Dubai-based developer LMD UAE and the Rockefeller family have unveiled Christian A. Rockefeller Commercial Tower — the Middle East's first Rockefeller-branded office tower. The 87-storey, roughly 400-metre building is set to rise on Sheikh Zayed Road, between DIFC, Downtown Dubai and Business Bay, with handover scheduled for the second quarter of 2031. The announcement was reported by Zawya on 23 October 2026, citing LMD UAE's own launch materials.
What is going up on Sheikh Zayed Road
LMD describes the project as the tallest commercial tower in Dubai upon completion: 87 storeys, around 400 metres tall and home to 332 freehold offices held in private ownership. The interior design for shared spaces is by Bahrain-based International Design Associates (IDA); Devmark serves as the exclusive sales and marketing partner. Hamad Al Abbar, Managing Partner of LMD UAE, said the project will deepen the firm's Dubai portfolio and bring a hospitality-inspired approach to the office segment.
Four office classes
Units are split across four tiers — Prime, Elite, Executive and Presidential — with sizes ranging from 1,077 sq ft (around 100 sq m) up to full-floor offices from 11,541 sq ft (around 1,072 sq m). The Presidential class occupies floors 71–80 and comes with private terraces. Five amenity floors are planned, two of them dedicated to health and fitness; the remainder are arranged as meeting and client lounges that the developer compares to hotel space.
A Rockefeller family descendant as partner
The project's co-partner is Christian A. Rockefeller, whom Zawya describes as a descendant of the American Rockefeller family. His UAE interests are represented by Dubai-based Iconique Living Group (ILG). This marks the Rockefeller name's first move into commercial branded real estate outside the United States: until now the family's licensing had centred on residential projects in New York and Chicago, and it now extends into premium office space.
Amenities and the investor context
Inside the tower: a three-storey reception lobby, retail arcades, restaurants, spa, swimming pools, a padel court, 23 lifts and more than 1,100 parking bays. An 87th-floor business centre looks across DIFC and Sheikh Zayed Road. According to Knight Frank (The Residence Report 2026-27), Dubai is already the world's largest branded-residence market with 175 schemes — 68 completed and 107 in the pipeline. A branded commercial tower is the next step along the same curve. For a sense of what the current Dubai property market offers investors, see our breakdown of Dubai real-estate ROI in 2026; the branded commercial segment adds a new layer on top of that map.
What it means for UAE investors and businesses
For companies planning a Dubai headquarters or regional representative office, freehold space inside a globally branded tower opens a long horizon: 2031 also marks the next phase of the UAE's diversification agenda (here is how that looks from today's macro vantage point). Freehold ownership gives full title to an office — a long-term alternative to a lease, and useful when structuring assets between a parent entity and a UAE operating unit. Because that is as much a corporate and tax decision as a property one, buyers in premium branded towers typically design the ownership structure in parallel with the deal rather than after it.
This article is informational and does not constitute investment advice. Please verify terms and timelines directly with LMD and the project's partners.
