Have you ever been driving down Airport Road in Deira? Most likely you have passed this building without even noticing it. The Makateb Building stands opposite the Honda showroom in Port Saeed – a glass tower in the middle of one of Dubai’s oldest working districts. No fountains, no drama. Only offices, the majority of which are occupied by companies that have a lot of work to do.
That is exactly what the building is. Sultan Real Estate created Makateb in July 2013 for the businesses Deira has always run on: traders, consultants, small firms, branch offices. People who need a proper address, a desk close to the government departments, and a landlord that is available to call.
All articles on the building feature the same information that was in the brochure. This article will provide you with some different information – the actual figures of the office sizes in square feet, the service charge per square foot, the deposit rule, the Ejari fee – plus an objective evaluation of what the building does and what it does not. If you are considering renting in Makateb or buying a unit, that is the information you need.
Just reading the table, you already know more about the building than most of the listing pages will tell you. The rest of the guide will help you understand what these numbers mean in practice.
About Sultan Real Estate – The Developer of the Building
Sultan Real Estate is not a company that follows a trend. It manages a cluster of commercial and residential buildings in Deira – Makateb is one of several properties in the portfolio – and operates under Sultan Group Investments, headed by H.E. Qassim Sultan Al Banna.
Speaking at the 2013 launch, the company’s CEO Jamal Qassim Sultan Al Banna gave a brief explanation of why they chose the location. Port Saeed, he noted, was where Dubai’s trading and commercial life began. Deira had been a business district long before the newer zones were created, and it remained one. With the opening of Makateb, the district gained over 132,000 sq ft of additional commercial space.
Why would a tenant need to know the developer of the building? Because Sultan Real Estate also manages the building. When the same company both develops and manages a property, maintenance calls, lease issues, and complaints land on the same desk. Anybody who has rented from an absentee landlord knows the importance of that. [Internal link: Sultan Real Estate projects and portfolio]
Location Advantages – Why Port Saeed Is Good for Business
Location is the oldest sales pitch in real estate, so we will skip the slogans and consider what Port Saeed actually offers.
Connectivity & Transport
Dubai International Airport is about 2 km away – a few minutes by car in normal traffic conditions. If your clients fly into Dubai for meetings, or your teams travel around the region every week, this distance will save you hours over a year.
Otherwise, Airport Road and Al Maktoum Street will do the job, connecting Port Saeed to the rest of Deira and over the bridges to Bur Dubai. Metro stations serving Deira are just a few minutes away by car, and RTA buses travel along the airport corridor, so the staff will not have to drive. From the upper floors, you also get a nice view: Dubai Creek, Deira Clock Tower, and City Centre Deira.
Proximity to Government & Business Institutions
This is the part tenants actually appreciate. The offices a Dubai business visits regularly – Department of Economic Development, Dubai Chamber, Dubai Municipality, banks – are located in Deira. From Makateb, they are all close by.
Consider what it means over a three-year lease period. License renewals, attestations, signing documents at the bank – all these errands will take 20 minutes instead of a half day. Nobody mentions this in the brochures, but it is real money and time, saved every month.
Nearby Shopping, Dining & Hotels
City Centre Deira is within walking distance, and the streets around the building offer the usual Deira selection of stores: cafes, restaurants, pharmacies, print shops, supermarkets. Lunch will never be an organizing activity. Emirates NBD and ADCB branches operate in the vicinity, which helps if your day includes both a client meeting and a visit to the bank.
Visiting clients will also be comfortable. The airport corridor is lined with business hotels, and your guests can stay just five minutes away from your office instead of driving across the city for a one-hour meeting.
Architecture & Design of the Makateb Building
Makateb looks like what it is – a modern office building that found its way into an old district. The glass and steel facade stands out on Airport Road, and that is quite convenient in the most ordinary sense – clients, couriers, and delivery drivers find the building without calling you for directions.
Inside, the choices of the design are practical. Large windows and high ceilings make the offices bright and spacious instead of being cramped. And this is the design element that tenants mention more often than any other one – every office and showroom has its own pantry and toilet. No shared washrooms down the corridor, no queues, no uncomfortable situations with clients. It sounds trivial. After a month of working there, it becomes not that trivial at all.
Cooling is provided by a central chiller system for all 148 offices – a basic requirement in Dubai, but one that some old Deira buildings fail to meet. Here it was designed into the building from day one.
Office Spaces – Sizes, Layouts & Tenant Types
This is where Makateb distinguishes itself from the vague “offices of all sizes” line that you will find elsewhere. The sizes are specified, and they are as follows.
What does that mean in terms of people? In general terms, 600 sq ft will seat a small team of about five or six with a desk layout, or a couple of private cabins with a small meeting corner. At 1,200 sq ft, you can accommodate a team of ten to fourteen people, and have enough space to receive your clients properly. If you outgrow your unit, contact the management regarding the availability of other floors – moving within the building will preserve your address, Ejari history, and clients’ habit of visiting. [Internal link: offices for rent in Deira – size and budget guide]
Typical Tenant Types
Walking the floors of the building, you will meet the Deira economy in person – trading companies, consultancy and accounting firms, IT and service providers, corporate branch offices, and freelancers who got tired of registering their business at a coffee shop table. The common denominator is not the industry. It is the need – a reliable mainland address, close to the departments that issue and renew their licenses.
Retail Space on the Ground Level
The ground floor provides for about 15,000 sq ft of shops and showrooms, facing one of the busiest road corridors in Deira. For a retailer, the math is quite simple – hundreds of office workers upstairs, and the traffic all day long. For the office tenants, it means food, services, and daily errands without having to leave the building.
Amenities & Facilities
The list of facilities is practical rather than fancy – central air-conditioning in every unit, a private pantry and toilet in each office, dedicated parking for tenants with spaces for visitors, 24/7 security, and 24/7 building access for tenants whose work schedule does not coincide with office hours. High-speed internet availability, a cafe, and meeting facilities inside the building are the daily necessities, and Sultan Real Estate’s own management team is on site – the people you call are in the building, not in another emirate.
An honest note. Some listing websites claim that Makateb has a gym and a swimming pool, and these claims are copied from site to site. If such facilities are important to you, check them during your visit before signing the contract. One question is all it takes, and it is better to learn the truth before signing the contract.
Renting an Office in Makateb Building – What You Should Know
Most articles on the building stop before the money. This article will not, because the money is the decision.
The building’s published rental terms provide a clear picture of the extra costs that you will pay besides your rent:
The service charge is the thing that people underestimate, so we will do the math openly. It is charged according to the size of your unit:
These figures come from the building’s published details, and they can change – confirm the current figures with the leasing office before signing the contract. However, even as an estimate, this table does something useful – it allows you to compare Makateb’s actual cost with any other building on your shortlist, item by item.
The renting process is quite simple. Choose a unit, agree on the rent and terms, and bring the necessary documents: a valid trade license, plus the passport and Emirates ID of the person signing the contract. Then the contract will be registered through Ejari, as Dubai requires. Before signing, ask five questions:
What exactly does the service charge cover, and what does it not cover?
What are the rules of the fit-out – approvals, contractor hours, and what needs to be restored when you leave?
Can your company name appear on the building directory and on the office door?
How many parking spaces will you get with the unit, and what are the extra spaces going to cost?
How are renewals and rent increases handled at the end of the term?
Write it down in advance. A good landlord will answer all five without hesitation. [Internal link: complete guide to renting office space in Deira]
Investment Potential & Market Outlook
The investment case of Makateb starts with a simple fact – Deira has almost no commercial land left. When a district is not able to create new office buildings, the existing well-located ones will keep their tenants. The demand itself is structural – the airport, the government departments, and the trading community are not going to move to a newer district.
The tenant profile also helps – a building with 148 tenants will not depend on the decisions of one tenant. One tenant leaves, one unit becomes temporarily unoccupied – the income of the building remains. Compare that with a tower depending on two or three large tenants, and the risk difference is obvious.
Now the balanced part, because it matters. Makateb is a working business center, not a luxury address, and it competes with newer towers in Dubai for the companies that have no reason to be in Deira. So judge it the same way you would judge any commercial unit – price per square foot, realistic occupancy, service charges, and how long voids between tenants usually last here. If the numbers work under realistic assumptions – not optimistic ones – the building deserves a place on your list. [External link: Dubai Land Department official market reports and indices]
Makateb Building vs. Other Deira Office Buildings
Tenants who compare Deira office buildings usually end up choosing between three types of buildings. The first type is the old stock – cheap on paper, but with shared facilities, old interiors, and maintenance that depends on who happens to manage the building at the moment. The second one is a newer tower in a newer district – fancy, but far from the departments and trading networks your business uses every week. Makateb is the third one – a purpose-built, professionally managed business center that stayed in Deira.
Which one wins depends entirely on your work. If your week includes visiting Deira offices and institutions, Makateb’s location pays back every day. Otherwise, a newer district might be better for you, and there is nothing wrong with that. Shortlist on the total cost – rent plus service charges – then visit the units during working hours and see the building the way your clients will see it.
Conclusion
Strip the sales language away, and Makateb’s offer is quite simple. A modern office in Dubai’s original business district. Two minutes from the airport. Government departments within walking distance. Office sizes and costs you can check before picking up the phone. For trading firms, consultancies, and growing SMEs that need a proper address without paying luxury-tower prices, it is one of the most rational options in Port Saeed.
Would you like to see it yourself? Contact Sultan Real Estate’s leasing office on +971 4 294 2828 to check the current availability and book a viewing.
FAQ Section
Where exactly is the Makateb Building located?
In Port Saeed, Deira, on Airport Road, opposite the Honda showroom. Dubai International Airport is about 2 km away, and City Centre Deira is within walking distance.
What office sizes are available in the Makateb Building?
Offices range from 600 to 1,200 sq ft, and all 148 units are centrally air-conditioned with a private pantry and toilet. There are shops of 240 to 1,000 sq ft, and showrooms up to 6,200 sq ft. Availability varies, so check the vacant units in the leasing office.
How much is the service charge in the Makateb Building?
The service charge is published as AED 10 per sq ft per year. That means AED 6,000 a year on a 600 sq ft office and AED 12,000 on a 1,200 sq ft unit. Rates may vary over time, so check the current one before signing the contract.
What extra costs should I expect besides rent?
There are three of them – a security deposit of either one month’s rent or AED 5,000, whichever is higher; an Ejari fee of AED 200; and, if you rent through an agent, a 5% commission of the annual rent. Add the yearly service charge, and that’s all.
Is the Makateb Building a good option for a small business or startup?
Yes, and it is probably the building’s strongest asset. A 600 sq ft office provides a small company with a proper mainland address in a developed district, close to the departments that handle its license, and the option to upgrade to a bigger unit in the same building as the team grows.
How do I book a viewing or check the availability?
Contact Sultan Real Estate’s leasing office on +971 4 294 2828. Request the sizes of the currently available units, the current service charge, and arrange a viewing of the office during working hours – that is when you will see the building, the parking, and the area as they really are.