Name: The Atlantic
Floors: 20
Height: ?
Use: Res

http://tinypic.com/e6ulhg.jpg

http://tinypic.com/e6up90.jpg

this one looks really good i think
photo is not too good

added to emporis

Looks like a mini horizon tower

found this one on http://www.oryxapartments.com

http://tinypic.com/e6up90.jpg

it looks great. and could be the oryx tower i was talking abt?

I really like it. Especially with the setbacks at the top and the hanging crown.

Stunning design!!! Two thumbs up :okay:

Dubai starting to find its sweet spot circa 2006 now...


:D

found this one on http://www.oryxapartments.com




Also from the website..:)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/chady/Bank/atlantic.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/chady/Bank/atlantic1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/chady/Bank/atlantic2.jpg

thanks looking good..
where is it...
http://www.tp.spt.fi/~jukarkil/uae/marina/numbers_c_s.gif

could be C-k.

actually it is
must be!!!

Oryx Apartments launches The Atlantic

Oryx Apartments announced the launch of the latest off-plan freehold apartments in Dubai Marina, alongside the company's new website, www.oryxapartments.com.

http://www.ameinfo.com/images/news/0/18450-oryx.jpg
All apartments in The Atlantic give uninterrupted views of Dubai Marina, the largest master-planned marina development in the world.


"We are extremely excited by this, the first of several major launches of quality, freehold condominiums to be announced by the Oryx Apartments stable in the coming months. Our aim is to create stylish, contemporary, homes in the best locations Dubai can offer - ensuring our customers get both value-for-money and a genuine, appreciating asset,' said Ray Hogan, Managing Director, Oryx Apartments.

The Atlantic, as it is known, is an 18-storey glass, marble and granite structure built to give residents the ultimate in creature comfort, a truly inspiring vista to look out on, all the amenities one would expect from a five star project - and the world's most sumptuous five star hotels within walking distance.

Every apartment is large by today's standards. Three bedroom homes have five bathrooms, a lobby/study, maid's rooms, and a total space of up to 3,324 square feet (with balcony area of up to 900 square feet). Two bedroom apartments have three bathrooms a family room/study and a total area of up to 1,883 square feet (with a balcony area of up to 339 square feet). One bed homes have two bathrooms, a total area of up to 965 square feet with a balcony of up to 119 square feet.

Add the rooftop swimming pool and open-air Jacuzzi; the lounger comfort of the sun deck; a 1,000 square feet gymnasium with the latest equipment; his and hers saunas and steam rooms; a children's play area with playpens and toys - as well as sensor lit, allocated basement parking, and you have a place you can call home - or home away from home.

The payment plan is simple: 10% of purchase price (less any booking deposits); 10% of purchase price on December 1, 2005; 10% of purchase price on March 1, 2006; 10% of purchase price on June 1, 2006; 10% of purchase price on September 1, 2006; and 50% on completion (end 2007).

Each apartments comes with a free, pre-installed, 42' plasma television and high definition home theatre system; multi-programme washing machine; American-specification fridge; microwave; dishwasher, ultra-modern cooker - and is Internet and cable ready.

Master bathrooms house marble counters; marble basins; granite flooring; adjustable lighting, vanity mirrors and powerful shower fittings. Guest bathrooms use the same materials.

Kitchens have been carefully designed, with smooth, ergonomic granite surfaces interlocking to make cooking a pleasure. Easily accessible cupboards are recessed to allow maximum storage space.

Bedrooms are beautifully big and comfortable, with floors of decorative granite tiles, low-key lighting; walk in, walk through or deep, recessed wardrobes adding space and glamour.

The location is superb. The Marina Mall's extravagant boutiques and eateries are literally a lift's ride away. The Ritz Carlton, le Royal Meridian, Sheraton, Hilton and Grosvenor House hotels a short jaunt. And you can walk to the beach in a couple of minutes.

Dennis ameinfo reports this is 18 floors.

this is the residential floors
doesn't include g + m

count the floors on the big render!

Saw this in many property magazines and did some searching around for information and found some great stuff on The Atlantic (Dubai Marina) (http://realestate.theemiratesnetwork.com/developments/dubai/the_atlantic.php)

http://realestate.theemiratesnetwork.com/developments/dubai/images/the_atlantic.jpg

So storeys are different than floors?

Any news on this one?
Any photos of the building site?

There is a building on the map next to the Atlantic, the opposite side of the mall, but near the bridge. Which building is this? http://www.dtcm-dubaimap.com/applet/map.html?nr=02704adcd8d1e954df81657e921ba1f3

this is silverene (2 towers)

WoW, still in "Approved" status after all this time.

I looks like a nice location, which perhaps deserves a slightly taller tower.

I have heard that work has just started on the site but there have been no pictures of this area posted for a few weeks now so its hard to tell.According to the developer there had been a problem with building permission.

Possibility of any pictures of this site Imre or anybody else.Thanks.

We are going to Dubai on Monday and signing the contracts for a one bed in The Atlantic so I will try to get some info. They have asked for the payment due when piling starts so I thought it might be starting now.
I was told the delay was because they were using the site to store stuff for The Mall.

Yes, this is one of the best sites in the Marina.

:master: Sheltie, do take some photos :wave:

There is no doubt that this is a fantastic site,dead centre & i reckon that from the rooftop swimming pool you will see the whole length of the marina because of the way the site juts out.I just wish they would get on with it.

I was at this site a couple of days ago and the portocabins for the Mall have been moved. There are machines which I think are for the piling there and I was told it should start any time now.
Now back in Scotland so would appreciate it if any body sees any progress and keeps us up to date.

We are going to Dubai on Monday and signing the contracts for a one bed in The Atlantic so I will try to get some info. They have asked for the payment due when piling starts so I thought it might be starting now.
I was told the delay was because they were using the site to store stuff for The Mall.

Did you go ahead and sign the contract Sheltie ??

Yes, I got a one bed.

refreshing design.

Yes, I got a one bed.

Well done, this is a great tower in an excellent location was looking at it myself a while back. (The one bed floorplans really good as well).

Does anybody know if there is any signs of building work starting. I believe the equipment is on site ready for the piling. Any pictures would be greatly appreciated.

The developer (Gulf Shores)e.mailed me last week to say that all permission has now been granted & shoring & piling work would be starting immediatly as all equipment was allready on site.The only picture i can find is on the Marina Mall thread which clearly shows a lot of equipment on site but this was probably taken around the same time as you were there.

Yes, it looks as if there's a bit more on that picture than when I was there so heres hoping. Have you bought in The Atlantic?

Yes i,ve bought a 2 bedroom on the 8th floor.What are your plans for your apartment,is it for holidays or rental.

We want use it for holidays and rent it out when we're not there. We've also bought at The Torch. The 2 beds at The Atlantic look great.

We also have a 2 bed in the Atlantic. Has anybody received any details of the remaining payments .

I got a copy of the contract I am getting and it says
4th installment approx June 2007

(I think it's supposed to be 90 days from when piling starts )

I may have made 1 more payment than i should have as i have already paid 45% of the apartment but i,m not sure.As far as i know the next 10% is due in oct/nov and then the balance on completion.

I was told by the oryx rep that I only need to pay when they send me an invoice for the next instalment & as yet no invoice has been sent for my third instalment although it was due in march.

Yes,that march payment is the one that i should,nt have paid until i was invoiced,you are quite right.They are allowing late payment because the building work is behind schedule.

27/04/2007

I have 2 pics , but I dont know the exact location of this tower.

first pic next to bridge opposite Marina View Tower ,still empty plot

second pic next to this plot , front of Marina Mall , there has started some piling works and board coming soon

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/3774/imresolt134ur2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/1065/imresolt136di4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

One of them is Al Dua'a the other The Atlantic. I don't know in what order they are placed. Anyone?

The second one is The Atlantic so it looks as if piling may have started.

Yes, this is the Atlantic on the 2nd photo. The Al Dua'a will be where the white cabins are.

The 1st photo must be the empty plot left of the Atlantic (seen from the beach side). This will be a lovely location for a tower.

04/May/2007

The Atlantic

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/420/imresolt178wr7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/8813/imresolt179ma7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Thanks Imre.

Any more news & pictures of The Atlantic Imre ?
Thanks

^^ ^^

22/May/2007

The Atlantic

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7381/imresolt46ix9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/5659/imresolt47zm8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/927/imresolt49wx3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/4085/imresolt50fq8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The archway through the mall hotel is going to look very impressive from the Atlantic.

Hotels gona look Nice :banana: But will not be able to see the Mall from this end :bash:

Hopefully from my balcony I will see the Marina and not the Mall or Hotel. It's just nice being near the Mall.

Sheltie,i think you should be able to jump into the marina,not just see it from your balcony.

Hopefully from my balcony I will see the Marina and not the Mall or Hotel. It's just nice being near the Mall.

You will have the most wonderful view, Sheltie. Look here:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/Upandhi/Dubai%20Marina/marinamall.jpg?t=1165692924 :)

Anyone got any more pictures? Has the piling started?

Sheltie sent me these photos, taken 06.06.2007
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=4yhg5n4

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=4yhg5n4

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=6afil4p

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=6afil4p
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=6h2nzg5
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=6c83bwg

http://i7.tinypic.com/6afil4p.jpg

http://i12.tinypic.com/6h2nzg5.jpg

http://i17.tinypic.com/6c83bwg.jpg

Thank you Carpetking, I was having some problems.... :gaah:

Ok, so at least the status can be changed to u/c

Thanks for putting on the pictures, it's great to see it under way.

Anyone know how long a 20 floor tower should take to complete.

When I bought at The Atlantic I was told it would take 16 months from when the piling started which would make it September 2008. Keep our fingers crossed there won't be any delays.

I had kind of resigned myself to the end of 2008 so september would be a bonus.

23/June/2007

Atlantic from JBR

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7811/imresolt072sx2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Great photo Imre.
Do you know what time of the day the photo is taken? :naughty:

thanks, yes 16:49

here are the official updates on June 27th 5:11 pm:righton: :righton: :guns1:

SF
:bash: :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash: :nuts: :cheers:
http://aycu15.webshots.com/image/19774/2000727808680996524_rs.jpg
http://aycu33.webshots.com/image/21152/2000722297898735694_rs.jpg
http://aycu23.webshots.com/image/21702/2000777229620057813_rs.jpg
http://aycu09.webshots.com/image/20568/2000793784038467913_rs.jpg
http://aycu34.webshots.com/image/18553/2000727400206259845_rs.jpg
http://aycu05.webshots.com/image/20204/2000774577740073894_rs.jpg
http://aycu05.webshots.com/image/20204/2000703673103998489_rs.jpg
http://aycu32.webshots.com/image/17631/2000726379839801567_rs.jpg

Thanks for the update, great pictures.

Will they be digging down for the car parking first? The rest seems to start with a big hole in the ground.

you must understand that right now they are busy with piling it is a progress that happens under ground so no performance will be detected until piles are completed( this is the base of any building.,and will hold 20flrs. in place) it is a slow proses due to all the testing that must be done. the level u see right now will be the prominent level (parking level)

Thanks for that.

Great photos,really looks like a lot of progress is being made.I am a bit confused about the size of the site,it looks very big,is anything going between the Atlantic and the bridge?

Yes, what will be between the Atlantic and the bridge?

Al DUA'A ??

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=400681&page=2

I thought Al Dua'a was behind The Atlantic.

I thought Al Dua'a was behind The Atlantic.

Yes I think it is back towards road. I have been looking at resale prices in this tower and floors 1 to 9 seem to be more expensive than 10 upwards,which given they are the same Sq footage seems a little odd.Anybody know why this might be,dose the layout differ?

If the Al Duaa tower is between the Atlantic and the bridge then when would it get underway because the Atlantic site looks like it is fenced off almost right up to the bridge and they surely would not be allowed to do that if someone else owned the ground,and i cannot see any developer waiting till the Atlantic is completed before they start.

Fencing surrounds Plots 3J(The Atlantic) & 3k(Unkown Project) which is projects falling under the same client .so no worries delaying other projects ,permission is giving by owner.Al Duaa's project will be situated between The Atlantic and Marina Mall as you can see in the picture.

http://aycu38.webshots.com/image/20797/2001645602766438949_rs.jpg

That is really interesting that the same client owns both plots,i wonder if this is now where the Pacific tower is going to be built as it appears not to be going ahead on its original site across from the yaught club,next to the Point or am i wrong in saying that.

By the way GSProject manager thankyou for getting involved in the forum,it is good to get proper information.

Your welcome,

Da Pleasure ;) informing you about the project , uh and it's not the Pacific next to Atlantic, you can go see The Pacific Treads on this forum and you can cleary see it's not beside The Atlantic.

Sorry to be direct but of the 2 bed appt D ,C ,B which will have best view directly down the marina.Difficult to tell depends on the angle of tower on plot,but guess you would know.

the atlantic is design to give all 4 units a stunning outlook on to the creek, so if you have to choose the only question you should ask is what angle of the creek you want to see. ( its realy a all veiw tower)

OH please GS PM me with your view ,not the pc one

Plotman,have you bought in the Atlantic,because i honestly think that all positions will have a good view although it looks like the end one on the mall side will be looking down the full length of the marina,at least thats how i see it,then the next one looking directly over to bay central,the next towards pier 8 and the last one kinda towards grosvenor.

Not yet but I am looking to, I do have a lock in agreement to sign in the next few days. The last one mall side is a B No 4 then C No1 ,I thought C would look straight down the marina, but looking at Imres photo on the mall theard I do now wonder if ,with the angle of building it will be a B for best view.I agree they should all be good views ,but it would be better to look down than across.

I decided to buy in the one looking towards pier 8,the reason being that i thought from the balcony you might see to both ends of the marina,but who knows, i am only going on an artists impression,i could be totally wrong.I am sure it will be a fantastic location whatever.

if you are not absolutely impressed with your veiws i'll quit my job and this isn't a pc answer hee hee. No realy it started slow but all good things are worth the wait

Anyone got any new pictures ?

We have to do 30 more piles like i explained before you will not be able to see any progress till piling is completed after that more photos will be placed i hope that answers your question

What is the latest projected date for completion?

par4 and plotman what happened to you its good to hear your obsorvations regarding atlantic hope to hear you soon

My observations are that despite asking a simple question about orientation you evaded it, and as par4 said he only had an artists impression to go by. Now if you are the project manager ,you will have the working drawings,and a time statement for the project, so you could answer my question and the one about completion date. IMO the Atlantic could end up as the very best unit in the marina, it has location, great design and by its size the abilty to be personal to its occupants. That said, it could achieve a FIRST with you as a spokes person from the developer's side and add a new dimension to your companies marketing. I truly hope you are the MAN , AND IF MY VIEWS ARE AS GOOD AS YOUR SALES PITCH , you can keep your job and Ill treat you to endless beers.

Plotman & PAR4
You shouldn't doubt the GSProjectManager - He is the man he says he is. Also to PAR4 - The Pacific was sold to Dheeraj East Coast and relaunched as Marina Wharf II

That is very interesting,Ray 67,it is something that has been bothering me for a while.Can i assume that you are the Ray i think you are from Mac corporations.

Can I assume that no one knows what will be between the Atlantic and the bridge?
Nothing is planned yet? :okay:
It will be a good water front site. One of the only ones left in the Marina.

ComeON GS Give US YOUR PRO VIEW ,We could be friends but You must stop mucking about and give us an insight to the real YOU

PLET - surely you know never to assume where Dubai Marina is concerned. Water front land on the Marina is a premium commodity. Gulf Shores chose this land on purpose - knowing that the mall was going to be the neighbour was part of the plan. They also know who will be neighbouring them on the other side. The Atlantc will turn out to be one of the best located developments on the marina.

Please tell us what is next to the Atlantic & nobody has answered my question regarding the completion date.

next to Atlantic?

maybe Marina Diamond 9 or 10 :)

The Atlantic has just won a very impressive award which will be released in October of this year - highly acclaimed. This will be the second award in a year. This award will bring a load of international PR with it. Watch the resale price after October!!!!!!!

Now thats the kind of news i like to hear.

When the Atlantic was first launched the design looked great, but there were no details available of Marina Mall. Now that there will be the 40 storey 'slab' next door, The Atlantic could have another 20 storeys and look even better! It would be around the same height as Silverene on the other side of the Mall!

Now now - size isn't everything. It will be great to walk over to the mall, to visit the cinema without the hassle of where to park. To stroll casually home in the evening after a nightcap in the hotel. A whole new Dubai lifestyle without the car.

I am quite happy with the height of the Atlantic,because of its position on the marina it would not really matter what was built next to it.We,re going to have to wait long enough for completion never mind adding another 20 floors to it.I also agree with you Ray67 being next to the mall should be a major bonus.

Now now - size isn't everything. It will be great to walk over to the mall, to visit the cinema without the hassle of where to park. To stroll casually home in the evening after a nightcap in the hotel. A whole new Dubai lifestyle without the car.

^^ How many units remain unsold from the Developer?

None - It sold out a long time back - all resales now but still represents great value.

None - It sold out a long time back - all resales now but still represents great value.

Why do you think its good value and what have you compared it with.Original completion date was end 2007 do you think end of 2008 now or is that over optimistic.Also please say hello to GS for me,we are all eagerly awaiting an update.

Only the piling is happening at the moment, no construction work. Construction will be a different contractor. If construction gets underway before the end of 07 then it stands a good chance of being complete by Dec 09.

Just got an e mail from The site Manager (it went out to all Atlantic Clients)
This is what it said:

Today, we shall be completing all pile works.
On Monday, we shall prepare for load tests on the piles.
Load tests will commence immediately on Tuesday 7th August and will last for one week.
We will require another 3 days for integrity and sonar tests.
We shall start level and excavation works for pile caps and column footings.
Work on main structure will take shape in September and will be working on a 24 hour shift during the entire construction period to try and recover whatever lost time.

Hi Plotman, the delays in The Atlantic will actually benefit investors in the long run due to the original prices they bought at. If you think of The Atlantic as just being launched now - ask yourself how much would you be paying now for an apartment. Look at off plan prices in the marina now and also how much a completed property would set you back with such a great location. Also bear in mind that when The Atlantic completes, the mall will be ready as well. I really believe that investors who stay into completion on The Atlantic will be sitting on a goldmine.

If,as they say,they will be working 24 hours during the whole construction period then there must be a chance of completion by the end of 2008.I certainly hope True Blue is wrong with his forecast,although he is a civil engineer.

Par4

I would listen to Trueblue as he knows that he is talking about.

Trying to post you new pics - cant seem to do it?

If,as they say,they will be working 24 hours during the whole construction period then there must be a chance of completion by the end of 2008.I certainly hope True Blue is wrong with his forecast,although he is a civil engineer.

Yes, it is better if you are going with the Dec 2009 handover date.
I dont know why they are promising 24 hours working , in the Marina only the Marina Mall can working 24 hours but at night just a few workers there , on Friday as well.

Time will tell if they are going to work 24hrs,we can only go on what they tell us.Can Imre give Ray67 any advice on how to post his ariel pictures,i would like to see them.

yes, we will see...

http://www.imageshack.us/

after -------> browse and choose your pic

after--------> if the size too big ---->resize image , and choose the size

after-------->host it

after--------> copy this line here : Hotlink for forums (1)

or this line if you want thumbnail, Thumbnail for forums (1)

Ray67 did you not manage to get the pictures done, it would be interesting to see them.

Last pictures were 8 weeks ago, does anybody have more recent ones? Imre perhaps if you are at Marina Mall could you take updates of the Atlantic, thanks.

Hi Plotman, the delays in The Atlantic will actually benefit investors in the long run due to the original prices they bought at. If you think of The Atlantic as just being launched now - ask yourself how much would you be paying now for an apartment. Look at off plan prices in the marina now and also how much a completed property would set you back with such a great location. Also bear in mind that when The Atlantic completes, the mall will be ready as well. I really believe that investors who stay into completion on The Atlantic will be sitting on a goldmine.

Thats now easy to answer having just joined the investors club. Strip out agents fees, Transfer fees and allow for Dir being at 7.45 on purchase as opposed to 6.2 at the end of 2005 and you end up with a 20k saving in sterling So no gain what soever just a loss on currency.Having said that I am very impressed with design and location so took the plunge.So where is that GS guy and where are your photos I am dying to see them. xxxx

http://aycu22.webshots.com/image/23501/2006300891726907441_rs.jpg


http://aycu08.webshots.com/image/26967/2006308058321032278_rs.jpg


http://aycu16.webshots.com/image/26695/2006320955042426954_rs.jpg

hello there don't be so neggative you will have a building soon the drawings is going through the last stages at DM. we have to wait for them, the wait is almost over, this is the latest photos there are no actions right now but there will be you have my email address so please mail me at ferreira.stephanus@gmail.com

thanks ray67 i got your email and hello plotman

Thought we were on the moon for a minute, what do you mean when you say that the drawings are going through the last stages, what do you mean by drawings as I thought work had started already.

Hey GS good to hear from you,thanks for photos,what next, break the caps and start the slab,why so high with piles,where did the big hole go.

the structural drawings, we completed the piling and shoring those drawings we had, not yet the rest sheltie we do have the unapproved drawings but not the approved drawings without them we can't start the structure

Hey GS good to hear from you,thanks for photos,what next, break the caps and start the slab,why so high with piles,where did the big hole go.

leveling and pile caps, what big hole are you talking about plotman, we will cut them soon just waiting on the levels approved by DM

Well you know the big hole where you have to be careful not to let the marina come in,the three floors down one, so as to keep our Mercs cool.

Good point plotman,it doesnt look like the car park can be underground looking at the level of the piles.GS can you clarify this.

all mercs will be cool only the prominant level will be level with the marina walk and trust me i don't want to go down there so plotman no holes i promise maybe next time

Does this mean the car parking levels are above ground and there will be none below?

Does this mean the car parking levels are above ground and there will be none below?

From the roadside there will be a basement from the marina its level

Thanks, that makes sense.

Does this mean the car parking levels are above ground and there will be none below?

its a pleasure

Any more news about the Atlantic from anybody?

The e mail we got on the 5th August from Abdulmuttwalib Fadhil said that "work on the main structure will take shape in September", GSProject manager can you tell us if you have got the approved drawings yet and if not then how long will it take?

I guarantee that there will now be another delay and it will be blamed in some way or another on ramadan.Hope i,m wrong.

GS PROJECT MANAGER

Can you give us an update please. Have you got approved drawings yet?

The Atlantic has just won a very impressive award which will be released in October of this year - highly acclaimed. This will be the second award in a year. This award will bring a load of international PR with it. Watch the resale price after October!!!!!!!

Well september is nearly over, so I look forward to october Ray.Where will this be announced ?

Does anyone have an update or pictures to see if there's been any progress?

Post 592,on the marina mall thread is the latest photo i can find and the atlantic site looks pretty much deserted.Very depressing.

I agree, very depressing, at least they could update us on what's happening.

DEFINATELY.

Any news Guys, this thread is in danger of moving to the ONHOLD section

Hi all,

I'm possibly looking to buy a 1 bedroom in the Atlantic over the next few days. While I think the location is outstanding and the apartment layout and amenities excellent, I'm a little uncomfortable with the following:

-lack of progress on the building site and the sudden disappearance of the GS project manager (who was so gracious to provide details on this site previous and now seems to have disappeared),

-the 2 year delay in completion and lack of any substantial work on the project besides piling,

-other Oryx/MAC Corp projects having been either cancelled or deferred (The Pacific, Casa del Mar, Casa del Sol.......fate unknown), and

-the availablility of 21-2 bedroom units still available in this building (out of 54 total) 2 years after launch (which is very unusual for a Dubai offplan project).

I spoke to the agent today and he tells me the funds purchasers deposit in this project are held in an escrow account throught an international law firm that Oryx apartments set up when they started to develop this project. Can any purchasers confirm this for me?

Also any additional comments and thoughts would be appreciated. Cheers.

This is all things we are worried about as well, there is a sudden lack of info. I know that the new Escrow law means that the investment is supposed to be safe (that is as long as they do have an escrow account).

Hopefully we can get some answers soon. Any info would be greatly appreciated. I will try phoning around and post anything I find out.

Have you tried GS email he gave us in post 122, I would but will be out of contact for a week. Be interesting to see if he replies,seemed to be a upright guy. Bye the way Par4 you intimated that Ray was from Mac, would that be the Ray Ho--- whos MD of sales.

We were out at the site this morning (11:00 am). The surrounding building sites in the area were buzzing with workers and equipment.

The Atlantic building site was totally deserted. Not a single piece of mechanical equipment on site and no personel. The front entrance to the development was open and unguarded (we walked throughout the entire property and no one even noticed we were there).

Currently all that is on site is approx 30 concrete caps (arranged in a circle; pilings for the 2/3 bed tower) and approx 2 dozen angle iron girders pounded vertically into the sand to form part of a breakwall at the rear of the building. These girders had been only partly filled with concrete slab pieces slid into place between the girders.

Spoke again to the agent and expressed my concerns about the lack of progress. He told me "Steve" (who he quoted as being "the project manager") told him the drawings should be approved by the city by the end of this week. He told me he would contact me when he heard back that this had been done. I'm not optomistic this will happen as I'm sure someone else won't be asking the same questions/have the same doubts and will snap up the unit in the next week.

When I asked why it had taken so long to get going, he sighted the usual "all the projects in Dubai are behind the same amount". When I pointed out this is not true and a number of developments anounced around the same time were not experiencing the same degree of "delays" (both major firms and smaller independants):

Atlantic-Oct/05
Park Island-May/05
Iris Blue-Jul/05
The Jewels-Feb/05
Bayside Residence-Apr/05
DEC Tower-Jul/05

he didn't seem to have a good answer as to why this is. Every project listed is in varying degrees of completion yet Atlantic is totally static.

Maybe I'm being too cautious but there are alarm bells going off on this one. It shouldn't have to be this way but when you're dealing with a new developer and it is their first development (the other 3 they were going to develop disappeared; when asked why he said the corporation had some "glitches" and abandoned these projects) and there are so many unanswered questions, I think one has to pause and consider the possibilities. In other parts of the world I wouldn't be so cautious but in Dubai without legal protection I think caution is advised.

Hopefully I'm wrong but until I have some further clarification that this is not going to be another "Lighthouse"fiasco or until they have approval and actually begin construction, I'm going to wait and see what transpires over the next couple of months. I would still love to buy in this complex but the developer is going to have to make some substantial moves to instill confidence that this development is on track and going ahead.

I'll let you know if I hear back from the agent about the approval.

Thanks for that info, I've e mailed GS so will let you know if I get a reply.

Dear all

sorry for not getting back sooner but was busy sorting out the drawings, MODEL ENGINEERING is the consultants thats working on the architectural drawings and it now seems that they have never done drawings before, as you all know there is specific regulations when thinking about designing a tower, this then will help you to get this drawings approved by the authorities but in our case the drawings were done and the consultants seems oblivious to the fact that they had to considered the small measurements and placements of sub stations, the size of the stairs ext.which in turn are cosing us the delay right now, to get rid of these consultants is not doable right now for new consultants will delay our progress even further, now that we can't do! so we are sticking with the latter

all the approvals are done except the one that stopping us from any production the "structural drawing" we do not have a specific time given by them and they keep on saying next week. so to all out there i don't wanna say next week because you might not trust my word anymore and my word means a lot to me, so please let me just get specific times before coming back to you with a lie

o yes, i'm sorry for not responding earlear but i had to get answers from the consultants and i promise you all, the developer is not stopping this project we are going ahead as scheduled we are just stuck right now and please if you have any questions like the ones you placed on this blog email me at ferreira.stephanus@gmail.com i will respond i'm not always reading this blog

yours truly,

stephan ferreira

Interesting update GSProjectManager.......thank you for taking the time and effort to update us. I'm sure all the investors (and potential investors) in this project sincerely appreciate it. Unfortunately in my case your response has generated more questions and doubts than answers.

Please bear with me as I am not in the construction or property development business but reading your post the following thoughts came to mind.

1) I cannot understand why the developer (MAC Corporation aka Oryx Apartments aka Oryx Corporation) has waited 2 years from the time they announced this project and took investors deposits (and ongoing payments) to finally decide to get a set of architectural drawings done and sent in for approval. It is not like they were too busy down at the Atlantic job site to take care of this small (in terms of capital outlay) but very important (in terms of getting the project moving ahead) task.

2) I cannot understand why Oryx elected to hire what appears to be an inexperienced engineering firm (“MODEL ENGINEERING is the consultants that's working on the architectural drawings and it now seems that they have never done drawings before”) as consultants to complete the architectural drawings.

On top of their lack of experience, they also appear to be inept given their mistakes on the drawings (“the consultants seems oblivious to the fact that they had to considered the small measurements and placements of sub stations, the size of the stairs ext”). Even with my limited construction knowledge I would have known this to be a requirement. My initial thoughts are……..LOW BID?

In addition, if Oryx couldn’t even get the simple task of hiring a consulting firm that can do architectural drawings correct, what does this say about them being able to hire a contractor that will get the final project done correctly? Alarm bells are ringing on this one.

3) I cannot understand why no work of any significance was done on the site for 1 ½ years and then the sudden rush to get the pilings in place (followed by another sudden stoppage and the now deserted site). Maybe I’m just a conspiracy theorist but I find it no coincidence the new Dubai Escrow property laws were coming about at the same time. Maybe this was a way to circumnavigate the laws to call the project “underway” to avoid having to put those deposits into escrow and allow them the opportunity to sit on their hands (and the investor’s deposits) for another extended period? Only time will tell on this one but there is the old saying that "if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck then.......it's a duck".

While I know you are only “hired help” and commend you on coming onto the site to provide updates (which I would encourage you to continue to do so), I continue to think MAC Corp/Oryx have not been upfront with investors. Given this is their first project I would have thought they would have bent over backwards to get this one "done right" (for example, as Sheth Corp did with their Iris Blue project). Them not doing so is only leading investors to look elsewhere (judging by the number of 2 bed units for sale currently on the Oryx website).

As I said previous, I really like a lot of things about this project but there are just too many unanswered questions. While I might be wrong (and hope I am wrong for the investors in this project), until something resembling a real building extends upwards from the earth on this one I will be in the “BUYER BEWARE” camp. Once I can actually see it and touch it I'll be interested in giving them my money. Until then Oryx can continue to flip their "pieces of air" and collect their transfer fees and real estate agency commissions but I think I'll be buying elsewhere right now.

18/October/2007

Dubai Marina and the Atlantic plot

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/4386/imresolt088cw0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/4193/imresolt089xf9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Have you tried GS email he gave us in post 122, I would but will be out of contact for a week. Be interesting to see if he replies,seemed to be a upright guy. Bye the way Par4 you intimated that Ray was from Mac, would that be the Ray Ho--- whos MD of sales.

I assume thats who it is as he seems to know more about things than anyone else.

I have just returned from holiday and have just read the posts from Dune which have brought me out in a cold sweat as he mentions the Lighthouse in the Atlantic thread,a thing i hoped i would never see and as someone somewhere is sitting with £120,000 of my money and have been for over a year and a half it is certainly a worry.The thing is that i dont even know who i,m buying it from now,at first the payments were going to Mac Corporation and now apparently the payments have to go to Gulf Shores.I am glad at least to see GSPM back to talk to us,he does seem like a a genuine guy even if i didnt like what he had to tell us.I think that the apartments that are for sale will all be resales and will be unlikely to be sold until some real visual progress is made,if ever.

How do we go about findind if our money is safe or not. Anybody any ideas.

The Atlantic has just won a very impressive award which will be released in October of this year - highly acclaimed. This will be the second award in a year. This award will bring a load of international PR with it. Watch the resale price after October!!!!!!!

Ray Im still waiting. If you are the man we think you are,could you answer the Escrow account question ?

^^Whats the award for "The finest patch of dirt in Marina award" or the "longest delay of actually building after we nabbed your deposit award" :ohno:

Hi Guys it seems there has been some heavy posting and some major concerns regarding the status of The Atlantic since I last visited this site. Allow me to introduce myself formally, I am Ray Hogan, Managing Director of Oryx Apartments and have been involved with The Atlantic project from its conception. We were hired by The Developer (Gulf Shores) to exclusively Market and Sell the project in it's entirety back in 2005, which we carried out very successfully. This was due to it's stunning design, fantastic layouts, superb location and at the time, a great payment plan.

Our contract with The Developer (Gulf Shores) was for a period of nine months to execute the strategy of Marketing and Selling all the units, however we sought permission from The Developer (Gulf Shores) to extend this period with a view to looking after all administrative duties due to the relationships we had forged with the clients who had purchased with us. This extension also made sense to enable us to continue marketing the project as we firmly believed in the project and wanted to ensure that its investment was maximised to it's full potential. As a result of this we have since won two International Awards for the project in which we firmly believe that this course of action will evetually benefit every Atlantic client.

Whilst we have been extremely busy keeping The Atlantic project high in the public eye, we have also been dealing with the frustrations on behalf of our clients of finding out why their have been such complications with getting it out of the ground.

Many of these problems have stemmed from changes handed down from Dubai Municupality down to the Master Developer (Emaar) and then on to The Developer (Gulf Shores). We as Oryx have not always been privvy to theses changes, however I can tell you that The Developer (Gulf Shores) has fought tooth and nail to ensure that the permissions being granted retained the original features of the building to which our clients bought into.

It also worth noting that Oryx has had no say in hiring consultants for this project or had any involvement in the construction process and never will have. We have only ever marketed and sold this project based on the information given to us by The Developers (Gulf Shores).

Whilst our contract has now expired, we are still communicating with Gulf Shores on a regular basis on behalf of our clients and will continue to do so until this project is completed. We have every faith in The Developer (Gulf Shores) and every faith that this project will be a huge success upon completion. In recent communication with Gulf Shores we have learned that as the piling is nearing completion, the issues regarding certain certificates for the building process are also about to be reissued and this process shall commence.

The escrow process which has affected every developer in Dubai, has never been an issue to Gulf Shores, as unlike other developers, funds for this project were secured prior to launch. It has been well documented in the past that any client funds for this project have always been held securely by The Developer (Gulf Shores). The land was purchased for this project two years prior by Gulf Shores and the only other monies spent thus far have been in Consulting and Piling.

As the Managing Director of Oryx Apartments, I do share everyones frustrations in the delays, i have invested heavily in both time and money and I am still doing so as you will see by the recent CNBC Award we picked up. I am doing this because I firmly believe in this project. I agree that communication from The Developer (Gulf Shores) has not been very forthcoming and we (Oryx) have always endeavoured to share with our clients any information we have been given. However I do hope that by the mere fact, I and GSProject Manager are still on this site discussing these issues with you, you will come to realise this project WILL HAPPEN and become a hugely profitable investment for all it's clients.

I am back in town now and will be delighted to allay anyones concerns or queries that they may have and where I cannot give you the answer right away, will do my utmost to get it for you.

One last point, there seems to be talk of Gulf Shores still selling apartments in The Atlantic, this is not the case. Any apartments for sale in the markeplace are all resales ranging from 10% to 30%.

Well, thanks for comming out,and thanks for info.Admire your integrity.Please could I ask thou, are clients funds with GS or in a independant Escrow.Can you confirm if your web site is up to date, as you are showing 21 2bed appt for resale at around 1.7 mill this doses not add up.Finally who won what award.

Hi Plotman all Atlantic funds are currently held with Gulf Shores, however I know they are currently in talks with the Lands Dept as is every developer. Gulf Shores will then have to produce a dedicated escrow account to the Lands Dept, as again, I can confirm they are in the process of setting up.

Our website is up to date as of today and I can confirm that we have 21 x 2Bed units for sale on the resale market. They start at 1,767,000AED up to 2,073,000AED.

Oryx Apartments has won two awards over the last 12months for The Atlantic:
2006 - CNBC International Property Award for Best Property Marketing
2007 - CNBC International Property Award for Best Apartment

Throughout the negativity and frustrations of this project we have continued to be bullish in the way we market it and will continue to do so, as what I said earlier I firmly believe in it. Remember we have been working on this for over two years now and will continue to push this until it is complete as there is no one out there more passionate about this project completing than myself.

Thanks Ray. Certainly does make me feel a lot better. However if Gulf shores does keep us up to date with the progress then it will be better for all of us concerned. Besides I do not have any contact name to get in touch at Gulf Shores & can find no listing on web search. Can you provide us with a contact email or phone at Gulf Shores after all they are sitting on a lot of our funds.

Here are the awards won by Oryx Apartments over the last two years:

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/9924/cnbcawards2007ei0.gif (http://imageshack.us) http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/993/cnbcawards2006iy3.gif (http://imageshack.us)

Thanks for posting this Jay (before anyone asks - yes Jay works for Oryx and I asked him to post the awards). Now some of you may look and scoff at this considering the current status of the project. However to reiterate my previous statement, it is hugely important to keep The Atlantic in the public eye and to consistantly promote the benefits and the kudos of what it will become.

Cool golfer in response to your question regarding contact at Gulf Shores you can contact sashi@al-braik.com regarding administration.

HI Ray67
Thanks for posting, I for one agree with most of what you say. I am though a little bemused, you did say the Atlantic had won two awards in one year, now it seems to be two years!

The first award, as far as I can see, bears no relationship to the Atlantic and the second, for best apartment..... well! How can a marketting company, with as you have said in your previous post 'has no control over the developer', possibly take any credit for it!

So to quote jayk ' here are the awards won by ORYX APPARTMENTS over the last two years'.

It would appear to me that the Atlantic in its own right has won nothing.

Sorry to be slightly negative but I do believe it is necessary to distinguish between fact and 'salesman talk' benefits.

Having said that I am most grateful for both yours and GS imput to this forum. This thread is lucky to have the imput of both the project manager and the MD of sales.

Hi Plotman, I agree you are being slightly negative and probably even cynical and you know what? - I dont blame you. Staying on the negative aspect for one minute, you are absolutly right The Atlantic in its own right has won nothing, neither has Gulf Shores for that matter.

Oryx Apartments was awarded the contract to Market and Sell this project back in 2005 by Gulf Shores. We put in a lot of time and effort and passion into launching this project based on all the information received by the developer. It would have been very easy to get on with the job in hand, sell all the apartments, take our commissions , move on and just blame the developer.

Oryx does not work like that however, the mere fact that I want to participate on this forum and try to offer transparancy to this situation should be testament to who we are and how we still believe that this is a fantastic project.

Oryx Apartments won these awards on merit against some pretty tough opposition for best marketing of The Atlantic and for Best Apartment layout. This is why you probably bought into the project - as the marketing was fantastic and the layout of the apartments were superb. I can hear you saying, yes but theres nothing there!!!

So what is the alternative here, we know there are problems, but we also know they are being resolved. Surely it's better to keep it in the public eye and continue shouting out about the positives than sitting back and saying nothing. We have read enough times how annoyed and frustrated everyone becomes when nothing is said. All we are trying to do here is break that culture and actually face the problems head on instead of being faceless.

There is no salesman talk here Plotman, I am trying to be as factual and honest as I possibly can here. Clients of Oryx who know me will tell how how much this project means to me and my company and nothing will give us greater pleasure than to celebrate the handover of this building. We have all come a long way in this process, but I firmly believe it will be worth it and there will come a day when we will the gain recognition for going the distance on this one.

Hi Plotman, I agree you are being slightly negative and probably even cynical and you know what? - I dont blame you. Staying on the negative aspect for one minute, you are absolutly right The Atlantic in its own right has won nothing, neither has Gulf Shores for that matter.

Oryx Apartments was awarded the contract to Market and Sell this project back in 2005 by Gulf Shores. We put in a lot of time and effort and passion into launching this project based on all the information received by the developer. It would have been very easy to get on with the job in hand, sell all the apartments, take our commissions , move on and just blame the developer.

Oryx does not work like that however, the mere fact that I want to participate on this forum and try to offer transparancy to this situation should be testament to who we are and how we still believe that this is a fantastic project.

Oryx Apartments won these awards on merit against some pretty tough opposition for best marketing of The Atlantic and for Best Apartment layout. This is why you probably bought into the project - as the marketing was fantastic and the layout of the apartments were superb. I can hear you saying, yes but theres nothing there!!!

So what is the alternative here, we know there are problems, but we also know they are being resolved. Surely it's better to keep it in the public eye and continue shouting out about the positives than sitting back and saying nothing. We have read enough times how annoyed and frustrated everyone becomes when nothing is said. All we are trying to do here is break that culture and actually face the problems head on instead of being faceless.

There is no salesman talk here Plotman, I am trying to be as factual and honest as I possibly can here. Clients of Oryx who know me will tell how how much this project means to me and my company and nothing will give us greater pleasure than to celebrate the handover of this building. We have all come a long way in this process, but I firmly believe it will be worth it and there will come a day when we will the gain recognition for going the distance on this one.


Hi Ray67


Being factual and honest is a rare commodity in Dubai, please keep it up Ray
I wish the people at Damac would do the same thing.I have had loads of simple questions over the years Escrow law being one of them and you know what the biggest private developer cannot give an answer to this and many other things,I know they read these blogs the same as you but you have went one step farther and actually came out and answer some questions in the open which is good when you have nothing to hide.When people don't answer questions this is the time speculation starts to run wild with rumours
and murmurings which don't help you or the client.The other problem is when you do get told something how does the client know that all the other clients are getting told the same story we are all kept seperate and it is hard to colate what is true or false.:cheers:

Here are the latest pictures of the Atlantic "building" site as of Sunday, October 28.


[/IMG]http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/3739/atlanticsitephotos002dh7.jpg


http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/7900/atlanticsitephotos004pf8.jpg


http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/4091/atlanticsitephotos003oc6.jpg


http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/2322/atlanticsitephotos007mg5.jpg


http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/1406/atlanticsitephotos005dl8.jpg


http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/8114/atlanticsitephotos006sm7.jpg



I didn't come across a single person on site the whole time I was there. In addition, not a single piece of equipment on site, not a single pile of dirt has been moved in many weeks.

Ray67: Loved the sales pitch :lol:; nice of plotman to point out the Atlantic project won awards for nothing other than sales marketing, good looking renders and a bunch of hype. For that you can be justifiably proud as I must admit you have (and continue to) pump this project very successfully.

Unfortunately I think the investors in this project are expecting a bit more like.......a building?

Since you are being so forthwith with the owners here (and me as a possible purchaser), could you please answer the following questions as I am still puzzled by this project:

1) where has the deposit money been sitting for the past 2 1/2 years?

2) why the delays in this project when other projects I pointed out previous have not had nearly the same trouble as yours?

3) why the problems with something so simple as the plans (as mentioned previous)?

4) when exactly will construction commence?

5) when exactly do you expect this project to be completed?

6) when exactly do you expect Gulf Shoring to have those funds deposited in an an escrow account approved and endorsed by the Dubai government (which will be when I might consider investing in this project), and

7) in light of the delays, have you decided to postpone payment of the next installment until you have made some construction progress (which I suggest would be a very good sign of good will and the least the investors deserve for the delays in this project).

I'm sure you and I will probably meet very soon as I plan on being out at the site every few weeks to check up on progress. Looking forward to discussing this further in person if/when the time comes but for now an answer to those questions posted above would I'm sure be very helpful to those of your investors who have their funds locked away in your account.

Cheers

I nearly invested in this project a while back. (I'm glad I didn't now and chose to stick with a developer I'd already had good dealings with).This project should be well into the construction phase by now. There's something not right here at all. For example I find it incredibly hard to believe that they have chosen an architect who has no experience in producing drawings - sorry, this does not wear with me and there's no way this is true, no developer could be so stupidly incompetent to do this. And just suppose for a second it was true, what developer would want to admit to it ?? What a farce !! It's beyond belief and IMO it's just BS as they can't come up with a proper explanation for the delays.
So the developer has the funds tucked away safely ........that's good news........luckily they don't have my money, but surely they must realise that there are a lot of worried people here. So they need to open an escrow account immediately and deposit all investors funds into it, then confirm to all investors that their money is safe. A simple task ?? Let's see whether they'll do it without delay and hope they don't chose a bank that's never opened an account for a customer before.
:ohno:

Hi Guys, I have been busy trying to source some additional information for you today and here is the very latest developments on The Atlantic. As I have metioned in my recent posts, all monies for this project are and have always been with Gulf Shores in a specific account for The Atlantic. I also mentioned before that they are currently finalising their escrow account to conform with the Lands Department Developers Registrar. This will mean that all future payments will be made payable to the escrow account, I will keep you in the loop on this.

I spoke with the consultants today and they have informed me that the final permission has now been passed and is awaiting one final signature from a Senior Architect at Dubai Municipality. This certificate will then in turn be passed over to the contractor to start on the construction.

This recent delay was caused due to changes by the Master Developer and Dubai Municipality whereby they changed the regulations regarding balconies. Had Gulf Shores accepted this change, the building would have had to be redeisgned to incorporate these changes and all the aprtment sizes would have changed. They decided to fight this action on the basis that they had already recieved permission to proceed in the past and that the design should stand.

The consultants have advised me that a timeframe of 18months from now will be the anticipated handover date. I will keep monitoring this, hopefully though we will be able to rely on updates from GSProject Manger for a more accurate analysis on progress and hopefully from Gulf Shores.

In terms of payment plans being construction linked, I have heard from some of my clients that this is now being discussed with Gulf Shores and will revert back to you all when I have had this confirmed.

Dune, I would be delighted to meet up with you in the near future to discuss the project in more detail and I shall wait to hear from you in due course.

..

Hi Guys, I have been busy trying to source some additional information for you today and here is the very latest developments on The Atlantic. As I have metioned in my recent posts, all monies for this project are and have always been with Gulf Shores in a specific account for The Atlantic. I also mentioned before that they are currently finalising their escrow account to conform with the Lands Department Developers Registrar. This will mean that all future payments will be made payable to the escrow account, I will keep you in the loop on this.

I spoke with the consultants today and they have informed me that the final permission has now been passed and is awaiting one final signature from a Senior Architect at Dubai Municipality. This certificate will then in turn be passed over to the contractor to start on the construction.

This recent delay was caused due to changes by the Master Developer and Dubai Municipality whereby they changed the regulations regarding balconies. Had Gulf Shores accepted this change, the building would have had to be redeisgned to incorporate these changes and all the aprtment sizes would have changed. They decided to fight this action on the basis that they had already recieved permission to proceed in the past and that the design should stand.

The consultants have advised me that a timeframe of 18months from now will be the anticipated handover date. I will keep monitoring this, hopefully though we will be able to rely on updates from GSProject Manger for a more accurate analysis on progress and hopefully from Gulf Shores.

In terms of payment plans being construction linked, I have heard from some of my clients that this is now being discussed with Gulf Shores and will revert back to you all when I have had this confirmed.

Dune, I would be delighted to meet up with you in the near future to discuss the project in more detail and I shall wait to hear from you in due course.

Hi Ray67

You were talking about the escrow law and time scale is there a list published on who has joined and will it be open to the public to review this list at the end of the year when the deadline has been reached. :cheers:

.....This certificate will then in turn be passed over to the contractor to start on the construction.


Has the contractor been appointed, if so, who is it?

I would assume that if the contract has been placed and the original design has been retained then the contractor would hope to "hit the ground running" so to speak.

Ray You are tobe congratulated,a very rapid response and not word of salestalk,well maybe a lead on the last line.

Truly Ray I am impressed I had thought after the bashing from Morris you would disappear forever,well you are a man of your word and I look foward to the Escrow update.

Repayments! delaying payments to match construction would be great,but for me the 50% on completion was a winner,please dont compromise that.

Shit I think IM selling benefits for you.

Plotman, thank you - I am trying to tell it how it is. True Blue, the contractor is Kaveri and they are well versed on what is going on and if anything, they are chompimg at the bit to build this project. Hanna - thank you for your kind words in your earlier post and to answer your question about escrow, I shall have more information on this in the coming days. However I already know that the deadline for escrow is 28th Dec 07 - so PLEASE work with me guys. (This Has Been A No Sales Pitch Communication) - Morrismarina - I think we could be friends!!!

^^Credibility just went out the window with the last statement :lol:

My apologies True Blue for adding a touch of light humour to my last post

Everyone. I have been watching this thread with interest for some time, and would have been an investor in The Atlantic had a fantastic opportunity not come up in Marinascape at the same time. (MS for me is number 1 development and position in the Marina).

I have to say that Ray67's reponse to the questions and concerns does not surprise me in the least. With the benefit of past experience of estate agents - I am a UK developer - he is the most straightforward, and professional I have come across, and his philosophy of offering unbiased, honest advice filters down throughout the Oryx organisation which is a pleasure to deal with.

Keep the Atlantic investors informed Ray, and they will be sleeping much better at night! :okay:

In this post the Atlantic is quoted as a glass, marble and granite STRUCTURE by the developers. Now, a structure is the building,most lightly this will be the cladding.I wonder if they will stick with this,bearing in mind that since the weakening of the aed and the increase in material costs, nearly all other developers have short changed their investors, producing painted concrete.

If they do, as they first said ,this tower will be stunning.

If the builders & Gulf Shores want recognition or want to make their mark then this is an ideal oppurtunity to stick to the orignal plans. I believe it is their first project in Dubai & what better way then make a name for themselves in constructing an excellent building to the orignal specification if not a better one. After all they must be earning mega interest on our funds.

Yes it is a great design in a fantastic location in the middle of the Marina. Will be a stunning development, let's hope they can get their act together soon and show everybody what they can do. There's no reason why they can't get this back on track and come out of this with a good reputation. :)

Ok good news or bad news!!

Bad news first, there will be people cutting their tongues soon
Good news! LADIES and GENTLEMEN as from the 07 November 2007 the Atlantic will be up and running just to explain the following works, we will be doing excavation works this does include trucks coming in and out but not a lot of labor, what I'll do is take photos and place them every day this way you can see that we are moving, following that is pile cutting and pile heads and the rest i will explain as it happens
now just to help with some comments on this blog;
Dune-you asked for the exact time will be starting on the 07 November 2007, as for the construction period it will take 18 months as per contract with Kaveri general contractors the main contractor involved in this project from the beginning and to the end
Morrismarina-you mentioned that you "find it incredibly hard to believe that they have chosen an architect who has no experience in producing drawings - sorry, this does not wear with me and there's no way this is true, no developer could be so stupidly incompetent to do this" sir they are not incompetent and secondly i said it looks like they have never done a drawing in Dubai but as i said before we are now employing a competent force and yes sir our act is together as it was from the beginning as new developers we will run into some problems but we will get through them as we all have to learn the hard way it only makes us stronger and will benefit us in our future
True Blue- As i said Kaveri is the main contractor without whom there would have been no movement on site, they are up to the task and we will produce the goods
Plotman- sir you surprise me do hope to meet you and we will stick to the original structure that means that we will be using glass,marble and granite as you mentioned
CoolGolfer-you said this is the time to make name for them self, well sir we promise you a 5star development and i promise you nothing less than that,
ray67- mate thank you for helping me i appreciate it but i think I'll take it from here if any one have any questions please do not hesitate in contact me on +971504598445 or on ferreira.stephanus@gmail.com i hope to hear from you soon and please enjoy the progress that will now follow.

WELL great news,we are up and running, but for a couple of days.GS I dont know why I surprise you ,it would be a pleasure to meet you and Ill buy the meal. As for morris and the others I will be happy to have them on my Atlantic balcony looking down at the bay central building site.

Yes the race is on.Atlantic v Bay central , floor for floor. Thats because I pulled out of a BC purchase believing Atlantic was better value. Well lets see.
Ray67 I am that happy now, Ill buy some more.

WELL great news,we are up and running, but for a couple of days.GS I dont know why I surprise you ,it would be a pleasure to meet you and Ill buy the meal. As for morris and the others I will be happy to have them on my Atlantic balcony looking down at the bay central building site.

Yes Bay Central is certainly up for a race with the Atlantic. But where does the race start. How about we measure from each respective development's launch date. BC was 11th November 2006 now remind me again when was Atlantic launched ?? :lol:

Morris if your not nice to me ,your in danger of lossing your place on my 330sq/ft balcony

Morris if your not nice to me ,your in danger of lossing your place on my 330sq/ft balcony

Sorry Plotman........change of plan then we'll start the race from today.

BC & Atlantic :hug:

Now thats better,and we will have none of this whos got what view stuff that you have on the BC thread, on our balconies its ,shall I look left or shall I look right.

Now thats better,and we will have none of this whos got what view stuff that you have on the BC thread, on our balconies its ,shall I look left or shall I look right.


Yes it's like playing tennis on the BC thread these days. Next week we're discussing whether it's best looking up or down. :lol:

Thanks GSPM for all the positives. Roll on The Atlantic & make our dreams come true. Looking forward to having a drink with all of you on the atlantic balconies.

I agree, looking forward to watching it being built.

Great banter guys,i like it.

I'm in seventh heaven i can now do what i do best(create) and no plotman not for a couple of days till the end this time unless mother nature has a surprise rolled up her sleeve we will not stop!

GS a couple of days was a reference to the two days before start, ie you told us the 7th on the 5th so it was two days to go tobe up and running.Anyway I do not want you working nonstop, thats not fair, so please you must take at least one day aweek off. Now when we are four floors up and three floors infront of bay central construction, you may take one weeks holiday.As for your creative side, when we get to my floor, theres just a few extras I would like you to slip in,Im happy to give you freedom of expression on these changes, but we will keep this between just the two of us.

Hey GS and Ray its a one off to have you guys on the thread, and really great, so I will push my luck GS and ask,Whats the chances of a web cam on site,I know the marina has got free wifi access.Can you imagine the stir it would cause.Well can only ask.

i forgot what it smells like, it's something you can eat right? the web cam i do not see a reason why we can't have one we just have to wait till the structure starts after we move the offices and crane on to site. i just need to level the area out first as from today and when the ofices are on site we can place one

i opened a blog for the Atlantic for progress but will still answer questions you might have on this blog
http://atlantictower-dubai.blogspot.com

Over the last three years I have followed many of the threads on SSC,nearly all end in investors becomming dismayed at the lack of contact from developers. GS this is just the thing the industry needs to show others how to lead from the front. All power to you, its the way to go . WELL DONE

i opened a blog for the Atlantic for progress but will still answer questions you might have on this blog
http://atlantictower-dubai.blogspot.com

Excellent stuff..........well done. :applause:

thank you plotman its really the only way to express myself and just hope no one takes offense, and Morrismarina coming from you I'm honored. and i do take that as a compliment. :banana:

GSProject Manager, i like your blog,thats just what we need to restore our confidence in the project,you look younger than i expected and for some reason i thought you were Arabic,what nationality are you?

i opened a blog for the Atlantic for progress but will still answer questions you might have on this blog
http://atlantictower-dubai.blogspot.com


this is very nice, all developers should make the same:)

Great idea with the blog,

Having seen the problems other developments suffer as a result of poor comunication, yours is an example which should be followed.

GSProject Manager, i like your blog,thats just what we need to restore our confidence in the project,you look younger than i expected and for some reason i thought you were Arabic,what nationality are you?

sorry about the mis understanding but if late 30 is young I'm the boy, my nationality would be something the English wouldn't mention after the world cup, I'm a pure blooded South African, but my ideas are young and fresh and sometimes I think it could get me in trouble! we will see?Hope that is not a problem to all the elderly people out there

and how much did you bung that REF

^^ And yes it was a bloody try and it does hurt still:bash:

Hi


I am really glad that there is more openness on your project and I hope it
will encourage other developers like Damac to be more pro-active with there
clients.:cheers:


Well done South Africa you have a fine team and good sportsmen to boot you deserved the win, winning is not everything
its taking part and providing a spectacle like you did will enhance the sport further.

I wish Al Dua'a next door to you in Atlantic would keep us informed too. Perhaps you can update us on your neighbour too, GSProjectmanager? :lol:
Make a thread on your excellent blog called "Neighbours" :hug:

I wish Al Dua'a next door to you in Atlantic would keep us informed too. Perhaps you can update us on your neighbour too, GSProjectmanager? :lol:
Make a thread on your excellent blog called "Neighbours" :hug:

now that would be suicide, don't you think?:badnews: I'm already up for admittance its just a question of time. But i might get this idea going and that is my goal:tiasd:, and no i don't want to spend time in local jails at all:lock:, and every body would miss me sooooo much(ye right). No better let my neighbor do his job without my interference:dj:

Hey you guys its been a week now,and GS is reporting daily on his blog,If you expect this to continue throughout the build, get off your ass" and give him some surport.Or we may lose the best information source on this site.

thanks plotman that will be good, there is place on the blog and i do read all of them as long as they place comments on new articles and not old articles.and o yes we paid the ref in rainbow coins

Well done you - GSProjectManager - the blog was Genius. Lets hook up soon.

Their can only be one of two things happening right now!!
1) everybody is happy and relaxed?, or;
2) everybody is so cross with me that they don't want to speak to me?
But I'll just say this"HELLOOOOOOOO"

Hi Ray Tell me is there a direct link between ORYX/MAC and the new dubai investment bond that was launched and marketed by oryx. Are Gulf shores controlled by Mac corp. I could be interested.

Stay with it GS when your out of the ground,you will not have time to build. you will have to much to do on your blog

Gulf Shores are a developer in their own right and are not affiliated other than for Sales and Marketing of The Atlantic. As regards to the new Dubai Investment Bond we are not involved in this, however we are about to release a new project in January with Golf Course Views and an absolutly fantastic payment plan. It gets better though, construction begins at the same time and will complete within 20mths. More to follow.....

OK Ill take 4 and how is the Escrow account comming along forAtlantic.

Where are you guys,have you sold up and moved on!!

Hi Plotman,im still here just waiting to see the pheonix rise from the ashes.
I had originally ordered my Dirhams from moneycorp for the Atlantic with a value date of 26th november 2007 for my final payment as this was when we were told the apartment would be finished.The problem is that when i try to extend the date by 18 months they are not willing to give me the 6.9 rate they offered at the time they want to cut it to 6.4,which is shocking when you think what the rate is at the moment, because of the uncertainty about the Dirhams peg to the Dollar and this will probably cost me about £7000 which is very annoying.Has anyone else had this problem.

Hi Plotman, I'm the same, happy that it has got going again. I know theres not much happening yet but it would be nice to see some photos.

Par4, I've had the same problem with Money corp. I had a forward contract for the Snowdome but as this has been delayed I was going to use half for the Atlantic payment and delay the other half to use for the Snowdome in May. The first person I spoke to wanted £600 to do it but the next time I phoned I spoke to Adam and only had to pay £220.
What about paying it now in Nov and paying your money into a dirham account in Dubai. Would you not get interest on it. We thought of that as well but if you are borrowing the money you will also have to pay interest on that so you have to weigh it up.

I've also done exchanges with Secure Currencies but I ususlly phone both, get quotes and play one against the other to get the best deal. If you want their phone number PM me.

Good to hear from you guys, glad you have not sold up.Dirham things a shit if you have brought forward,Im told there are CDs in Dubai paying 4.25% thats certificates of deposit with major UAE banks,but I guess you might have to be there to get them. Still upside being growth in your asset in currency terms if you ever bring back after depeg or still falling dollar.If and when the Atlantic gets finished Im sure it will be a great investment,prime position,great looking building,and some of the best marina views ava.

Now this is where RAY67 comes in,he needs to up the profile of this tower,most appt in the marina are selling at 1200 to 1600aed Sq/ft. DS new tower starting at 1400 off plan.Have faith you guys your sitting on a well undervalued asset which I believe is well overdue for correction.

WHERE IN THE MARINA CAN YOU BUY AT UNDER 1000dir Sq/ft a tower of this beauty on resale with what should be only an 18 month build time.

I totally agree Plotman,the Atlantic should be a great asset being in such a superb position.Sheltie i had opened a Dirhams account about a year ago with RBS and was told at the time that i would receive interest on it but i never have so my account manager is now looking into it.

Bit of a gamble but you could take out a new contract at a good rate now, then close out the poor contract when the rate settles back down. You will still take a hit on the existing contract but save yourself penalty and rollover costs.

The gamble comes in assuming the rate will settle back down. The rate has been rising since April 06, which happens to be the date that I bought my dirhams at 6.4/£

According to moneycorp even though the official rate of the dirham is around 7.6 to the pound there is nobody who would sell you it at anything near that right now.They expect it to strengthen by about 10% if it dedegs from the dollar but nobody really knows,they seem very jittery about it and dont want to take any chances,i just feel that they are ripping me off at 6.4.

I know it feels bad when there is better on offer but I think your stuck with you forward, and when you did the deal it was the correct thing to do,its not that you have lost anything you just have not gained so much.The dirham is bouncing around in a big range at present and if you need to buy I would suggest splitting your fund in three and placing spot orders for the week ahead at 7.4 7.45 7.5 and with the variations in spread you have a good chance of getting them filled, if only some, reajust and try again.The dealers will often take tighter margins if they have it on the book,dont forget their bit has to show on top and some profit for them is better than none.Still what do I know, its just the way I work.

Thanks Plotman.

Plotman & PAR4
You shouldn't doubt the GSProjectManager - He is the man he says he is. Also to PAR4 - The Pacific was sold to Dheeraj East Coast and relaunched as Marina Wharf II

Well its Dheeraj East coast , who are building Harbour residence, a tower that looks to be a revived Bayside residence as the Oryx appartments became Atlantic. So will this tower be our neighbour, between Atlantic and bridge.You did say in an early post you new (or gulf shores new) both neighbours.

Great news if true, puts us between the Mall and serviced appt.

I am very impressed, just sent email to gulf shores re payments and Escrow.
Rapid reply from Al Braik investments

Quote : We are in the process opening escrow, mostly it will be done by 1st week of Dec 2007.We will send an invoice for next payment once the escrow account is established.

Very good news indeed.

30 November:
http://i15.tinypic.com/8bj713t.jpg

http://i3.tinypic.com/8b5pweo.jpg

http://i10.tinypic.com/6s8035y.jpg

http://i15.tinypic.com/6l0li0x.jpg

http://i15.tinypic.com/867zles.jpg

What are all the tent like buildings in the foreground,and dose it look as if any work is taking place.

Pleth
Thanks for the photos.

GSPM
Your last update on the blog was on the 29th Nov can you please give us another update on here and photos of what's been happening.

Have we lost you GSPM. No news at all. Is there any work still going on or has it all come to a halt once again.

Hi all! I was very bussy this week to check the drawings and to see if there are any discrepancies but will be on the blog tomorrow to correct this photos without any dates given by pleth, sorry but this needs to be corrected
no1. Pleth when was these pictures taken
no2. If you ever post incorrect photos like these again sir you will have to deal with me, i have real relations with investors and to have a imposter filling there minds with lies will not be accepted, so please next time you post these pictures make sure you are not posting outdated pictures or just be kind enough to let them know these pictures are outdated

Pleth my mobile number is +971504598445 and my email ferreira.stephanus@gmail.com if you feel that what I stated in this letter is not in place please be kind enough to contact me sir for i would like to talk face to face with you

again sorry to everyone else but i will not stand for this, and the blog will be updated later tonight

What are all the tent like buildings in the foreground,and dose it look as if any work is taking place.

It did not look like any work took place. The white sheds may have been on the plot next to Atlantic, I am not sure.

Hi all! I was very busy this week to check the drawings and to see if there are any discrepancies but will be on the blog tomorrow to correct this photos without any dates given by pleth, sorry but this needs to be corrected
no1. Pleth when was these pictures taken
no2. If you ever post incorrect photos like these again sir you will have to deal with me, i have real relations with investors and to have a imposter filling there minds with lies will not be accepted, so please next time you post these pictures make sure you are not posting outdated pictures or just be kind enough to let them know these pictures are outdated

Pleth my mobile number is +971504598445 and my email ferreira.stephanus@gmail.com if you feel that what I stated in this letter is not in place please be kind enough to contact me sir for i would like to talk face to face with you

again sorry to everyone else but i will not stand for this, and the blog will be updated later tonight

Dear GS ProjectManager.
The photos were taken on 30 November, as I actually wrote in the post. The photos were taken by myself, I was in Dubai for a week.

I do not know why you get so angry at me?

By the way, I think you are doing a good job by updating the investors of The Atlantic on these pages. I wish this was the case for all the buildings.

You can perhaps see a bit more on the photos in these threads: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=400681&page=5
and http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=401868&page=49 and
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=295369&page=37

sorry! but when someone place stuff on the blog others see only that, and when there is no dates they think all is not well and emidiatly you get doubt, i just don't want my investors to think i lie to them, didn't mean to get angry just needed to get this out of the way so that they can relax and know all is still well on the way. again sorry

So GSProjectManager could you enlighten us please. If somebody went and took a photo of the plot today what exactly would we see that's different to the photos posted by Pleth ??

GSPM

Can you post the day time pictures that you promised us a couple of days ago. Please post them on here as well as the blog as I find it easier on here.

i'm sorry for not posting pictures on this blog but someone normaly does it for me and now i have to and its not happening, see my blog its there.

Let me help;

all pile breaking completed and we started with leveling, we will also place the crane after the 3day holiday the new tempory offices are completed and most of the tempory structures from the neighbouring plot has been moved i think a photo from the bridge will show all this better so i will take one from there hope this will do for now

Posted by GSProjectManager at 11:27 AM 0 comments

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/8854/imag0003bi6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/3652/imag0008fg9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


The True Blue Take;
Piles are installed and cut off ready to accept the main construction. That puts it 6 months ahead of Bay Central. If you can manage the superstructure topped out by December 2008 that should put you ahead of The Torch and possibly The Point also.

Manage that and you should not hear any more from Morris.;)...:lol:

Thanks True Blue,hopefully the race is on.When you say 6 months ahead of Bay Central,i take it you mean as far as ground work is concerned because it will surely take a lot longer to build 3 large towers than it will to build our relatively small 20 storey tower.

^^ Bay Central has no bearing piles installed yet. So to install these piles for 3 larger towers and cut them down to the correct height should take another 6 months.

Thank you trueblue i will learn to do that, but for now thank you!:righton:

20/December/2007

The Atlantic

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/633/imresolt018jq3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/6892/imresolt021ya4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/3484/imresolt022ch4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8105/imresolt023yy6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/7341/imresolt024bj7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/2385/imresolt027aq5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/5650/imresolt028tx4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Great pictures Imre and plenty seems to be happening. Thanks a lot.

thanks , yes progress is good and they were working today as well.

The Marina was almost empty today.

Imre, are you referring to water, workers or residents/ visitors?

I meant workers . The Marina Walk was full , beach as well:)

So listed at 240 in the RERA list of approved developers with escrow accounts is Gulf Shores. Tell me please Ray67 or GS that its our Gulf Shores.

I have just returned from Dubai and visited the Atlantic site.I also met GSProjectManager just by chance and i would like to thank him for our informal chat.He seems very conscientious and keen to make a real success of the project.He had alot of interesting things to tell me and i felt quite reassured after speaking to him.Work seemed to be going well and everyone looked very busy,i think we will start to see real progress soon.The mall hotel next to the Atlantic is a collosal building but fortunately it doesn,t really affect us very much at all other than probably blocking the sun for a short time around midday at this time of year and due to our position there is really nothing else that will block the sun at all.My main concern about the mall hotel was that some of the balconies had been painted the same colour as JBR and obviously thats the the last thing we want at this side of the marina,i assumed that as it was to be a 5 star hotel it would be clad with something which said quality.Hopefully this paint is just experamental as the balconies painted are pretty random.