Emirati developer Arada is introducing a new investment opportunity for Gulf investors with the launch of Nest, the country's premier integrated student accommodation complex located at the heart of the developer’s record-breaking lifestyle megaproject, Aljada.

The move will enable individual real estate investors to purchase directly in the student housing segment in the Gulf for the first time, an area that has seen major interest in traditional markets such as the US and Europe, stated the developer.

Located just 10 minutes’ walk from one of the Middle East’s fastest-growing education hubs, Sharjah’s University City, Nest offers unrivalled facilities and amenities, all set within a smart technology-enabled space that sets a new standard for student housing in the region.

Spread over a 35,000-sq-m area on the University City side of Aljada, Nest features 10 five-storey buildings, all of which have been carefully designed with internal courtyards and spaces that provide meeting spaces for residents.

Each block contains a selection of studios and two-, four-, five- and eight-bed dormitories, alongside laundry rooms, shared TV rooms and study areas. Different parts of the community have been allocated to accommodation for men and women, ensuring comfort and privacy for every tenant, said the statement from Arada.

Nest’s lengthy list of facilities includes an art studio, a music hall, a library, a state-of-the-art running track that surrounds the complex, an amphitheatre and a central dining hall, while tenants will also be provided with access to male- and female-only swimming pools, gyms and study areas, it added.

In an interesting move, the Sharjah developer said it aims to provide the Nest residents with a number of part-time employment opportunities at local retail and food and beverage outlets, both within the complex and in Aljada as a whole.

In total, there are 1,288 units and 2,600 bed spaces in the Nest complex, all of which will be delivered fully furnished and ready to let out. Leasing will be arranged by fully licensed onsite management teams, who will also oversee all facilities management and provide 24-hour security.

Arada chairman Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi said: "The UAE has made education one of its highest priorities and a key platform for the development of the country. We are proud to support this critical industry through Nest, a state-of-the-art home for the region’s future leaders."

"At Nest, we are dedicated to providing facilities and a living experience for our students that is unmatched anywhere in the Middle East, and where security and safety are top of mind," noted Al Qasimi.

"Student accommodation is still a relatively new investment segment here in the Gulf and we’re happy to offer this opportunity in Sharjah for the first time," he stated.

"We believe student housing is an excellent and hassle-free way to diversify your real estate portfolio, and we hope that the stable and steady guaranteed returns on offer at Nest will be of significant interest to local and international investors," he added.

The first purpose-built student accommodation in Sharjah, Nest taps into a real estate segment that has seen significant investor interest in other global markets, but which is still in a nascent phase in the Gulf.

Arada said buyers in Nest will be rewarded with a guaranteed return on investment (ROI) of 10 per cent annually for a period of five years after their units have been completed. Arada is planning to hand over the entire community by the end of 2021.

Nest benefits strongly from Aljada’s location adjacent to University City, which contains two of the region’s largest and most distinguished higher education institutions, University of Sharjah and American University of Sharjah (AUS), which between them host some 20,000 students alone, plus an additional eight other colleges and institutions.

Sharjah itself is already well known as an international education hub, drawing in students from around the Middle East and beyond.

Some 80 per cent of those studying at AUS come from outside the UAE, and the university was recognised by the World University Rankings in 2018 as having the world’s most diverse student body, ahead of the London School of Economics (LSE).
 
Nest is also ideally located to serve the more than 60,000-strong student body in nearby Dubai. The complex is a 20-minute drive from Dubai International Academic City, the largest higher education free zone in the world, which has 27,500 students enrolled at its universities during the current academic year.-TradeArabia News service