown and Dubai Mall sit closer than they do to most of the city's newer freehold areas in the south. That is the real selling point of the location: full freehold ownership in an area long dominated by older rental stock.

Wasl, a landlord turned seller

Wasl Asset Management Group is first and foremost one of the emirate's largest rental housing managers. At wasl1, the group sells units on a freehold basis, as it also does at Avenue Park Towers and Nine Collective, its two other schemes in Al Kifaf. For a buyer, this dual role matters. The developer knows how to manage occupied buildings and also remains a neighbouring landowner of the plots it develops. With handover completed back in 2022, 1 Residences offers several years of track record on common area upkeep, a point worth checking before any purchase on the secondary market.