My daily commute includes driving by the series of complete or nearly-complete buildings next to the Marina in Dbayeh. Like most, I just thought it’s another residential complex. Recently though, I got a tour around the entire Waterfront city, and learned that there’s a lot more than residential buildings at the newborn city; Waterfront city also offers all sorts of facilities that are bound to open and satisfy all age groups and preferences, notably retail, hospitality, leisure and entertainment experiences. The primary objective of the project is to develop the country’s newest urban city and pioneering the ultimate living, entertainment and business lifestyle.
The thing that I noticed first and immediately liked, is how pedestrian-friendly the Waterfront city is. The sidewalks are as big as the two-lane streets that connect the Waterfront City. There’s plenty of walkways, and also bike lanes, recreation areas, swatches of landscaping and a total of 16,000 square meters of green spaces divided into 3 Parks.
Most of the things you will need are also within walking distance, whether it’s restaurants in the pedestrian F&B strip, shopping destinations within the 30 line shops offering the best retail and urban experience, a health club and gym, and Lebanon’s first grade A business park currently being completed. The landmark mixed-used destinations will soon be completed to create a modern environment and a downtown for Mount Lebanon.
This means that theoretically, you can wake up, have a quick swim, maybe jog around the promenade, grab breakfast, go to your company’s offices across the street, have lunch, go home, hit the gym then do some grocery shopping and have a drink, all within the Waterfront city without needing to drive, get stuck in traffic and worry about parking. Waterfront city’s assets are complemented with surroundings that help create a sense of place and belonging, and encourage social interaction.
I’m excited to see what restaurants and shops are set to open at the Waterfront city soon. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out when more than 600 families move in by mid-2018, into this self-contained, brand new city that will become the “new rising downtown” of Metn. Stay tuned for more updates as more of the Waterfront City gets completed!