Riffa Views welcomes its 300th Homeowner

Today, Riffa Views, Bahrain’s premium golf residential development, announced a new development milestone with the delivery of 300 villas.

Although the economic environment remains challenging for developers, Riffa Views, has been successful in ensuring that progress continues at the project. As a result, over 400 villas have now been completed and handed over to Riffa Views, and of these, 300 have been handed over to homeowners. A further 100 villas are scheduled to be handed over during the summer months. Currently, there are over 30 contractors and sub-contractors working on the site.

Commenting on the handover of the 300th villa to Mr. and Mrs. Al Ghanim, Yasser Abdulrahman Al-Raee, Managing Director of Riffa Views said: “We recognize that the situation continues to be challenging, but 2010 has seen the beginnings of a recovery. The accomplishment of today’s milestone is evidence that construction and villa handover continues to progress at Riffa Views and of our absolute commitment to deliver the project as envisaged.”

Mr. & Mrs. Al Ghanim, the 300th homeowner to receive keys to his property said: “This is a very happy day for the whole family and we are all excited to be moving into our new home.  When we first made the decision to purchase a house, Riffa Views was the obvious choice for us, as it offered high quality and the promise of a welcoming and safe community, as well as a premium location, beautiful surroundings, superb facilities, and a state-of-the-art school which our daughter will join next year.  Having a reputable school within the community was a significant draw. We were looking for our dream home, and I am very pleased to say we have found it here in Riffa Views.”
In the interest of meeting the needs of homeowners, the current development strategy has been amended to concentrate resources for the completion of the villas that have been sold. In addition, resources will also be directed to finishing the remaining infrastructure works. Further efforts will be directed to the acceleration of lifestyle elements such as landscaping, which will take place progressively.

Earlier this month it was announced that in the best interest of the project and the homeowners, the agreement between Riffa Views and G.P. Zachariades Overseas Ltd. (GPZ), one of the contractors responsible for the construction of some of the villas in Lagoons Estate, would be dissolved. “We are taking all necessary steps to mitigate any potential delay caused by this situation. As an immediate alternative, Riffa Views is offering homeowners the option to relocate to any of the unsold villas that are ready for immediate or future occupation, either in Lagoons or in the other two Estates. Notwithstanding the situation with the Lagoons’ contractor, construction and villa delivery in Oasis and Park Estates continues to progress as scheduled.” Mr. Al-Raee ended.

RIFFA VIEWS: A “GREEN COMMUNITY” TAKING SHAPE

With over 85 villas delivered to homeowners, Riffa Views announced it has handed over the first set of golf carts to residents of the community. The golf carts were presented to those residents which purchased their villa at a time when the golf carts were being offered as an incentive and as part of the development’s “green community” vision. As the community evolves this vision is further enhanced by the various environmental initiatives being developed and implemented by all three Riffa Views, the Royal Golf Club (RGC) and Riffa Views International School (RVIS).
 
Alfredo Laffitte, CEO of Riffa Views, commented: “As a representative number of families are starting to move into Riffa Views, the objective is that over the course of time residents have an environmentally responsible lifestyle. In the long-term resident might decide to use golf carts to mobilize within the development rather than their cars. We want to offer a living environment that is conducive for a healthy and comfortable lifestyle.”
 
RVIS was the first to implement the “green community” vision with the deployment of a comprehensive recycling programme for its students. The school has further extended its commitment to develop the environmental awareness and actions of the school-children with the implementation of an organic food programme. The kids have taken a step further in a practical way by planting and growing their own fruit trees and vegetable garden. The produce from this garden is now being used to prepare the school lunches.
 
The Royal Golf Club has also undertaken a number of initiatives to protect the environment; these include the incorporation of a weather station and a computerized irrigation system that allows very precise irrigation applications in order to avoid water wastage. A compost bay has also been constructed on site and it is used to store the golf course organic waste which is then used for any planting around the course. The design and landscaping of the 18-hole championship golf course respected and utilized many of the existing natural features of Riffa’s desert landscaping and have added plant palates which contribute to those features. “This has enabled the development to encourage and retain many of the existing flora and fauna to return and develop on site, Riffa Views has now many native desert plants and animals thriving in the community”, ended Mark Hooker, Director of Agronomy, Royal Golf Club.

Riffa Views celebrates milestone of over 50 villas handover

RIFFA VIEWS TO CELEBRATE MILESTONE OF OVER 50 VILLAS HANDED OVER
AT THE 2009 RIFFA VIEWS “RAVE REVIEWS” MEDIA AWARDS

Riffa Views announced today it will celebrate with members of the media the milestone of over 50 villas handed over to homeowners at the 2009 Riffa Views “Rave Reviews” Media Awards. The media appreciation evening will be held at Riffa Views on October 14th and aims at recognizing the value and commitment of the press to Bahrain.

At the event, Special Awards will also be presented to recognize those members of the media that have executed their job in a unique way by going over and above their call of duty. A new category has been incorporated with the addition of the Riffa Views Best Magazine Cover Award, which will be selected by the community of Bahrain and aims at recognizing the local magazines’ continuous effort to produce covers that attract people’s attention with their creative use of imagery and innovative design. The general public is welcome to vote for this category on http://riffaviews.com where a voting system has been set up on the homepage.

Residents of the community will also play a key role this year by selecting the winner of the Riffa Views Residents Award. This award will be chosen by the homeowners based on the news medium they consider has best taken ”Bahrain’s positive message to the world”.

Alfredo Laffitte, Riffa Views’ CEO commented: “We are excited to be hosting this event for the second consecutive year. We are proud that it will be held at the Forum building, which is Riffa Views’ state-of-the-art conventions’ facility and it stands as a symbol of the many completed elements within the project. Riffa Views together with the Royal Golf Club and Riffa Views International School, wish to recognize the people that have been hugely instrumental to our success.”

Commenting on the key role the media have played in the development of Riffa Views International School (RVIS) Bruce McWilliams, Director of RVIS, said: “Since the school opened, the media has visited us frequently and published stories detailing the programs we have put in place and the facilities that are now available to our students. The media plays a key role in broadcasting to the world the progress Bahrain is making; word is getting out about the rapid development taking place in the country thanks to the efforts of the media.”

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