JOHN CHAPMAN, DIRECTOR, RABIE HOLDINGS
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Yet, there was still something missing – that essential element that makes a city truly vibrant. Any great city boasts a rich tapestry of art, public squares, and monuments celebrating its past. Century City had none of these. So, we took it upon ourselves to create an art trail, and today it boasts over 30 exhibits that enrich the lives of those who live and work here. Our commitment has always been driven by a passion to enhance the environment for everyone. When you place an emphasis on lifestyle, a development becomes so much more than just bricks and mortar.
When Rabie acquired Century City, we inherited someone else’s vision – a dream that we soon realised needed to change. What we didn’t anticipate, however, was how profoundly that dream would change us. In the past, we focused on one project at a time, then moved on to the next suburb. But Century City gave us the opportunity to think bigger – to design entire streetscapes and plan interconnected mini-suburbs. We started, quite literally, building Century City brick by brick, street by street, park by park. We focused on creating people-friendly spaces, linking them with pedestrian- friendly routes. Embracing the principles of new urbanism and the 15-minute city, we understood that it wasn’t just about constructing buildings. We needed to develop a lifestyle, which meant adding restaurants, coffee shops, crèches.
Over the past 20 years, the dream has evolved as we’ve progressed, and today, looking around us, I feel an immense sense of pride. We can take a moment to reflect, pat ourselves on the back, and say with confidence – so far this is a job well done.
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