Palladium to become ‘lifestyle venue’

Palladium to become ‘lifestyle venue’

Lebanese group reveals plans for Media City purchase.

July 14, 2010 2:41 by Rasha Reslan

The Lebanese group that has acquired Dubai’s Palladium has announced plans to increase its investment in the site to $100 million to transform it into a “holistic lifestyle venue coupled with a boutique hotel,” reports Gulf News.

“We’ve been searching for a venue for over a year to become a forum for holistic lifestyle concepts, including entertainment and sports. The Palladium’s space and location represented 90 percent of what we were looking for,” said Joe Tabet, chairman of Pragma Group.

The Palladium is currently a mixed use events space that hosts performances, concerts, exhibitions, and other events, says Gulf News.

Tabet said the new concept was currently being fine tuned, but it looks set to take on a more homogenous feel focusing on the latest lifestyle activities supporting body, mind and spirit, reports the paper.

“People want to party in their own style and live a healthy lifestyle. They will be able to do both in the same place,” explained Tabet.

All told the Pragma group is investing $100 million in this venture, including the acquisition of the building and its development. Tabet said the Palladium was bought from a group of UAE institutional investors but would not reveal the price.

Pragma are also behind the Cavalli Club in Dubai.