Beach Mall

Meraas Holding built The Beach directly on the sand at Jumeirah Beach Residence, the first development of its kind in the region: a retail and dining precinct constructed literally on the beachfront rather than adjacent to it, running between the Hilton and Sheraton hotels. It opened in October 2014, designed by Benoy with BSBG taking over execution in 2012 and Cracknell handling the landscape.

Four distinct plazas, the Main Plaza, Recreational Plaza, Retail Plaza and a dining-focused fourth zone, spread across 32 low-rise buildings, each with its own individually designed façade rather than a repeated template. Roughly 70 retail and F&B outlets sit along a kilometer of tree-lined walkways, with three separate paths, the central spine, a beach-park running track, and the JBR Walk connector, giving visitors different routes to the same stretch of sand.

Shake Shack, The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang’s and Raising Cane’s anchor the dining side, while Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret carry retail, a mix built for a destination people visit for hours rather than a quick shopping trip. Access to the development itself is free, though beachfront parking runs a separate hourly fee.

The Beach’s success established a template for Dubai’s subsequent open-air coastal developments, confirming that building retail directly into the sand, rather than merely near the water, was a replicable format rather than a one-off novelty.