Park Place Tower

TL;DR: Park Place Tower is an iconic 56-storey, 234-metre mixed-use skyscraper at 24 Sheikh Zayed Road in the Trade Centre District, developed by HE Humaid Bin Drai / Bin Drai Enterprises (established late 1970s). Completed in 2007, the tower houses private residential apartments, 19 floors of Grade A commercial office space (532,301 sq ft total GLA), and the 133-unit Ascott Park Place Dubai (4-star serviced residence by CapitaLand). Designed by Cox Architecture through an international design competition, the building features a revolutionary three-section facade (Alpha, Beta, Gamma) with over 2,300 bespoke glass panels where no two windows are identical. Located directly opposite the Dubai World Trade Centre and 0.1 km from World Trade Centre Metro Station (Red Line).

Introduction

Park Place Tower is one of Sheikh Zayed Road's most architecturally significant landmarks — a 56-storey, 234-metre skyscraper that has defined the Trade Centre District skyline since its completion in 2007. Developed by HE Humaid Bin Drai, a former senior Dubai Government official whose family enterprise Bin Drai Enterprises has operated since the late 1970s, this AED 250 to 300 million mixed-use tower represents a generation of Dubai development where architectural ambition and structural innovation were pursued as ends in themselves rather than marketing tools. The building's design — selected through an international competition among six top global architectural firms — delivers a form so complex that over 2,300 glass panels in the Alpha facade section alone are each uniquely sized, with dimensions changing by millimetres from panel to panel.

Park Place Tower's mixed-use programme integrates private residential apartments, 19 floors of Grade A commercial office space, and the 133-unit Ascott Park Place Dubai — a 4-star serviced residence operated by The Ascott Limited, a subsidiary of CapitaLand and one of the world's largest international serviced residence owner-operators. This tripartite model creates a self-sustaining vertical ecosystem where residential, commercial, and hospitality populations coexist within a single architectural statement on Dubai's most prestigious thoroughfare.

Location & Connectivity

Park Place Tower commands the address 24 Sheikh Zayed Road in the Trade Centre First district — Dubai's original central business district and the beating heart of the emirate's commercial activity. The tower stands directly opposite the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) and immediately adjacent to Hall No. 7 of the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, placing residents, office tenants, and hotel guests at the epicentre of Dubai's largest events and exhibition venue.

The connectivity profile is defined by one critical proximity: World Trade Centre Metro Station (Dubai Metro Red Line) is located just 0.1 kilometres away — effectively directly across the road, within a 1 to 2-minute walk. The Red Line provides direct metro access to Emirates Towers, Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall, Business Bay, Dubai Marina, Mall of the Emirates, and Dubai International Airport terminals. By road, Sheikh Zayed Road provides the UAE's most efficient north-south highway corridor, placing DIFC within 1 to 2 kilometres (walkable or short drive), Downtown Dubai and the Burj Khalifa approximately 2 to 3 kilometres south, and Dubai International Airport approximately 15 minutes away.

The immediate neighbourhood includes the Museum of the Future (0.6 km), Conrad Dubai, Fairmont Dubai, and Voco Dubai hotels, and the full DIFC financial district cluster. The Dubai Mall is a short drive south along Sheikh Zayed Road.

Architecture & Design

Park Place Tower was designed by Cox Architecture (Australia), led by architect Steve Woodland, and constructed by a Drake and Scull joint venture with Higgs and Hill / ACC. The tower's design emerged from an international competition among six leading global architectural firms, resulting in a form inspired — according to the developer — by a perfume bottle that Humaid Bin Drai encountered approximately a decade before construction commenced.

The building's most remarkable architectural feature is its three-section facade composition — designated Alpha, Beta, and Gamma — each with varying dimensions, inclinations, and geometric progressions that create a non-uniform profile evolving both horizontally and vertically across the tower's 234-metre height. The Alpha section features a pronounced outward bulge of 5.6 metres at the 28th floor, with the building inclining from ground level to the 28th floor and then returning — creating what the architects describe as a "true 3D building where the horizontal plane changes at every level."

This geometric complexity has a tangible engineering consequence: over 2,300 bespoke aluminium-framed, double-glazed glass panels in the Alpha section alone are each uniquely sized, with every panel changing by millimetres relative to its neighbours. The Schuco curtain wall system accommodates thousands of individually dimensioned windows — a fabrication and installation achievement that reflects the pre-parametric-design era's reliance on precision engineering rather than algorithmic computation.

An environmental innovation at the time of completion was the heat-refracting facade technology — described as the first of its kind in the Middle East — designed to reduce air conditioning loads across the building's extensive glass surfaces. A separate 9-storey car park tower is connected to the main building via a pedestrian bridge, preserving the main tower's architectural purity while providing adequate parking infrastructure.

Unit Types & Configurations

Park Place Tower distributes its 56 floors across three functional zones: residential apartments, Grade A commercial offices, and the Ascott serviced residence component.

Residential Apartments occupy approximately 35 floors (including the Ascott hotel floors), offering 1-bedroom units from 710 sq ft, 2-bedroom units from 969 sq ft, and 3-bedroom units from 1,765 sq ft (with maid's room, study, and storage in larger configurations). The residential component is primarily structured as a leased asset, with individual freehold sale opportunities appearing infrequently on the secondary market. Current annual rental rates range from AED 90,000 to AED 260,000, with an average annual rent of approximately AED 142,997 (Bayut, 2025). A 2-bedroom sample listing commands AED 160,000 per year.

Ascott Park Place Dubai occupies 15 floors with 133 fully serviced apartments managed by The Ascott Limited (CapitaLand). The unit mix comprises 15 studios, 36 one-bedroom units, 67 two-bedroom apartments, and 15 duplex apartments. Unit sizes range from 82 sq m to 221 sq m (approximately 883 to 2,379 sq ft). Configurations include Studio Premier, One Bedroom Executive, One Bedroom Premier (Duplex), Two Bedroom Classic, Two Bedroom Deluxe Duplex, Two Bedroom Executive, and Two Bedroom Premier. Nightly rates start from AED 453 to AED 551 in budget season, reaching AED 2,883 for premium stays, with long-term annual rates of AED 110,000 to AED 275,000.

Grade A Offices span 18 to 19 floors with a total GLA of 532,301 sq ft. Individual office units range from 1,108 sq ft to 10,850 sq ft, with full-floor plates available for corporate headquarters. Annual rental rates span AED 55,000 to AED 1,240,000 depending on size and specification, with derived per-sqft rates of approximately AED 150 to AED 250 per sq ft annually. The ground floor houses 2 restaurants including Piccolo Mondo Cafe and additional retail and F&B outlets.

Amenities & Facilities

Park Place Tower delivers resort-grade amenities within a commercial high-rise context. The centrepiece is a 40-metre temperature-controlled outdoor swimming pool — one of the longest residential pool facilities on Sheikh Zayed Road — complemented by a state-of-the-art gymnasium equipped with Precor fitness equipment, sauna, jacuzzi, and steam rooms. A dedicated children's play area and BBQ facilities support family living, while co-working spaces and meeting rooms serve the building's professional population.

The building's 10 high-speed KONE elevators (maximum speed 7 metres per second) are split between commercial and residential lobbies, ensuring efficient vertical circulation without cross-contamination between the building's three user populations. The 24-hour security team, concierge services, and 24-hour reception (within the Ascott component) maintain a hotel-grade service environment. The separate 9-storey car park tower, connected via pedestrian bridge, provides parking without consuming the main tower's floor plates.

A distinctive residential feature is the louvered terrace system — engineered to function as outdoor living space in winter months while providing enclosure during summer — reflecting the thoughtful climate-responsive design that characterised the building's original architectural brief. An on-site MedX Pharmacy and the Piccolo Mondo Cafe provide daily convenience without leaving the building.

Developer Profile

HE Humaid Bin Drai / Bin Drai Enterprises represents a Dubai development pedigree that predates the emirate's modern real estate boom. Established in the late 1970s — over four decades ago — and now entering its second-generation succession, Bin Drai Enterprises operates as a diversified family office with investments spanning residential, commercial, and industrial real estate across Dubai, plus private equity and international portfolios.

The company's Dubai property holdings include Park Place Tower (the flagship mixed-use skyscraper), Park Place Tower Offices, Pyramid Centre in Bur Dubai (office and retail), multiple Palm Jumeirah properties (Al Das, Tiara Residence Amber and Sapphire Buildings, Palma Residences Townhouses, Marina Residences Townhouses, Signature Villa), Bay Central in Dubai Marina, a Jumeirah compound villa, and an Umm Ramool warehouse in Al Rashidiya. This concentrated portfolio across Dubai's premier addresses — Palm Jumeirah, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai Marina — demonstrates institutional-grade asset selection and long-term hold strategy rather than speculative development cycling.

Investment Potential

Park Place Tower presents an investment proposition anchored in three irreplaceable characteristics: Sheikh Zayed Road frontage, World Trade Centre Metro adjacency (0.1 km), and the Ascott hospitality brand association.

Sheikh Zayed Road remains Dubai's most prestigious commercial and residential address — a finite, fully developed corridor where new development opportunities are effectively exhausted. Every existing tower on SZR represents a permanent fixture in a supply-constrained market, and Park Place Tower's position directly opposite the Dubai World Trade Centre ensures sustained demand from professionals, diplomats, and corporate travellers attending the emirate's largest exhibition and convention venue.

The Ascott component creates a unique dual-income opportunity: owners of residential units benefit from the building's hospitality-grade management, amenity standards, and security infrastructure without paying hotel management fees, while the Ascott's international brand recognition drives awareness and credibility for the entire tower. The commercial office floors (532,301 sq ft total GLA) generate rental income at AED 150 to AED 250 per sq ft annually — rates that reflect the Trade Centre District's premium positioning within Dubai's office market hierarchy.

With average residential rents of approximately AED 142,997 per year and the broader Sheikh Zayed Road / Trade Centre District trading at approximately AED 1,200 to AED 1,800 per sq ft for Grade A residential stock, Park Place Tower delivers the combination of rental yield, capital preservation, and locational prestige that defines Dubai's most enduring real estate assets.