Area guide
District One
Lagoon villas and mansions in MBR City · Dubai
District One is a district of villas, mansions and apartments in Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City (MBR City), close to Meydan Racecourse and a few kilometres from Downtown Dubai, laid out around a man-made crystal lagoon with white sand beaches. Meydan Sobha, a joint venture of the Meydan and Sobha groups, launched it in 2013, and Nakheel now markets it. Nakheel calls the lagoon the world's largest man-made crystal lagoon, and the October 2023 release for Naya put it at 35 hectares, with 14 kilometres of shoreline, more than 8 kilometres of cycling and running tracks and 60 percent of the district given to open green space.
The houses here are large and stand on their own plots. Meydan Sobha's third villa phase, launched in February 2016, was 217 freehold villas of four and five bedrooms on larger plots; District One West, now being built, adds 467 villas and mansions of four to seven bedrooms; and Nakheel also offers bespoke plots for a house built to order. Apartments came later: the residence buildings the Land Department files under District One's Phase III, Lagoon Views on the lagoon, which Nakheel lists among its latest handovers, and Naya, three green-roof towers of one to four-bedroom apartments with lagoon villas beside them.
It suits a buyer who wants a big house close to a lagoon and its beaches, a short drive from Business Bay and Downtown Dubai. It suits less well anyone who wants a finished, settled neighbourhood in every direction, since District One West and Naya are still under construction, or who wants to commute by Metro.
Living in District One
Life here is organised around the water and the car. Nakheel lists a supermarket, a pharmacy, a nursery, a gym, parks and children's play areas within the community, and describes both Naya and District One West as gated. Its own estimates put Business Bay about 8 minutes away, Downtown Dubai about 16 and Dubai International Airport about 18, and it describes District One West as having direct access to Al Khail Road, Meydan Road and Latifa Bint Hamdan Road. There is no Metro station in the community; the Land Department's records give Business Bay as the nearest. The Dubai Metro Gold Line, approved in April 2026 and scheduled to open on 9 September 2032, is planned to cross Mohammed Bin Rashid City, Nad Al Sheba and Meydan and to meet the Red Line at Business Bay, but no station has been named for District One.
Expect building work for a few years yet. Nakheel's June 2026 inspection put the first part of District One West at 83.37 percent complete and a second part at 34.49 percent, against the regulator RERA's lower figures of 73.31 percent (March) and 31.24 percent (April), and put Naya at 46.07 percent, against RERA's 37.21 percent (April). We could not find a completion date for either published by Nakheel. A villa in an established phase can still face a building site across the lagoon, so ask what is under construction within sight of the house.
Schools
- Hartland International School, IB, rated Very good in KHDA's latest published rating, for 2023 to 2024 (nearby, in Sobha Hartland)
- North London Collegiate School Dubai, IB, pre-primary to Grade 12, rated Very good in KHDA's latest published rating, for 2023 to 2024 (nearby, in Sobha Hartland)
- A nursery within the community, by Nakheel's description
Getting around
- Al Khail Road, Meydan Road and Latifa Bint Hamdan Road, by Nakheel's description of District One West
- Business Bay about 8 minutes, Downtown Dubai about 16 and Dubai International Airport about 18 minutes away, by Nakheel's estimates; allow longer at busy times
- No Metro station in the community; the Land Department's records give Business Bay as the nearest
- Dubai Metro Gold Line, approved in April 2026 and scheduled to open on 9 September 2032, planned to cross Mohammed Bin Rashid City and Meydan; no District One station named
Shopping and dining
- Supermarket and pharmacy within the community, by Nakheel's description
- The Dubai Mall, about 15 minutes away by Nakheel's estimate
- Dubai Design District, about 12 minutes away by Nakheel's estimate
Leisure
- The crystal lagoon and its white sand beaches
- More than 8 km of cycling and running tracks
- Parks, a gym and children's play areas
- Meydan Racecourse and Grandstand, about 9 minutes away by Nakheel's estimate
Who buys in District One
Three kinds of property trade here, and the Land Department's register treats them differently. The early villa phases change hands as villas. Later phases, District One West among them, are registered as land sales, so the register shows the plot rather than the house being built on it. The apartments, from the Phase III residence buildings to Naya, sell as units. Sales peaked at 1,274 in 2023, when District One West plots, the Phase III apartments and the first Naya apartments were all selling, and have fallen since, to 416 in 2025 and 208 in 2026 to early September, nearly all of them registered as existing property rather than off-plan.
That makes the choice a practical one: a finished villa in an established phase, a new villa or mansion in District One West, or an apartment. For a home still being built, check the completion date in the sale contract and compare Nakheel's progress figure with RERA's, noting the date of each inspection. For a house on the lagoon, ask the owners' association what the service charge covers and what the rules are for using the lagoon and its beaches, and for a plot, ask what may be built on it and when.
District One: common questions
Can foreigners buy property in District One?
The register points that way, but confirm it for the specific property. Every District One record in the Land Department's 2026 transaction data, to early September, is marked freehold, and Meydan Sobha launched its third villa phase in 2016 as freehold villas. Under Regulation No. 3 of 2006, foreign nationals can own freehold property in Dubai's designated areas outright, with a title deed issued by the Land Department. Before paying a deposit, ask the Land Department to confirm that the plot or unit can be registered to a foreign owner.
Who is building District One now?
Meydan Sobha, a joint venture of the Meydan and Sobha groups, launched the first villa phases. Nakheel now markets the community: it manages Naya, which Meydan launched in October 2023, and in February 2024 it awarded the contracts to build District One West's 467 villas and mansions to Fibrex and Ginco. For a resale, ask the seller which developer issues the no-objection certificate for that phase.
Is there a Metro station in District One?
No. The Land Department's records give Business Bay, on the Red Line, as the nearest station, and that is a drive away. The Dubai Metro Gold Line, which Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid approved in April 2026, is planned to cross Mohammed Bin Rashid City, Nad Al Sheba and Meydan and to meet the Red Line at Business Bay, with its inauguration scheduled for 9 September 2032. No station has been named for District One, so do not count on one at the door.
Why does the Land Department register say Al Merkadh?
That is the land area District One sits in. The Land Department files most of District One in Al Merkadh, with part of District One West in Ghadeer Al Tair, under project names beginning Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City District One, and files Naya and Lagoon Views under a master project for the district. Al Merkadh also holds Sobha Hartland and Meydan One, which is why our sold prices section, grouping it under Meydan and MBR City, is no guide to the price of a villa here. Look at the individual sales in the same phase instead.
Nearby guides
Buying or selling in District One?
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