Abu Dhabi's Tallest Tower - Crompton Partners Estate Agents

On 9th November 2014 one of the most exciting buildings in Abu Dhabi opened its doors to throngs of eager tenants.

You will no doubt have seen the tower that is now known as Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid rising up with its smaller twin over the World Trade Center (WTC) Mall and the WTC Souk over the last four years. It has been worth the wait.

Referred to by some as the “Lipstick Building”, it is fantastically located at the junction of Khalifa Street and Airport Road. It stands 383 metres tall, is 92 floors in height and contains over 474 residential units. It is Abu Dhabi’s tallest residential building and its developer, Aldar, is understandably proud of its achievement.

The opening of the Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid completes the development of WTC, which began in 2011 with the opening of the WTC Souk, more commonly know as the Central Souk. This is built on the site of the old Persian Souk, destroyed by a fire in 2004.

Following the opening of the new souk, WTC Mall was opened along with the smaller of the twin towers earlier this year. The smaller tower is comprised of offices and is home to Arabtec’s Abu Dhabi headquarters.

The last piece of the jigsaw is the Marriott Courtyard Hotel, expected to open its doors early next year.

The Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid is a superb addition to the Abu Dhabi real estate sector, with finishings that rival The Landmark Tower and floor to ceiling windows to compete with Nation Towers for views of the Corniche. This has been borne out by the sheer number of tenants who have taken leases there – after just one week almost half of the units had been rented.

As well as the quality of the units and the unparalleled views they offer (over Lulu Island and the Arabian Gulf, or back over the city to the Grand Mosque), the apartments come with the all the extra amenities you would expect – fully-fitted kitchens with Bosch appliances, parking (so often forgotten in Abu Dhabi), two gyms (including one run by the renowned Haddins Fitness), two pools, a community meeting space and a barbeque area.

Aldar has been doing their bit to get it rented as well after its phenomenal success earlier this year with Al Rayyana, The Gate Towers and The Arc. The company is sweetening the deal with an array of offers including one month’s free rent, no commission (even if you go with a broker) and vouchers for the WTC Mall (AED 5,000 for the one- and two-bedroom apartments and AED 10,000 for the three- and four-bedroom).

You’ve heard the good news: these apartments are high-end, some of the best quality units in Abu Dhabi with great views and all the amenities. So what’s the price tag? The answer is not as bad as you’d think. Yes, they are by no means cheap but the one-bedroom apartments start at AED 111,000, the two-bedroom at 142,000, three-bedroom at 186,000 and four-bedroom at 250,000. As you’d expect with this type of building there are some pretty spectacular penthouses on the upper floors, too, with eye-watering views and eye-watering prices to match.

Abu Dhabi is in severe need of more rental stock and this property is a blessing for the residents of the capital in more ways than one. These new releases will help slow the current spike in rental prices (several recent reports have suggested that Abu Dhabi faces a housing shortfall of over 40,000 units), so even if you’re not grabbing up one of the apartments at WTC we should all feel the benefit.

For the section of the market that has a little bit more to spend and has been casting around for high-end finishings in a prime location, it has arrived, and there are 474 units of it – but get down there now as they’re leasing fast. The only downside, if we could pick one, is there are some pretty wacky layouts of some units, but with lots of floor plans to choose from make sure you look at a few before picking.