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'turning into labour camp'
DUBAI // Some residents of one of Dubai’s largest family-oriented developments are complaining they are losing the lifestyle they bought into.
Several large private and government-related companies – including the developer Emaar, Dubai Duty Free and Pacific Solutions – have taken advantage of the downturn in the housing market and bought buildings in the 26,000-apartment Discovery Gardens development to use as staff accommodations.
But homeowners who moved into the project for its advertised family lifestyle are alarmed.
Already stung by falling property values and expensive mortgages, homeowners in Discovery Gardens say the development is starting to resemble a labour camp. This, they said, is affecting their quality of life and driving down property values already dented by the recession.
However, the move is a boon for companies and quasi-government entities that want to provide staff with better living quarters.
Colm McLoughlin, the managing director of Dubai Duty Free, said the company purchased 15 buildings in Discovery Gardens from Nakheel and began moving staff into studio and one-bedroom apartments in September.
“The apartments are bright and spacious and allow sufficient space and privacy for occupants,” he said. “There are also excellent sports and community areas in between the building clusters. We currently have about 2,000 employees housed in Discovery Gardens.” Employees previously lived in areas such as Bur Dubai and Deira, said Mr McLoughlin.
Sergio Racu, a waiter housed by Emaar in one of the developer’s Discovery Gardens apartments, said he enjoyed the facilities. “We have good transportation to work. We have a swimming pool here, tennis courts, basketball,” said the Moldavian, who shares a studio with a fellow employee. “It’s comfortable here.”
Employees of Dubai Duty Free also said the housing in the area was a comfortable upgrade. The company’s buildings are separated by sex and roommates are required to be of the same nationality. They sleep two to a bedroom in Discovery Gardens, as opposed to four in their former housing in Rashidiya.
Daniel Banguilan, 30, a salesman for Dubai Duty Free, said: “Compared to the living in the Philippines, it’s better here.t" However, he said, “Rashidiya had access to malls, markets. Here, it’s a bit isolated.”
Guinea Cohilapo, also from the Philippines and a saleswoman, said: “It was more comfortable [in Rashidiya] – it was close to a church, markets, a hospital.”
“Here, it’s so far to supermarkets,” said Ms Cohilapo, as she was returning home from her night shift at Dubai International Airport. She usually travels by bus, but sometimes by taxi, which can be expensive.
Michael Aldendorff, a member of an informal group of homeowners, fears Discovery Gardens is going the way of International City, which is described by many who live there as an unregulated, de facto labour camp.
“Already, there’s these big staff buses that shuttle people in and out in the morning,” said Mr Aldendorff, 40, a South African.
“The property has devalued so much that I don’t know if it will ever recover. The other problem is that people aren’t following the community rules.”
Syed Massod, a 27-year-old father from Pakistan, said there were growing numbers of young men loitering in the streets. “We get irritated about this,” he said. “My wife likes to go for runs, but the men just sit there and stare.”
“When the rent was high, different types of people lived here. Now, when rents are low, companies can afford to put four bachelors in an apartment. But who checks on them? Nakheel puts instruction signs on the door, but what happens after that?”
“Ninety per cent of these guys are car cleaners,” he said, adding: “Now these buildings are becoming labourer compounds – Discovery Gardens is becoming International City.”
A spokesperson for Nakheel, Discovery Gardens’ master developer, said in a statement: “Housing numbers are governed by Trakhees, the Nakheel master community regulator, and in accordance with the current Dubai Municipality guideline ratio.
“Overcrowding is closely monitored and any breaches identified are referred to Trakhees for the appropriate action.”
SOURCE thenational
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Property News 
