ANAX Developments has begun construction on ELLE Residences Dubai Islands and unveiled ANAX 2.0, a refreshed strategy focused on experience-led luxury residential projects in the UAE.
June 17, 2026 | Riya Malhotra | UAE | Real Estate
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ANAX Developments has begun construction on ELLE Residences Dubai Islands, a waterfront branded residence on Dubai's emerging Dubai Islands waterfront destination, marking a major milestone for one of the most internationally branded luxury residential projects launched in Dubai over the past year. The developer simultaneously unveiled ANAX 2.0, a refreshed corporate strategy positioning the group for a wider portfolio of experience-led luxury residential developments in the UAE.
The project comprises 91 apartments and seven townhouses, with completion now scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027, a slight refinement from the originally announced Q3 2027 timeline. ELLE Residences Dubai Islands marks ELLE's first residential development in the Middle East and only its second globally, following its earlier residential tower in Miami.
The decision to combine the groundbreaking and the ANAX 2.0 unveiling at a single event is editorially significant. It positions the construction commencement not just as the start of a project, but as the start of a new phase for the developer itself.
Raja Alameddine, CEO of ANAX Developments, framed the strategic positioning around expanding the company's UAE portfolio with experience-led, luxury lifestyle developments. The framing connects ANAX Developments to a wider 2026 trend across UAE real estate, the shift from product-led launches to experience-led branded developments, that has been visible across Sweid One, the AHS Properties / Shangri-La acquisition, and OMNIYAT's BEYOND brand expansion.
For Satish Sanpal, Founder and Chairman of ANAX Holding, the construction commencement is framed as evidence of the group's delivery discipline, a positioning increasingly emphasised across the wider UAE developer community as Dubai's market matures and the gap widens between launch announcements and confirmed delivery.
The branded residence is being developed in partnership with the global ELLE brand, owned by France's Lagardère Group. ELLE's expansion into the Dubai market follows the success of its first residential tower in Miami and represents the brand's first Middle East presence. The Dubai Islands project is positioned at the upper-luxury tier, with the 91-apartment plus 7-townhouse mix giving the development both a vertical residence offering and a horizontal estate offering on the same site.
The Dubai Islands location matters strategically. The waterfront destination, developed by Nakheel under Dubai Holding Real Estate, has been positioning itself as one of the most distinctive new mixed-use coastal destinations in Dubai, attracting branded residence projects from multiple developers and reshaping the cluster of waterfront developments that previously concentrated on Palm Jumeirah, JBR, and Bluewaters.
For Dubai's real estate industry, three signals from today's announcements stand out.
For developers and property managers operating in the luxury and upper-luxury tiers, ANAX 2.0 reinforces that experience-led luxury, a category that combines design, branded identity, hospitality service standards, and lifestyle programming, is now the dominant competitive frame at the top of the market.
For brokers, the ELLE Residences delivery commencement is evidence that branded residence projects launched in 2025 are progressing to construction at scale, supporting buyer confidence in the off-plan branded residence segment.
For the wider Dubai Islands development cluster, ANAX's groundbreaking adds to a growing pipeline of waterfront branded projects that will collectively redefine Dubai's coastal luxury offer through 2027 and beyond.
Sources: ANAX Developments announcement on the groundbreaking of ELLE Residences Dubai Islands and the unveiling of ANAX 2.0, dated 16 June 2026, distributed via Zawya and reported by Entrepreneur Middle East; statements from Raja Alameddine, CEO of ANAX Developments, and Satish Sanpal, Founder and Chairman of ANAX Holding; project specifications including 91 apartments, 7 townhouses, and Q4 2027 completion timeline referenced from the announcement; ELLE branded residence partnership context including the previous Miami residential tower and Lagardère Group ownership referenced from earlier announcements (October 2025); Dubai Islands development context referenced from prior REM Times coverage and Nakheel corporate communications.
