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Abyaar, an exceptional boutique real estate company, is on its way to becoming Dubai’s burgeoning skyline icon.

Boutique real estate - combining prime location, award-wining architecture, designer interiors and exceptional finish - is increasingly grabbing the attention of buyers looking for properties better able to hold their value in the long term.

Abyaar, a name that is now synonymous with extremely high-quality projects that veer away from the everyday, is showcasing three new developments at Cityscape 2008, which are set to become icons of Dubai’s burgeoning skyline. Marzooq Al Rashdan, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Abyaar says, “This year Cityscape is providing us with a launch pad for three out-of-the-norm projects – ICE and Pier 8 towers - set within Dubai Marina - and the Dubai Arts District, set within IMPZ. All offer a different spin on lifestyle-living and, as always, we have partnered with accomplished suppliers and service providers to bring our buyers truly signature developments.”

Al-Rashdan adds, “Our aim is to continually outdo customer satisfaction, and offer design and quality conscious buyers property which surpasses their expectations in terms of luxury and excellence. Our projects are end-user focused, aimed at those wanting to live in less mainstream environments, with enduring high-quality.”

All Abyaar projects are constructed with the highest standards in environmental sustainable design, personal comfort, visual beauty and amenity. “We always keep longevity in mind – architecture is timeless, yet innovative and progressive. Our fundamental belief in a design driven process forms the foundation of our uniquenot only a boutique real estate approach to the initiation, conceptualization and delivery of all Abyaar projects.”

“The ICE tower, designed by Australian architect Karl Finder, has literally taken inspiration from naturally occurring Arctic ice bergs.” Based on the shores of Dubai Marina, 30 levels of angular glass will house 103 spatially-unique apartments. Among the state-of-the-art aspects to this project are an in-house cinema, male and female saunas and sun lounge. Pier 8 Designed by Atkins, Pier 8 rises up some 39 floors within Dubai Marina offering 234 units, ranging from studios to apartments, with two sky villas located on the 38th & 39th floors and three exclusive townhouses grace the waterfront podium with terraces looking out over the marina. The ground floor provides a range of boutiques and fine-dining eateries for residents’ exclusive use and convenience, all situated on and overlooking the marina yacht basin.

Set within Dubai's International Media Production Zone (IMPZ), Abyaar is creating a commercially and residentially combined ‘arts precinct’ – the Dubai Arts District. The project is dominated by a commercial cluster, designed with optical illusion by RTKL, known worldwide for their creation of stunning and functional places that simultaneously uplift, inspire and evoke local and national pride. The residential portion of the project, designed by Marks Barfield Architects, renowned for their work on the London Eye, provides modern, industrially-inspired character-space, aimed at young and trendy buyers looking for a lively hub in which to live. Dubai Arts District offers freehold, community-living within a free zone. ----- These three projects mark the start of a new era for Abyaar who has recently refreshed their brand with a logo that now better represents their values and the ‘signature’ status of their projects. Abyaar’s newly revamped corporate identity now bears the calligraphic elements of a signature, more accurately representing the boutique developer’s defining characteristics of commitment to passion and precision. “The logo design – a gold “Abyaar” signature – reflects our unabated commitment to creating pieces of art meriting an artist’s signature, as opposed to run-of-the-mill real estate.” ICE, Pier 8 and IMPZ will be on display at the Abyaar stand during Cityscape 2008.

The National Association of Realtors® and the U.S. Conference of Mayors have named Irvine, Calif., an Ambassador City. The city was designated for its Public Officials 101 initiative, a homeownership education program for Orange County mayors, council members and city managers.

The Public Officials 101 initiative was developed by the Orange County Association of Realtors® and the Orange County Business Council. The initiative provides officials with information on the local housing market and offers tools and resources to help increase workforce housing opportunities through partnerships or policy change.

“Realtors® build communities and know that many American cities lack an adequate supply of affordable housing for working families,” said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. “The Public Officials 101 initiative is a positive first step to help raise awareness of the area’s critical housing needs and build support among Orange County officials. I commend the city of Irvine and OCAR for working together to identify and promote solutions to the city’s high cost of housing.”

Orange County is among the most expensive communities in the country, with a median existing-home price of $517,300 in the third quarter of 2008, well above the national median price of $191,600 in the same period. In 2007, the OCBC released a broad study of the area’s housing affordability, which found that the high cost of housing and critical lack of affordable housing had resulted in increased congestion from commuters and that many of the area’s residents aged 25-44 were leaving the county to find affordability elsewhere.

The Public Officials 101 initiative will help educate officials on these housing issues and others as well as offer solutions to effectively increase workforce housing opportunities. The first Public Officials 101 training will take place in February 2009; officials from all 34 cities within Orange County have been invited to attend.

At an event today, Realtor® Bonnie Boyd, 2008 chair of the NAR Housing Opportunity Advisory Board, joined Dustin Joyce, Council for the New American City, U.S. Conference of Mayors, in presenting the Ambassador for Cities plaque to Irvine Assistant City Manager Sharon Landers and 2008 OCAR President Don Readinger.

NAR and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, through its Council on the New American City, launched the Ambassadors for Cities program in 2003 to encourage cities and local Realtor® associations to form partnerships to promote affordable housing and homeownership.

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