Imperial Avenue Downtown Dubai

Imperial Avenue is a 46-storey, 424-home tower in Downtown Dubai and the first residential project Shapoorji Pallonji has built outside India, through its Shapoorji Pallonji International and SP International arms. It holds one to five bedroom apartments plus three, four and five bedroom villas on the podium, which is a product Downtown almost never offers.

It is finished. Construction began in September 2016, the project completed in July 2026, and the developer holds the Building Completion Certificate and is handing over to owners now. One-bedrooms start at AED 1.7 million (about Rs 4.38 crore) at about 840 sq ft, two-beds at AED 2.5 million and three-beds at AED 3.8 million. The source listing carries no price. Other Downtown buildings we track: Blvd Heights, Grande Signature Residences and The Opus. All of it sits in our Dubai section and the projects list.

At a glance

Price and unit pricing

Two of those numbers disagree and it is worth saying so rather than picking one. The published prices and sizes work out at about AED 1,920 to 2,020 per sq ft across all three layouts, which is consistent. A separate source quotes a minimum of AED 2,810 per sq ft. Both cannot describe the same unit: either the AED 2,810 figure is a current asking rate on a particular high-floor apartment, or the starting prices are older. Ask the agent which unit each quote belongs to before you use either.

What is not in dispute is where the building sits against its district. Downtown Dubai's new stock trades at roughly AED 2,800 to 3,200 per sq ft, and the finished Emaar buildings around it are at the upper end. On its own published prices Imperial Avenue is well below that, which is the plain argument for it. For comparison, Blvd Heights starts at AED 2.09 million and Grande at AED 3.83 million.

Payment plan and total cost

There is no payment plan: the building is complete, so a purchase is settled at transfer, whether it is a resale or the developer's remaining inventory. A UAE resident can mortgage up to 80% of value; a non-resident typically 50 to 75%.

The number that then repeats every year is the service charge, and in Downtown it is the highest in Dubai: about AED 18 to 25 per sq ft, so roughly AED 15,000 to 21,000 on an 840 sq ft one-bedroom. No building-specific figure is published, and in a brand-new tower the first budget is often above where it settles once the owners' association takes over and tenders the contracts. Ask for the DLD-approved budget for this building rather than accepting the district range, and ask when the association is due to form.

Location and connectivity

The tower is in Downtown Dubai's Burj Khalifa district: minutes from Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall, about five minutes by car from Business Bay and Sheikh Zayed Road, ten from DIFC, 15 to 20 from Dubai International Airport, with the Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall Red Line Metro station serving the area.

Downtown's case is that it is finished. Nothing is waiting to be built around you, the retail and the schools exist, and the tenant pool is the deepest in the city: the district recorded AED 28.4 billion of apartment sales in 2025, its highest annual total. The cost of that is the entry price and the service charge, both at the top of the Dubai range, which is why Downtown yields less than the mid-market districts and holds value better.

Amenities and specifications

The distinguishing product here is the podium villas: three, four and five bedroom homes on the tower's podium, with house-sized floor areas inside a Downtown building. A family wanting four bedrooms in Downtown has very few options, and that scarcity, not the tower's average rate, is what should price them.

Beyond that, the tower carries the standard Downtown residents' set of pool, gym and shared facilities; the sources checked do not publish a full amenity schedule. Since the building is complete, the brochure matters less than the inspection. Walk the unit, walk the common areas, and ask what snagging has been raised across the building and what has been closed out, because a ten-year build means the earliest finished floors are already several years old.

About the developer

Shapoorji Pallonji is one of India's oldest and largest construction groups, and Imperial Avenue is its first residential development outside India, delivered through Shapoorji Pallonji International and its SP International subsidiary. The project carried about AED 1.4 billion of investment, including funding from London-based Hayfin Capital and the UAE's Commercial Bank International, which is a stronger capital structure than most Dubai launches carry.

The delivery record has to be read narrowly, because there is only one data point. Construction began in September 2016 with an estimated handover of June 2024, and the completion certificate came in July 2026. Ten years is a long build for a 46-storey tower, and none of the sources checked explains the overrun. For a buyer of a finished unit that is history. For anyone weighing the group's next Dubai project, it is the whole of its local track record, and it should be weighed against Emaar or Binghatti delivering multiple towers a year.

For Indian buyers

Downtown Dubai is freehold, so an Indian citizen owns here outright with a Dubai Land Department title deed, with no annual property tax in the UAE and no UAE tax on the rent. At AED 1.7 million the one-bedroom is about USD 463,000, above one person's Liberalised Remittance Scheme allowance of USD 250,000 a financial year, so it takes two remitters, two financial years, or a UAE mortgage covering half the price. The two-bedroom at AED 2.5 million is about USD 681,000 and needs three allowances. Tax collected at source applies above the current threshold and is credited on your Indian return.

On residency, the AED 2 million Golden Visa threshold is cleared outright by the two-bedroom and above; the one-bedroom needs a second property to aggregate against, which the DLD permits. On tax at home, rent is taxable in India for a resident at slab rates as income from house property with the standard 30% deduction. A Downtown one-bedroom lets for roughly AED 90,000 to 120,000 a year, so the Indian tax line is real, and the service charge of AED 15,000 to 21,000 comes off the gross before you get there. The property is declared in Schedule FA every year you hold it.

Pros

• Finished and certified: the Building Completion Certificate is issued and handover is under way, so there is no construction risk left
• An entry rate near AED 2,024 per sq ft on the one-bedroom, below Downtown's roughly AED 2,800 to 3,200 for new stock
• Podium villas of three to five bedrooms, a product Downtown almost never offers
• Built by a construction group rather than a marketing-led developer, and funded by institutional lenders
• Only 424 units, so the building is not a high-density tower by Downtown standards

Cons

• Ten years from start to completion, against an estimated June 2024 handover: the overrun is the developer's Dubai record
• Shapoorji Pallonji has no other completed Dubai project to judge its building management by
• Downtown service charges of AED 18 to 25 per sq ft are the city's highest band
• The two rates quoted by sources, about AED 2,024 and AED 2,810 per sq ft, do not agree and no source reconciles them
• As a brand-new building the first service-charge budget is unproven and often higher than the steady state

Who this is for

• Buyers who want a finished Downtown home now rather than a 2028 handover
• Families who want three to five bedrooms in Downtown, which the podium villas uniquely offer
• Buyers who value construction quality over developer marketing

Who should look elsewhere

• Investors who need a proven service-charge history before committing
• Buyers who want the cheapest Downtown entry, which other towers beat
• Anyone uncomfortable being in a developer's first building in a market

Our verdict

Imperial Avenue is worth understanding as two different things at once. As a building it is one of the better propositions in Downtown right now: finished, certified, only 424 homes, built by a contracting group whose core business is construction, with an entry rate around AED 2,024 per sq ft in a district where new stock asks AED 2,800 to 3,200. The podium villas make it genuinely unusual, because a family that wants four bedrooms in Downtown has almost nowhere else to go. As a developer record it is a caution. This is Shapoorji Pallonji's first residential project outside India and it took ten years, against an estimated handover of June 2024, to reach its completion certificate in July 2026. Anyone buying here is not exposed to that any more, since the building stands. Anyone buying the group's next Dubai launch should read the date carefully. The practical work for a buyer now is the service charge and the snagging: a first-year budget in a new Downtown tower can sit well above its steady state, and a ten-year build means the earliest finished areas are already eight years old.

A finished Downtown building at a below-market entry rate, from a construction group whose quality is not in doubt and whose Dubai timeline was. Buy it as a completed home you can inspect, get the approved service-charge budget in writing, and price the podium villas on their scarcity rather than on the tower's rate.

Talk to Realty Hunting for the current price list, the developer's latest payment plan and a site-visit plan.

Run this project's numbers yourself. The calculator opens on the price and unit size above; change the currency, the rent or the mortgage and it recalculates the fees, the cash you need on day one and the net rent.

FAQs

What does an apartment at Imperial Avenue cost?

Starting prices are AED 1.7 million for an 840 sq ft one-bedroom, AED 2.5 million for a 1,300 sq ft two-bedroom and AED 3.8 million for a 1,950 sq ft three-bedroom. One source quotes a minimum rate of AED 2,810 per sq ft, which does not reconcile with those figures; the arithmetic on the quoted sizes gives about AED 2,024 per sq ft on the one-bed. Ask which unit the quote refers to.

Is the building finished?

Yes. Construction began in September 2016 and the project completed in July 2026. Shapoorji Pallonji holds the Building Completion Certificate and has been hosting owners for inspection and handover since.

Why did it take ten years?

The sources do not give a reason. What they record is that the build started in September 2016 with an estimated handover of June 2024, and finished in July 2026. For a buyer today the delay is history, since the building exists; for anyone considering the developer's next Dubai launch, it is the only delivery record available.

What are the podium villas?

Three, four and five bedroom homes on the tower's podium level, with the space of a house inside a Downtown tower. They are the building's most distinctive product, because Downtown is almost entirely apartments and a family wanting four bedrooms there has very few options.

What are the service charges?

No building figure is published by the sources checked. Downtown runs about AED 18 to 25 per sq ft a year, the highest band in Dubai, so budget roughly AED 15,000 to 21,000 on an 840 sq ft one-bedroom. Ask for the building's own DLD-approved budget, not the district average.

Does it qualify for a Golden Visa?

Yes, at every size. The threshold is AED 2 million of property; the two-bedroom at AED 2.5 million clears it outright, and the one-bedroom at AED 1.7 million needs a second property to aggregate against.

Can an Indian citizen buy here?

Yes, Downtown Dubai is freehold. At AED 1.7 million, about USD 463,000, the one-bedroom needs two remitters or two financial years under the USD 250,000 per person LRS allowance, or a UAE mortgage. Rent from the property is taxable in India for a resident and the asset goes into Schedule FA.

What yield does Downtown pay?

Downtown's gross apartment yields run around 5 to 6%, below Dubai's mid-market districts, because entry prices are high and service charges are the city's steepest. The argument for Downtown has always been liquidity and capital value rather than yield; the district recorded AED 28.4 billion of apartment sales in 2025.

Compare with other Dubai projects

Also in Downtown Dubai: Binghatti Sky Blade (from AED 1,674,999, handover 2027), W Residences (from AED 1.67 M, handover 2026), Damac Upper Crest (from AED 1,650,000, ready) and One Residence (from AED 1.61 M, handover 2027). See every Downtown Dubai project with prices and handover dates.

A similar budget elsewhere in Dubai: Emaar Arlo (from AED 1.7 M, handover 2028), Orise by Beyond (from AED 1.7 M, handover 2028) and Park Gate Residence - Tower B (from AED 1,700,000, ready).

Read next: Property for Sale in Downtown Dubai: Prices and Real Yields · Dubai Rental Yields by Area, Gross and Net · Resale Property in Dubai: Costs, Checks and When It Beats Off-Plan · The Cost of Buying Property in Dubai. Every Dubai project we track is listed on the Dubai section.