Al Quoz

Al Quoz sits in the middle of Dubai, between Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road, and is unlike anywhere else in the city. It is mostly industrial, part creative district, and part quiet villa pocket, all in the same postcode.

The area splits into Al Quoz 1 to 4, which are residential and commercial, and Al Quoz Industrial 1 to 4, which is warehousing and light industry. Knowing which sector a property sits in matters more here than anywhere else in Dubai, because the character changes completely from one road to the next.

Where is Al Quoz, and why is it called that?

Al Quoz forms a long rectangle between Al Khail Road and Sheikh Zayed Road. Al Wasl, Business Bay and Mohammed Bin Rashid City border it to the north, Al Barsha and Dubai Hills to the south, Nad Al Sheba to the east, and Al Manara and Al Safa to the west. The name comes from the Arabic word for a barchan, a crescent shaped sand dune, a reminder that this whole district was open desert before the city reached it.

A short history of Al Quoz

In the early twentieth century, Al Quoz was an agrarian settlement built around a natural pond that served as a watering point for Bedouin tribes and desert travellers. Industrial use was designated in the 1970s and 1980s, which set the character that still defines much of the district. The creative side came later: The Courtyard arts space opened in 1998, Alserkal Avenue launched in a former warehouse complex in 2008, and the Al Quoz Creative Zone was announced in 2021, formalising a shift that had already been under way for years.

Who is Al Quoz for?

Businesses, mainly. It is the most central place in Dubai to hold a warehouse, a workshop, a showroom or a studio, which is why so much of the city's logistics, car trade, furniture trade and art scene is based here. Alserkal Avenue turned a run of warehouses into the city's main contemporary art quarter, and galleries, cafes and design studios followed.

Residentially it is a smaller story. There are villa compounds in Al Quoz 1, 2 and 3, popular with families who want a central location and a garden without paying Jumeirah prices, and a large amount of staff accommodation elsewhere in the district.

What is nearby?

• Alserkal Avenue, plus a dense cluster of galleries, studios and speciality coffee, including Cinema Akil, the GCC's first independent arthouse cinema.
• Times Square Center and Oasis Centre for retail.
• Al Quoz Pond Park and OliOli, a children's experiential play museum.
• Direct access to Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road, which is the whole commercial argument for the area.
• Equiti and Onpassive metro stations (Onpassive was previously known as Noor Islamic Bank) on the red line at the northern edge.
• Al Safa, Al Barsha and Business Bay as neighbours, all within a short drive.

What is Al Quoz known for?

Alongside the galleries, Al Quoz is a genuine business district: the area holds well over ten thousand registered businesses, most of them commercial or professional services, including the Dubai Refreshments (PepsiCo) bottling plant and a strip of car dealerships, among them Tesla, BMW, Nissan and Toyota, along Sheikh Zayed Road. Each January, the Quoz Arts Fest draws tens of thousands of visitors to Alserkal Avenue for exhibitions, performances and workshops, which is as close as the district gets to a single public event.

What should you check before committing?

• The exact sector and its permitted use. An industrial plot cannot be used as a showroom, and a residential villa cannot become a workshop. This is the single most common problem in Al Quoz.
• Ceiling height, power load and loading access if you are taking a warehouse. These decide whether the unit actually works for you.
• Trade licence alignment, since your licence activity has to match the unit's approved use.
• Traffic at shift change, which in the industrial sectors is heavy and predictable.
• Noise and dust if you are looking at a villa near an industrial boundary.

Is Al Quoz a good investment?

Commercial and industrial stock here has an advantage no new development can copy: it is central and there is a fixed amount of it. Demand from logistics, retail fit out and the creative sector has been consistent, and rents are set by that scarcity rather than by residential sentiment. It is a different investment case from an apartment, with longer leases and different due diligence. Our guide to freehold property in Dubai is worth reading first, since ownership rules vary sharply between Al Quoz's residential and industrial sectors.

What is the postal code of Al Quoz?

Dubai does not use postal codes, so none of Al Quoz 1 to 4 or Al Quoz Industrial 1 to 4 has one. Addresses are built from the sector number, the street and the nearest landmark, such as Alserkal Avenue or a named warehouse row, rather than a postcode. Where an online form insists on one, 00000 is the usual entry for a UAE address.

Al Quoz: frequently asked questions

Why is it called Al Quoz?

Quoz is the Arabic word for a barchan, a crescent shaped sand dune, which describes the desert landscape that covered the area before Dubai's growth reached it.

What is Alserkal Avenue?

Alserkal Avenue is a converted warehouse district in Al Quoz, launched in 2008, that is now Dubai's main contemporary art quarter, with galleries, an independent cinema, a theatre and a cluster of cafes and studios.

Is there a metro station near Al Quoz?

Yes. Equiti and Onpassive stations, on the red line, sit at the northern edge of the district, close to the Al Quoz 1 and Al Quoz 2 boundary.

Is Al Quoz freehold?

It varies by sector and plot. Some residential pockets allow foreign ownership while much of the industrial and older villa land does not, so this is one district where checking the specific title before committing really matters.

What is available now?

Tell us what you need using the form on this page and we will come back to you. Our guides to warehouses for rent in Dubai and buying commercial property cover the practical detail, and you can browse what we currently hold to rent and for sale.