Nakheel unveils 3.8 million sqm Palm Springs for 50,000 residents

Key Points

1. Nakheel launched Palm Springs, a 3.8 million sqm residential masterplan beside Palm Jebel Ali in Dubai South.
2. The project packs 15 neighbourhoods, two schools, a hospital and six mosques for roughly 50,000 residents.
3. It signals Dubai Holding shifting residential weight toward Al Maktoum airport's economic expansion corridor.

The latest:

A 3.8 million square metre residential masterplan is coming to south Dubai, with Nakheel unveiling Palm Springs next to Palm Jebel Ali for around 50,000 residents across 15 neighbourhoods. The Dubai Holding Real Estate unit said the community secured preliminary LEED Platinum certification for residential communities, the first Nakheel masterplan to reach that standard.

Details:

• The scale: Palm Springs spans 3.8 million square metres and is designed to house roughly 50,000 people, according to Nakheel. The masterplan is divided into 15 residential neighbourhoods and sits directly beside Palm Jebel Ali, the developer’s other major south Dubai project.
• The housing mix: The community combines villas, townhouses and apartments, Nakheel said, rather than a single product type. The developer did not publish unit counts, pricing, or a handover timeline for any of the 15 neighbourhoods.
• Social infrastructure: Plans include two schools, one hospital and six mosques, alongside a country club, a sports club, retail destinations, and cultural and leisure facilities. Nakheel said the design integrates housing with supporting infrastructure from the earliest development phases rather than adding services later.
• Open space: The masterplan allocates 593,000 square metres to open areas and parks, plus shaded walkways designed for local climate conditions. More than 35 kilometres of walking, running and cycling tracks connect the neighbourhoods to service and commercial facilities.
• The sustainability claim: Nakheel said Palm Springs achieved preliminary LEED Platinum accreditation for residential communities through water, energy and waste management systems and measures to cut carbon emissions. It is the first Nakheel community to reach the certification.
• The executive line: Khalid Al Malik, chief executive of Dubai Holding Real Estate, said the project reflects long-term confidence in south Dubai and its role in the city’s future growth, framing the integrated infrastructure approach as a way to build sustainable value as the emirate expands.
• The location play: The site is linked to Sheikh Zayed Road and sits near the economic expansions underway at Al Maktoum International Airport and Expo City Dubai, Nakheel said — the corridor Dubai has positioned as its next population and logistics centre.
• No investment figure: Nakheel disclosed land area, population capacity and facility counts, but did not state a total project value, a construction cost, or when work on site begins.

Background:

Nakheel, long known for the Palm Jumeirah and Palm Jebel Ali waterfront developments, was folded into Dubai Holding Real Estate, consolidating several of the emirate’s largest master developers under one state-linked umbrella.

Between the lines:

The density of social infrastructure in the plan — two schools, a hospital, six mosques — points to a full residential town rather than a resort-style enclave, matching Al Malik’s framing of integrating services from the earliest phases. Tying the site to Al Maktoum airport and Expo City indicates the bet is on employment growth in that corridor driving demand.

What’s next

Watch for Nakheel to release unit counts, pricing and a sales launch date for the first of the 15 neighbourhoods, plus confirmation that the preliminary LEED Platinum accreditation converts to final certification.