RAFAL Real Estate Development Co. to Revolutionize Co-Living in Saudi Arabia

Elias Abou Samra, CEO of RAFAL Real Estate Development Co., talks pioneering co-living in Saudi Arabia and discusses RAFAL’s involvement in Riyadh’s urban development projects.

“We are working on developing the first co-living brand in Saudi Arabia. We already have 5 projects in the pipeline and all of them are close to urban transit, be it the metro or ground rail transport. They are also very close to office clusters, expat communities, and some public institutions as well, as there are lots of expats that serve these public institutions as consultants or full-time employees. By rolling out this new brand, we plan on building minimum 10 buildings over the next five years. The idea is to migrate from the suburban lifestyle, and integrate expats in the urban fabric of the city, so they can benefit from proximity, workability, and be close to the live-work-play environment, as opposed to having very long commute from the suburbs of Riyadh. This means better integration for expats in the community. We are also very active with most of the megaprojects to co-develop the early phases. We are in the final bidding stages for several projects, most of them being 15-minute districts that are being introduced in the city. The third area we focus on is private public partnerships. We have signed a joint venture with CITIC Group, one of the largest Chinese conglomerates ranked 102 on the global Fortune 500. They have a global presence in North America, Africa, Latin America and Europe. We are bidding on a joint venture partnership on some of the megaprojects, not as a phase, but to take the full scope. Some of these projects are 4 and 5 million square meters, driven by pension funds, where you sign a 30 year contract to develop and operate those destinations”, says Elias Abou Samra.

ABOUT RAFAL: RAFAL Real Estate Development Co. is a Riyadh-based real estate developer established in 2007. The Company has delivered several landmark projects marking the skyline of Riyadh including the renowned Burj RAFAL, and a number of award-winning hotels, gated communities and mixed-use developments. The Gross Development Value of delivered projects by RAFAL in Riyadh exceeds SAR 12 billion today, including more than 3,500 homes, 2 million SQM of developed land, and other commercial mixed-use spaces.

FAIR USE POLICY
This material (including media content) may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten, or redistributed. However, linking directly to the page (including the source, i.e. Marcopolis.net) is permitted and encouraged.