Tag Archives | solidere

What Al Murr Tower Was Supposed To Become

By Rami on March 28, 2018 in Architecture, Uncategorized

I was searching for some info about Al Murr Tower last night when I stumbled upon some interesting stuff about it. I actually always knew the structure was built by Michael Al Murr back in the 70s but I never knew Solidere had plans for it in the90s.

According to this article from The Daily Star in 1999, Solidere claimed the tower in exchange of shares from Michael Al Murr as part of the reconstruction plan for Beirut cnetral disctrict, and was originally intending to demolish it and replace it with another high-rise building to house their headquarters in addition to office spaces for other companies and a rooftop restaurant on the last two floors.

The whole thing however was called off when Michael Al Murr felt unsatisfied with the terms of the sale and asked for his tower back. You can read all about it here.

Other sources on Facebook also claim that the reason nothing was done with the tower during all the past years is basically due to the damage incurred to the building structure during war days which probably can’t allow for further works to be performed, but I’m not sure how credible is that.

I know the everyone simply just got used to the tower its area was even named after it, but with all the fancy buildings nearby, it looks really ugly now and I don’t mind having it demolished. Doing it with explosives would make a good I guess! Otherwise, allowing graffiti artists to take it over would also be a cool idea.

Second photos via Beiruti Atik FB Page

We Need a Cheaper Version of Souk El Akel

By Rami on July 15, 2016 in Food, Opinions

IMG-20160715-WA0007

Even though Souk El Akel has been up for well more than a year now, I have only managed to go check it out a while ago in Beirut Downtown. And just like almost everybody else, I enjoyed the different flavors each stand was offering and loved how appetizing the food looked on display. The general ambiance also felt pretty nice with joyful people all around.

Raclette Burger in the making

Still, I was surprised with a couple of things, first being the unreasonable prices that are definitely not suitable for street food, and second the fact that no one seems to be bothered about it.

$5.6 Pizza slices

I have the utmost respect for Anthony (the founder of Souk El Akel) and everybody in his team for the effort they’re putting to let people enjoy clean and appetizing street food in a cool ambiance, but if that comes at a high cost like a $10 burger or $3.3 popsicle, then you can no longer call it street food, and for such prices I’d rather be at some restaurant enjoying a seated meal. I’m totally aware though that some items include premium ingredients like salmon and Angus beef, but then again, when I want to go have a street burger or a sandwich, it doesn’t really have to be made of premium stuff, just make me something tasty!

$8 Waffles anyone?

I don’t claim to have toured the world, but I have tried street food in several places like the US, Thailand, Turkey, Singapore, and Malaysia, and the prices were always dirt cheap for some of the best flavors I’ve tasted! So I really don’t understand how people here feel indifferent about $10 quick bites and dessert. It’s either everybody is suddenly better off, or I’m simply a cheap guy (I doubt the latter though :P).

I tried these ice cream rolls in Kuala Lumpur last October for no more than $2. Now available as Frooza at the Souk for $8.

All in all, paying $30 for some appetizer, a sandwich, and a dessert is just too much in my opinion for a street food market. For all I know, the organizers and the vendors are free to set whatever price they want and people will probably keep coming because it’s a new and cool concept to Lebanon, but making room for cheaper bites certainly make Souk El Akel earn its name.

$9 Chicken and pork sandwiches

A new Solidere in the making?

By Rami on July 19, 2013 in Lebanon

Adjacent to downtown Beirut is a small area called “Khanda2 el Ghami2”, and if you happened to pass by it someday, you can’t but notice the many abandoned buildings there. Once street in fact, the Tayyan street which is pretty close to Beirut Digital District, looks deserted with many vacant buildings. And what’s weirder is that there isn’t a single construction site there even though we all know there’s always a high demand for Land in Beirut.

Upon asking around a bit, one trusted source told me there’s a real estate company that is slowly purchasing every single building in Khanda2 el Ghami2 (the area enclosed in red), and have so far purchased many of the buildings you see in the picture above, in order to later demolish them all and reconstruct the whole area to make way for commercial spaces, residential towers, etc… and thus making it quite similar to what Solidere looks like.

Not that I oppose the idea, since the company isn’t doing anything illegal and is actually offering good money to the owners, but if would be interesting to learn more about this project. So if you have any information about it, please do share it in the comments.

Here’s what Waterfront City will look like

By Rami on July 13, 2013 in Lebanon

It seems like a second Solidere to me, minus the controversy that surrounded the expropriation phase in the early 90s.

I guess the biggest challenge that will face the developers is most probably trying to convince zouzou ebba drivers to show off their skills somewhere else than the marina!

Solidere pissed at St George’s banner

By Rami on May 20, 2013 in Lebanon

stop-solidere

This banner draped over St. George Hotel must be pissing Solidere off so much. They now threaten legal actions against media people who publish photos showing “Stop Solidere” in them when covering some event at Zaitunay Bay!

Fadi Khoury, owner of St. George, is probably the only man who dared to stand against Solidere and their malpractices on the waterfront, who in their turn blocked the hotel’s access to the sea.

waiver form via Beirutiyat

Amarres shuts down at Zaitunay Bay

By Rami on May 2, 2013 in Lebanon

ZaitunayBay-2-cQ

Back in 2012, several websites started posting about a possible closure of Zaitunay Bay closing down due to the slow economy and the low numbers of tourists visiting Lebanon. This however was denied by the people behind Zaitunay through twitter and the media.

Yet just today, Ziad Kamel, the co-founder of The Alleyway, confirmed on twitter that Amarres in Zaitounay Bay will be shutting down due to the instability the whole country is currently going through, which is eventually causing tourists and Lebanese expats to abstain from visiting the country, whereas Zaitunay heavily relies on them.

So while Zaitunay Bay might be staying, one this is for sure, which is that restaurants owners there are definitely struggling to make ends meet, except for Classic Burger Joint probably which always seems to be full! (khamseh bi 3youneh)

Anyway, back to Ziad Kamel, he claimed a second branch of Couqley will soon be opening in Dbayeh on May 15th, which is great news to all those who live north of Beirut. I’ve been once to Couqley in Gemmayze by the way and totally enjoyed their French menu.

Marketplace Middle East on Zaitounay Bay

By Rami on June 6, 2012 in Lebanon

Beirut’s Zaitunay Bay is one of the city’s latest development projects — a waterfront promenade dotted with high-end shops and restaurants.

So far the project has been a success but in Beirut, domestic and regional instability always looms. MME spoke to one of the developers about the fine line between business opportunity and high-risk investment.

Underground parking space at Martyrs Square

By Rami on February 22, 2012 in Lebanon

According to this article in The Daily Star today,the municipality of Beirut is planning to start constructing an underground parking (with a capacity of 2,000 cars) at the Martyrs square by the end of 2012, to “improve” the appearance of the downtown area. And a garden will later be created in the square once the project is done.

“Work will start before the end of this year. Once finished, the parking space will accommodate between 1,500 and 2,000 cars,” Hamad said, adding that a Build, Operate and Transfer contract would be signed by the company selected to carry out the project. Under the BOT contract, a company will build and operate the facility – earning revenue – before the municipality assumes ownership. Source

There’s no reference however to what’s going to happen to the current parking spaces around the Martyrs square, Solidere might be planning to build some new towers there?

The article also mentions a similar project in Ain El-Mrayseh where a parking space with a capacity of 680 cars is set to be built, in addition to a 7,000 square meters produce market between Tayyouneh and Shatila.

Photo via Stefania Facco

Merry Christmas

By Rami on December 25, 2010 in Lebanon

Merry Christmas to you all!

The new Beirut Waterfront

By Rami on June 3, 2010 in Lebanon

On May 16th, Solidere announced opening of the new Beirut Waterfront to the public as the first bicycle lane in the city. According to The Daily Star, the lane would start at the Beirut Souks on Tripoli Street and pass through Patriarch Howayek Street in the direction of Beirut’s new maritime front, through Allenby Street, and back to the starting point.

Before getting too excited about it, access to the waterfront will be granted on Sundays only from 10 AM to 8PM! And that’s why I’m having mixed feelings about it, I’m glad we finally have a public space away from the pollution that we got used to, but opening it on Sundays only is sort of disappointing, why can’t they keep it open everyday?

Soliders is acting like someone who invites you over to his house, but then tell you beforehand that he will be kicking you out at 8PM.

Anyway, hoping we get a permanent access to the waterfront, I leave you with this cool video of the place made by Rawad El Hoyek.

New Beirut Waterfront from Rawad EL HOYEK on Vimeo.

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