Jumeirah Village Circle
developer 
A freehold master development divided into six districts, already containing over 350 towers or townhouse rows and 33 landscaped parks.
GUIDE
Launched in 2005, Jumeirah Village Circle is a freehold master development by Nakheel situated alongside Sheikh Zayed Road, the main highway running the length of Dubai.
JVC is built over an area of over 870 hectares and divided into six districts. The housing here consists of large villas, town houses and apartments and whilst you can find fully occupied properties here, there is also a lot of construction activity going on.
At the end of 2016 an estimated 25,000 people were living in JVC and the population was predicted to rise to 300,000 when the 560-hectare community is fully complete.
The Circle Mall, with 235 shops, an anchor supermarket, two department stores, a multi-screen cinema, a health clinic, cafés, restaurants and a food court, is under construction. It missed its target opening date of 2017 and by July 2020 it was topped out with the façade halfway complete, so still under construction.
In July 2020, we counted 235 completed towers or townhouse rows, and another 110 under construction. Many more villas are either complete or under construction, and over 100 residential, commercial and hospitality buildings are in the design stage. But there are also a number of uncompleted, abandoned developments.
The quality of the buildings varies according to the individual developer, and ranges from well finished larger developments to shoddy, smaller ones.
Many existing villas in Jumeirah Village Circle are spacious with large rooms, balconies and up to five bedrooms. For those looking for smaller properties but with large gardens neighbouring Jumeirah Village Triangle caters for couples and small families. For those looking to buy in a good location before prices rise, JVC may well fit the bill.
The 900-hectare Jumeirah Village community was first announced by Nakheel in 2004 and formally launched the following year. The 2008 financial crisis put the brakes on development for several years, but 615 villas and 400 townhouses were completed in 2013, and a further 90 four-bedroom villas were delivered in 2015, by which time the master developer had completed all the infrastructure, including roads and streetlights.
By 2016 Nakheel had delivered more than 700 villas, with 305 buildings, villas and townhouses by third party developers complete or under construction. At the same time a further 183 residential, commercial and hospitality buildings by sub-developers were in the design stage.
In January 2017 Nakheel announced a series of new, linked cycle routes to be created around its communities in Dubai, including a 27km track around Jumeirah Village Circle. Work was expected to be finished in 2019.
JUMEIRAH VILLAGE CIRCLE LOCATION
Living at the junction of the Sheikh Zayed highway and Al Khail Road more or less anywhere in Dubai is within easy reach provided you have a car; 38 minutes to the airport, 21 minutes to Dubai Mall, 20 minutes to Dubai Marina or Palm Jumeirah, and one hour twenty to Abu Dhabi.
Three new entry-exit points connecting Dubai’s Jumeirah Village Circle with Hessa Street opened on 12 October 2016 following the completion of an Dh18.5 million roads improvement scheme by master developer Nakheel.
The work should have meant easier access, shorter journey times and improved traffic flow at JVC, one of Dubai’s largest and fastest-growing communities. The reality is that the congested Hessa Street with its regular accidents has become the bugbear of most residents.
The map above shows the location of Jumeirah Village Circle and just below are summaries of the nearest attractions, parks, beaches, golf clubs and cinemas. For a more in-depth look at the local attractions, and to see what’s on in and around Jumeirah Village Circle, visit our Things to Do guide.
AMENITIES
There are a number of shops and convenience stores dotted about the place, including a Choithrams supermarket at Manhattan Towers towards the north of JVC, but for the size of the community simple luxuries such as a variety of shops, good restaurants and hotels are woefully lacking. The net effect of this is that there is a noticeable lack of a greater community.
While residents await the completion of the long delayed Circle Mall they have to travel to neighbouring communities where there are more offerings, in Motor City, The Springs and The Meadows. So while retail excitement does not yet feature in JVC, at least the place is well located.
Open spaces include 33 landscaped parks with a combined area of four million square feet, although the facilities, including shade and even somewhere to sit, is patchy at best. Most lack any grass and landscaping is limited to plants, palms, rocks and paths.
Nakheel is creating a new community club on top of The Circle Mall by adding a pool, sports and restaurant complex to the roof. The JVC Club will include a 300-seater restaurant, a swimming pool and sundeck, two tennis courts, a gymnasium and landscaped gardens, all with views across the main community park. The Club was due to open in 2018.
LOCAL SCHOOLS
Jumeirah Village Circle has many schools nearby including JSS International School at 1.0 km and Sunmarke School at 1.8 km.
In terms of performance there are 10 schools nearby that have achieved either of two highest government inspection rating of ‘Very Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ including Nord Anglia International School Dubai which has a rating of ‘Outstanding’ and Victory Heights Primary School which also has a rating of ‘Outstanding’.
LOCAL SHOPS AND OUTLETS
There are 508 outlets currently open in Jumeirah Village Circle including 35 supermarkets, 49 ladies’ salons, 92 restaurants, 53 men’s salons, 23 laundrettes, 10 spas, 27 pharmacies, a paint shop, 14 real estate offices, 11 pet shops, six veterinarians, two computer/electronics shops, an auto parts shop, three photo shops, four children’s nurseries, 41 mini marts, 11 cafés, five sweet shops, two massage centres, five medical clinics, a learning centre, three children’s play centres, seven coffee shops, seven butchers, two dental clinics, five ice cream shops, 12 fashion shops, three catering kitchens, six cosmetics shops, three currency exchanges, four tailoring shops, four print shops, four smoking accessories shops, six flower shops, a games venue, four gyms, a travel & tourism agent, two car rental shops, three optician & eyewear shops, a trade office, two bakeries, a beverage outlet, a distribution centre, a bike/scooter shop, a hardware shop, two phone shops, three typing centres, a stationary / art shop, four home stores, a health food shop, a hypermarket, a watch repair shop, three toy stores, two gaming venues, a general store, a business centre, a dance studio, two perfume shops, a bookshop and an indoor parkour centre.
TRANSPORT & ACCESS
Road access
Living at the junction of the Sheikh Zayed highway and Al Khail Road more or less anywhere in Dubai is within easy reach provided you have a car; 38 minutes to the airport, 21 minutes to Dubai Mall, 20 minutes to Dubai Marina or Palm Jumeirah, and one hour twenty to Abu Dhabi.
Three new entry-exit points connecting Dubai’s Jumeirah Village Circle with Hessa Street opened on 12 October 2016 following the completion of an Dh18.5 million roads improvement scheme by master developer Nakheel.
The work should have meant easier access, shorter journey times and improved traffic flow at JVC, one of Dubai’s largest and fastest-growing communities. The reality is that the congested Hessa Street with its regular accidents has become the bugbear of most residents.
Public transport
Public transport to Jumeirah Village Circle is notoriously lacking and generally limited to taxi services. A new feeder bus J01 which runs every 25 minutes to Mall of the Emirates is a big improvement and makes use of the former ‘ghost’ bus stops that had been taunting residents without cars for years.
The closest metro station is Mall of the Emirates and there is talk of a tram system in the future according to the developer.
* Drive times are calculated by Google Maps and assume fastest route in typical traffic conditions.
