Cordoba Residence

Cordoba Residence — Dubai Internet City's Established Premium Address in the Tech and Media Free Zone Corridor

TL;DR Snapshot

| Factor | Detail | |--------|--------| | Developer | Private Owner (Boutique Developer) | | Location | Dubai Internet City (DIC), Dubai | | Status | Ready — Completed Q2 2012 | | Unit Types | Studio, 1BR, 2BR, 3BR, 4BR | | Price Range | AED 7.47M – AED 10.63M | | Amenities | Swimming Pool, Gymnasium, Kids Play Area, 24/7 Security, Parking | | Employment Context | Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Knowledge Park (all within DIC cluster) | | Investment Thesis | Premium completed address in Dubai's largest technology and media free zone cluster |

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Dubai Internet City: The UAE's Technology Employment Epicentre

Dubai Internet City (DIC) is the flagship technology free zone of the UAE — the destination that global technology companies chose when establishing their Middle East and Africa headquarters. Microsoft, Google, Facebook (Meta), IBM, Oracle, Cisco, LinkedIn, Dell, SAP, HP, and hundreds of other technology companies operate their regional offices within DIC's campus.

This concentration of technology company headquarters in a single zone creates one of the UAE's most distinctive employment ecosystems — the employers are globally recognised, the employees are internationally recruited professionals (typically at senior-management level), the salaries are among the highest in Dubai's professional market, and the turnover of the residential tenant base is lower than employment-cyclical zones like hospitality or retail.

DIC's employment base characteristics directly inform the investment case for any residential property within or immediately adjacent to the free zone:

• High average tenant income: senior tech company employees commanding AED 25,000–80,000+ monthly salaries
• Low tenant turnover: professionals who relocate for MENA regional roles typically sign 2–3 year employment contracts with residential commitments to match
• International tenant profile: employees from the US, UK, India, France, Germany, and across Southeast Asia — creating a diverse, internationally oriented tenant community
• Strong rental demand: DIC's employment density creates consistent demand for premium residential addresses that match the lifestyle expectations of international tech professionals

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The DIC Residential Address: Why Location Within the Zone Matters

Cordoba Residence's position within Dubai Internet City creates a unique access proposition: residents can walk or cycle to their workplace within the DIC campus without engaging with Dubai's broader highway network. This walkability to work — rare in a city designed around the automobile — is a premium attribute that commands above-market rents from DIC employees who specifically seek to eliminate commuting from their daily routine.

In the global technology company culture, where work environments often encourage extended working hours and the boundary between professional and personal time is deliberately managed, the ability to live within the workplace campus zone creates a specific lifestyle that a subset of DIC employees actively pursue. The AED 7.47M–10.63M pricing at Cordoba Residence reflects this access premium in a market where demand from senior DIC employees is sustained and specific.

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The Adjacent DIC Cluster: Dubai Media City and Dubai Knowledge Park

Dubai Internet City's campus is physically contiguous with two additional free zones:

Dubai Media City (DMC) Adjacent to DIC, Dubai Media City houses the UAE's largest concentration of media and creative industry companies: CNN, BBC, Reuters, MBC Group, Rotana, and hundreds of production companies, agencies, and digital media operations. DMC's professional population — journalists, producers, marketing executives, creative directors — forms a natural extension of DIC's tenant base for residential properties within the cluster.

Dubai Knowledge Park (DKP) Also within the DIC cluster, Knowledge Park hosts training and education companies alongside human development organisations. The combined DIC/DMC/DKP cluster represents one of the UAE's most concentrated professional employment zones — 30,000+ professionals employed within a walkable campus.

For Cordoba Residence investors, this combined cluster provides tenant sourcing that extends beyond DIC employees alone — the Media City and Knowledge Park professional populations form a parallel demand base that maintains occupancy across any sector-specific employment fluctuations.

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The Premium Pricing Context: AED 7.47M–10.63M in DIC

The price range at Cordoba Residence — AED 7.47M for studio through AED 10.63M at the ceiling — positions the building at the upper end of the DIC/Media City residential market. This pricing level is consistent with several factors:

Unit Size The higher price range may reflect that the "studio through 4BR" classification includes very large unit configurations — the AED 7.47M entry suggests either oversized studios (800+ sqft), large 1BR units (1,200+ sqft), or fully furnished luxury configurations rather than standard unfurnished apartment sizes.

Full Amenity Package Premium buildings in DIC that provide swimming pools, gyms, security, and children's play areas command premiums over the DIC zone's basic mid-market residential stock — which is predominantly functional accommodation without resort-style amenities.

Strategic Location Value Properties directly within the DIC campus boundary — rather than in adjacent Al Barsha South or Barsha Heights (TECOM) — command a proximity premium that reflects the walking-distance workplace access.

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Amenities

Swimming Pool An outdoor pool providing the primary leisure infrastructure for the building's technology professional resident population. In DIC's technology campus environment, where residents may work long hours and have limited evening leisure time, the in-building pool's convenience — accessible in minutes from the apartment — creates more actual utilisation than leisure facilities requiring a commute.

Gymnasium A fitness facility serving the health-conscious technology professional demographic. The DIC and Media City employee profile has above-average gym utilisation demand — fitness as a health and performance optimisation activity is embedded in the work culture of the technology sector.

Children's Play Area Family infrastructure supporting the families of senior technology executives who relocate to Dubai with children. Long-term expatriate employees in DIC's technology companies often arrive with families — the children's play area serves this demographic consistently.

24/7 Security Continuous access monitoring and building security appropriate for a premium residential address in a major free zone campus. The DIC free zone's own security infrastructure supplements building-level security, creating a compounded safety environment.

Parking Covered parking provision essential for a building in a zone where resident vehicles are needed for Dubai's broader urban navigation despite the walkability of the immediate campus.

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Rental Market Analysis

Who Rents in DIC at AED 7.47M+ Properties At this price tier, the rental market is limited to senior executives:

• MENA Regional Directors and VP-level executives at DIC-based technology companies
• Country Managers and C-suite representatives for the Gulf operations of global technology firms
• Senior Media City professionals (regional news bureau chiefs, senior production executives)
• Multi-national executives based in DIC on extended postings

Annual rents for premium DIC/Media City residences in the AED 7M–10M valuation tier:

• 2BR premium configuration: AED 180,000–250,000 annually
• 3BR premium configuration: AED 250,000–350,000 annually
• 4BR premium configuration: AED 350,000–500,000 annually

At AED 7.47M–10.63M acquisition, gross yields of 2.4%–6.7% depending on unit configuration — compressed at this price point but consistent with the capital-preservation and capital-appreciation model of premium DIC residential investment.

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Location: The DIC Campus and Its Urban Connectivity

Dubai Internet City sits between Sheikh Zayed Road (E11) and the Arabian Gulf coast — positioned to the west of Dubai's central commercial zone in the Al Sufouh district.

Key Distances from Cordoba Residence, DIC

| Destination | Drive Time | |-------------|-----------| | Dubai Internet City companies | Walking distance / on-site | | Dubai Media City | 5 min walk | | Dubai Marina | 10 min drive | | Palm Jumeirah (trunk road) | 10–12 min drive | | JBR / The Beach | 10 min drive | | Mall of the Emirates | 8–10 min drive | | Downtown Dubai | 20–25 min drive | | Dubai International Airport | 25–30 min drive |

The Mall of the Emirates proximity (8–10 minutes) provides the retail, dining, and entertainment infrastructure that the DIC corporate professional demographic requires for weekend and evening leisure — with Ski Dubai, Harvey Nichols, VOX Cinema, and 600+ stores within an easy drive.

Dubai Marina and JBR beach (10 minutes) provide waterfront lifestyle access that the walking-distance availability of the DIC campus itself cannot — completing a lifestyle package where the professional campus is within walking distance and the leisure waterfront is within driving distance.

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Final Assessment

Cordoba Residence is a completed Q2 2012 premium building within Dubai Internet City — the UAE's flagship technology free zone campus — at the price tier that reflects the zone's concentrated demand from senior technology, media, and knowledge economy professionals. The confirmed amenity package, the DIC campus walkability-to-work premium, and the building's mature operational track record since 2012 provide the due diligence certainty of an established residential address in one of Dubai's most structurally stable employment zones. For investors targeting the senior corporate executive tenant market that DIC/Media City generates, and for buyers who want a premium campus address that eliminates commuting from the daily routine of a technology career, Cordoba Residence occupies a genuinely distinctive position in Dubai's residential hierarchy.