The Heart of Europe
The Heart of Europe development is just one of the reasons I love Dubai. Only humans under the influence of a great visionary like Sheikh Mohamed could have come up with this idea.
Manmade islands in the shape of the world 4 km off the coast of Dubai. Not only adding more jobs and opportunities but adding to the coastline of Dubai and more beachfront properties.
While working in real estate in Dubai a few years ago, The Heart of Europe was my favorite off plan development. Going out on the company yacht and exploring the underwater homes was a highlight of my year.
The Heart of Europe is made up of six islands making up the Europe section of the The World Islands. Germany, Sweden, Monaco, Switzerland, St. Petersburg, and mainland Europe are each represented by the country’s architecture, weather, vibe, etc.
Yes, that’s right. I wrote weather. Switzerland has snow, does it not? Well, thanks to compressors on the top of the hotel on the Switzerland Island…they blow cold air, and the hot air rises and the other compressors sprinkle cold water, and there you have it! Snow on the Switzerland Island in Dubai. A genius feature. Following the same idea, the main street in Europe will have rain. Bundle up for your trip to the middle of Europe!
I sat down last week with an agent at The Heart of Europe and asked him all the tough questions. If you have heard of the development and read about it online, you will see many questions have come up. I have collected those questions and posed them to my friend.
Who is buying these homes? The majority of the buyers have been from the Gulf area. Of course, there are Egyptians and Vietnamese, etc. who have also been getting in on the action.
Who is the most famous person to have come through the doors of The Heart of Europe? My friend tells me it was a prince. I became flustered and asked which country. If it was the prince I know who had bought the 260 million dirham villa on the Swedish Island I would have wanted to crawl under the table at the thought of losing out on such an opportunity to be the introducer in the deal! Alas, he was a Saudi prince and not the one I know. This Saudi prince bought 260 million dirhams worth of property investments and paid half upfront.
What can be customized when buying The Seahorse? When buying a ten million dirham property, anything can be customized. The show house has a jacuzzi on the top floor, a built-in hammock in the “dock,” among other amazing features as you can see from the video. Anything and everything is up for customization for these special buyers.
The craziest thing we spoke about was the customization of the coral reefs outside the bedroom window. I did not know this, but you learn something new every day. Apparently, blue fish are attracted to blue coral, green fish to green coral, etc. for camouflage reasons. When signing the contract one of the questions they ask is what color fish would you like to see? So, they customize the coral “shelf” to your liking.
How safe is the seahorse? What if the glass breaks? Underwater damage is never a good thing! Fortunately, the glass that separates you from the fish is 9 cm thick. And it’s not glass at all. It’s made of acrylic. You can get an idea of how safe that is- the layer of acrylic on a bulletproof car is 3 ½ cm thick.
Is the water surrounding the Seahorse safe to swim in? Yes.
The Seahorse is held in place by an anchor. Is it registered as a house or as a boat? The SPA (Sales and Purchase Agreement) is a boat, and the title deed is for the land directly underneath the house.
Can the Seahorse be moved? Yes. If one wants to move the boat, it can be moved, and you still own the plot of land underneath the boat. The boat can be towed once the house is unplugged from the sewage system and towed by your yacht at a maximum speed of 5 knots.
What’s the deal with the sewage, where does it go? Each house is hooked up to pipes that move the sewage to a septic tank under the seabed. And then of course drained by a sewage barge every day.
How many seahorses are being built? 113.
How many are still left for sale? The Seahorses are sold every day so the agent couldn’t give me a clear answer. There had been a sale 5 minutes before our meeting. But they are going fast!
Where are the seahorses built? In a dry dock in the UAE. Each phase of building is tested on the water.
How do they get the seahorse to its designated place off the island? They are towed.
Why is the Seahorse such a great investment? The Heart of Europe offers 8% annual return on investment for five or ten years.
How is that possible? When all the seahorses are placed in the water, they will be rented out by The Heart of Europe. Next year you will see the Floating Seahorses on booking.com! They will be rented out per night to tourists around the world vying for the chance to “sleep with the fishes.” All bookings and services will be handled by the company. The owner is allotted 14 days a year to use the seahorse for his personal use.
Each seahorse will be outfitted with a personal butler. His responsibility is to get me M&M’s in the middle of the night if my heart so desires. There will be hotels on the island, as well as convenience stores so going to get M&M’s won’t be such a hardship for him, don’t worry. It’s just like having room service!
The houses are decorated so beautifully. Who can take the credit for the luxurious furnishings? Bentley. It’s all Bentley.
Will the islands ever drift away? There is a protective barrier around the island to keep the water at bay and ensure the safety of high winds and high waves.
Where does The Heart of Europe stand environmentally? The coral above is not real. Its fake coral to attract the fish and real coral now has a place to grow so essentially the Heart of Europe is improving the aquatic life, not harming it.
Where are the trees on the island from? The trees are brought from abroad. There is a team to make sure the 1000-year-old trees are safe and growing healthily.
Who will man the hotels on the islands? The French hotel will have Frenchmen working in the hotel, etc. for each individual country.
What propelled Josef Kleindienst to think so out of the box with this project? Creativity. The Heart of Europe is a passion project for Joseph, and he is available in the office every day.
Creativity is endless in Dubai and applauded by Sheikh Mohamed. I can’t wait to see what the Kleindienst group and Dubai, as a whole, comes up with next!
If you’re interested in investing in a Floating Seahorse or have any more questions feel free to send me an Email and I will help you as best as I can.