Mercedes debuts $1B luxury tower in Dubai, apartments will cost up to $10M each

Published

2 years ago

January 26, 2024

admin

Mercedes-Benz debuted a $1 billion residential luxury tower in Dubai, where apartments are expected to cost as much as $10 million each.

Dubbed “Mercedes-Benz Places,” the upscale auto company announced its venture into the real-estate world on Instagram on Thursday, which it’s doing with the help of Emirati developer Binghatti.

The 65-story building is expected to rise approximately 1,118 feet above downtown Dubai’s bustling metro when it’s complete in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to United Arab Emirates-based business news site ZAWYA.

For reference, New York City’s Chrysler Building stands 1,048 tall.

It’s home to 150 apartments, starting at $2.7 million, with the promise of “unobstructed views of the world’s tallest tower,” the nearly 3,000-foot-tall Burj Khalifa, according to Mercedes’ website.

Per the German automaker’s Instagram post on the joint development, the glass-encased Mercedez-Benz Places — whose “distinctive elliptical exterior thats reminiscent of the flowing lines of a host of ultra-modern Mercedes-Benz cars” — is meant to “underline [the company’s] strategy to strengthen its position as the worlds most desirable automotive brand.”

Binghatti is the first of its kind for an automaker, according to Bloomberg.

Binghatti, meanwhile, also has an ongoing residential project with fellow luxury car manufacturer Bugatti, which tapped the real-estate developer for a project that will include elevators to transport cars to penthouses, which broke ground in Dubai last year, Bloomberg reported.

The firm has already sold 32 of the 182 residences in the Bugatti Residences, with buyers shelling out as much as $2,620 per square foot some of the highest prices Dubai has seen, per the outlet.

Binghatti wouldn’t disclose how many apartments had been sold in the Mercedes-branded tower, only disclosing to Bloomberg that it sold all the residences available in its first phase.

Binghatti also has a partnership with upscale jewelry and watch firm Jacob & Co. for what’s set to become the worlds tallest residential building located in the wealthy Emirati city.

Despite recent warnings that there are “massive” issues within the commercial real-estate sector, Binghatti’s chief executive Mohammed Binghatti reportedly isn’t worried about a slowdown, per Bloomberg.

The firm has spent $330 million on land in the past three months alone, and Binghatti told the outlet: Were definitely going to see more growth this year and the following year.”

There is clear wealth migration coming to Dubai and an increase in the population, which provides room for organic growth in the market,” he added.

People who come to Dubai, a lot of them already have the liquidity to deploy. They want a safe haven to invest.

Representatives for Mercedes and Binghatti did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

In the US, however, the real estate market was likened to “a slow-moving train wreck” by Larry McDonald, the founder of financial analysis firm The Bear Traps Report.

Since the pandemic, New York City has been in a so-called urban doom loop caused by an influx of working from home during the pandemic a trend that has stuck despite return-to-office mandates.

The doom loop concept is defined by empty office towers, which destroy the quality of life and eventually drive residents out.

In the Big Apple, occupancy has only bounced back to 48.4% since the pandemic.

At the start of 2020, however, office occupancy was a strong 90% before it plummeted to 10% upon the outbreak of COVID-19.

After shouldering a wave of defaults from landlords,banks are sitting on as much as $160 millionin losses on loans to the commercial real estate market, according to researchers from Columbia, Stanford, the University of Southern California, and Northwestern, per aworking paper publishedby the National Bureau of Economic Research last month.

The grim findings support an earlier calculation by Morgan Stanley that showed lenders would need to negotiate more than $1.5 trillion of their commercial real estate portfolios by the end of 2025 in order to avert defaults.

Sports

Mets sit banged up McNeil, Nimmo vs. Nationals

Published

2 hours ago

August 21, 2025

admin

Mets sit banged up McNeil, Nimmo vs. Nationals

Associated Press

Aug 21, 2025, 03:26 PM ET

WASHINGTON — Jeff McNeil has a sore right shoulder, the latest nagging injury for the New York Mets as they try to recover from a late-summer swoon.

McNeil was out of the lineup for Thursday’s series finale at Washington, with Brett Baty starting at second base. One of the Mets’ most consistent hitters, McNeil went 4 for 8 with a homer, two doubles and five RBI in the previous two games against the Nationals.

“It doesn’t bother him to swing the bat. It’s just more the throwing,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.

The shoulder problem began late last week, Mendoza said, which is why McNeil started at designated hitter on Saturday and Sunday.

Brandon Nimmo was also out of the lineup Thursday with the stiff neck that forced him to leave Wednesday night’s game in the second inning. Tyrone Taylor started in left field.

“We didn’t see much improvement overnight,” Mendoza said of Nimmo.

McNeil has experience in left, but the shoulder problem means he’s not an option there for now.

New York’s series at Washington began Tuesday with the news that catcher Francisco Alvarez has a sprained ligament in his right thumb that will require surgery. Alvarez is hoping he can play through the pain after a stint on the injured list.

Backup catcher Luis Torrens had a rough night Wednesday that included getting hit in his receiving hand by a bat on a catcher’s interference play, but Mendoza said Thursday that Torrens was “fine.”

The Mets had a three-game winning streak before Wednesday night’s loss, but the team with the biggest payroll in the majors is just 5-15 since July 28. New York entered Thursday trailing Philadelphia by 6 1/2 games in the NL East and was one game ahead of Cincinnati for the final wild-card spot.

Science

Rice University Scientists Confirm Flatband Discovery in Kagome Superconductor

Published

2 hours ago

August 21, 2025

admin

flatband states in CsCr₃Sb₅, a kagome superconductor. This experimental validation connects lattice geometry with emergent superconductivity, opening new pathways for engineered quantum materials, superconductors, and advanced electronics.

World

Israel maintains pressure on Gaza City as ‘first stages of attack begin’

Published

2 hours ago

August 21, 2025

admin

Israel maintains pressure on Gaza City as 'first stages of attack begin'

Gaza City residents say Israel carried out intense overnight bombardments as it prepares a controversial offensive to take control of the area.

Sixty-thousand reservists are being called up after Benjamin Netanyahu‘s security cabinet approved the plan earlier this month.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has warned of more “death and destruction” if Israel tries to seize the city, while France’s Emmanuel Macron said it would be a “disaster” that would lead to “permanent war”.

Live – UN warns of ‘forcible transfer’ as forces advance on Gaza City

Hundreds of thousands of people could end up being forcibly displaced – a potential war crime, according to the UN’s human rights office.

Gaza’s health ministry said at least 70 people had been killed in Israeli attacks in the past 24 hours, including eight people in a house in the Sabra suburb of Gaza City.

Israel currently controls about 75% of the Gaza Strip, but Prime Minister Netanyahu has said Israel must take Gaza City to “finish the job” and defeat Hamas.

Mr Netanyahu and his ministers are due to meet on Thursday to discuss the plans, according to Israeli media.

Military spokesperson Effie Defrin said earlier that “preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack” had begun – with troops operating on the outskirts of Gaza City.

Israel has said it will order evacuation notices before troops move in but satellite images show thousands of people have already left.

Residents said shelling has intensified in the Sabra and Tuffah neighbourhoods and that those fleeing have gone to coastal shelters or to central and southern parts of the Strip.

The decision to stay or leave is an agonising choice for many.

“We are facing a bitter-bitter situation, to die at home or leave and die somewhere else, as long as this war continues, survival is uncertain,” said father of seven Rabah Abu Elias.

“In the news, they speak about a possible truce, on the ground, we only hear explosions and see deaths. To leave Gaza City or not isn’t an easy decision to make,”

Most of the Israeli reservists being summoned are not expected to be in a frontline combat role and the call-up is set to take a while.

The window could give mediators more time to convince Israel to accept a temporary ceasefire.

Hamas has already agreed to the proposal – envisaging 10 living hostages and 18 bodies being released in return for a 60-day truce and the freedom of about 200 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel hasn’t officially responded, but insists it wants all 50 remaining hostages released at once. Only 20 of them are still believed to be alive.

The war started nearly two years ago when a Hamas terror attack killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped around 250.

More than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

The figure doesn’t break down how many were Hamas members, but it says women and children make up more than half.

Two more people also died of starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, the ministry said on Thursday, taking the total to 271, including 112 children.

COGAT, the body controlling aid into Gaza, said 250 aid trucks entered on Wednesday, with 154 pallets air-dropped.