Strategic Housing Group BFM 80

STRATEGIC HOUSING GROUP

PIONEERS IN STUDENT HOUSING

STRATEGIC HOUSING GROUP

STRATEGIC HOUSING GROUP IS INTRODUCING STUDENT HOUSING TO NEW MARKETS, INNOVATING ALONG THE WAY.

PIONEERS IN STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT MANAGED BY: GLEN NEWTON

Strategic Housing Group is headquartered in Dubai and its main focus is to source, develop, and operate student housing properties in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

T

he advantage, and the challenge, that they have is that until recently many of these markets simply did not have designated student accommodation.

“We are one of the pioneers of student accommodation. We’re one of the only companies developing and operating purpose-built fully-integrated student accommodation in our region,” says Vikram Rao, CEO of Strategic Housing Group.

“We’re following standards without compromising on lifestyle, health, or safety. We’re heavily focused on providing a fun but safe environment, and we’re the leaders in this space.”

The Myriad is the branded operator and wholly-owned subsidiary of Strategic Housing Group.

“Our properties are not simply student accommodations but are formed to function as student living communities, providing an attuned lifestyle to its residents.

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They are all developed following our tailor-made brand and development guidelines, which contain safety, health and comfort standards,” Rao says.

“These include higher firerated standards for equipment, emergency and disease control protocols, as well as numerous facilities and services for residents, starting from recreation to sports amongst many others. Ever since the events team have been working together, we are constantly coming up with new initiatives and ideas allowing students to interact with us, foster and grow their talents and let loose from the rigours of university life.”

The challenge, of course, is that with no precedent to look to, Strategic Housing Group’s properties exist in something of a regulatory no man’s land.

“I think some of the biggest challenges are the lack of precedents for student accommodation in our regions.

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The Myriad Dubai Studio Room (single occupancy)

The Myriad Dubai Kitchen Lounge (shared cooking facility)

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ALCATEL-LUCENT ENTERPRISE - DELIVERING THE CUSTOMISED TECHNOLOGY EXPERIENCES ENTERPRISES NEED TO MAKE EVERYTHING CONNECT Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise offers digital-age networking, communications and cloud solutions tailored to ensure customers’ success, with flexible business models: in the cloud, on premises, and hybrid. These solutions have built-in security and are designed to limit their environmental impact.

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THE MYRIAD SELECTS ALCATEL-LUCENT ENTERPRISE FOR STATE-OF-THE-ART STUDENT ACCOMMODATION PROJECTS IN DUBAI AND MUSCAT The Myriad accommodations embody a world class student lifestyle and represents a fresh living experience that is based on in-depth research and analysis of today’s local and global students’ expectations. The young residents are likely to spend more time on the internet, be it for research, homework, social media, streaming videos or gaming. Hence it was imperative for The Myriad to select the advanced technology to match.

The Myriad Dubai and The Myriad Muscat have deployed a cloud-based converged wired-wireless LAN solution from Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, each comprising over 70 LAN switches and 1900 wireless access points. In addition, The Myriad Dubai has also implemented an Alcatel-Lucent

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Enterprise Unified Communications solution. LAN & WAN Technologies was the implementation partner for The Myriad Dubai, and Telephony Communication Technologies for The Myriad Muscat.

The Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise products that have bolstered The Myriad’s infrastructure include: - OmniSwitch® 6900 Stackable LAN Switches - OmniSwitch® 6560 Stackable LAN Switches - OmniVista® 2500 Network Management System - OmniAccess® Stellar AP1201, AP1201H and AP1251 WLAN Access Points - OmniPCX® Enterprise Communication Server - 8008 Deskphones Cloud Edition SIP A unified network (wired and wireless LAN) offers reliable and secure access whenever and wherever needed, in the students’ rooms or on the move with smart devices. Unique IoT containment technology allows secure, automatic connection of authorised devices, users and applications.

The controller-less Wi-Fi architecture enables better performance, high availability and scalability across The Myriad’s premises, while reducing complexity and lowering the total cost of ownership (TCO). In addition, the in-room access points provide four ethernet ports that reduce the amount of cabling required.

“At The Myriad, we recognise the importance of embracing new technologies to remain competitive. It was crucial to have a solid network foundation and ubiquitous Wi-Fi to offer the very best for our young residents. In addition to their proven technologies that met our needs, we appreciate Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise’s level of engagement throughout the project in all phases, working as a true partner”, explains Haseeb Malik, General Manager - Technologies, Strategic Housing Group.

“We aligned with The Myriad’s expectations and provided a simplified, efficient and secure communications and network infrastructure intended to enhance the experience for students and young professionals. The company can also build on the highly scalable infrastructure to meet future needs”, said Rui Silva, Distribution Manager, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise. www.al-enterprise.com

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RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS

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In some cases, it makes it difficult to get permits as there is no such category as student accommodation in the permitting authorities,” Rao explains. “If you go to the UK or US you can just look at the Student Housing regulations there. That’s not possible in our markets.”

In regulatory terms, what this means is Strategic Housing Group needs to work with the authorities to create this category of property.

“We overcome it by explaining how things are done in other places and working alongside authorities to say these are the standards used in the UK, US, Australia, in places where such facilities have been built for several decades,” Rao tells us.

“It’s time-consuming but we’re getting good at working with authorities.”

Vikram Rao, CEO of Strategic Housing Group

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Homes r Us is a venture of the Lals Group, a conglomerate that has, for over three decades, been part of the everyday life of shoppers in the GCC. Today, the Lals Group has evolved into a dynamic and versatile entity that touches the lives of people in multiple ways. The Group has a dominant presence across the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and KSA. With this rich legacy and diverse knowledge, Homes r Us offers its corporate customers a market oriented, forward thinking strategic approach by combining quality products with in-house customisation to create a solution that not only meets but exceeds their unique business needs.

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The Myriad Dubai The Myriacade (gaming arcade)

WHERE QUALITY MEETS VALUE

The other challenge is a more traditional hurdle for providers of student accommodation to overcome, how to remain affordable without compromising on quality or health & safety.

“Student housing is a difficult industry because, as you can imagine, the bottom line is a delicate balance,” Rao admits.

“On the one hand, we are bound with our commitment to the students’ quality of life and on the other hand to their budget.”

Strategic Housing has addressed these challenges by streamlining costs and stringently increasing operational efficiencies to optimise the amount of staff necessary to run a facility of the scale of The Myriad Dubai. They have also used advanced technology and materials to achieve Strategic Housing’s sustainability targets, including multiple types of occupancy sensors, the combination of energy-efficient glazing and AAC blocks, solar panels, and water-conserving

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“OUR PROPERTIES ARE NOT SIMPLY A STUDENT ACCOMMODATION, BUT ARE FORMED TO FUNCTION AS STUDENT LIVING COMMUNITIES, PROVIDING AN ATTUNED LIFESTYLE TO ITS RESIDENTS.” showerheads, among others.

“Another benefit to our specific operation is that the student housing industry is an emerging market in the UAE, giving us the opportunity to leverage economies of scale, given the 2,250 beds capacity,” Rao points out. “Since we have developed a first of a kind student living community in the close vicinity of all the major universities in Dubai, we are able to take advantage of the large number of students that search for relevant housing along with offering them events and facilities that smaller operators would not be able to match. As a summary, when we evaluate the rates offered, we highlight all these additional benefits with a very affordable end price.”

But Strategic Housing is more than bricks and mortar- it is people who keep the business running, and when it comes to Strategic Housing’s staff, Rao’s standards are as high as in every other aspect of the business.

“One of the first things we decided on when developing our DNA and Corporate Identity is what it means to be a The Myriad team member,” he says. “We understand that the backbone of any healthy organisation is staff loyalty and motivation. As such we make sure to treat all our staff with respect and kindness. We expect a lot from every member of the team and foster a strong collaborative bond between all our employees.”

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The Myriad Dubai MyBistro (canteen)

Team members are carefully selected from a diverse pool of international applicants with various backgrounds from all relevant fields, including hospitality, student accommodation providers from the main educational hubs such as the UK and entertainment and economics sector.

“In doing this we have a culturally diverse workforce of thoroughly vetted candidates that pass several interviews and tests,” Rao says.

BIGGER AND BETTER

Of course, a challenge that has hit students and property companies around the world is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been a game-changer for Strategic Housing on a number of levels.

“COVID-19 resulted in a slew of challenges from construction deadlines being pushed back, difficulties in sourcing equipment, ensuring the safety and well-being of our staff, and preparing our first property in Dubai

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for residents to arrive,” Rao says. “Fortunately, our project managers carefully planned the project development schedules to ensure that any setbacks will not affect the opening dates of the property since the project was announced in 2018. Thankfully we were able to meet all of our deadlines and have successfully opened our doors in September 2020.”

As the first complex student living community in the UAE, providing the highest quality, Rao takes Strategic Housing’s responsibilities here very seriously.

“In response to the pandemic we have reviewed our operations across our entire business, setting leading standards in the ways we operate,” he tells us.

Despite these challenges, Rao’s view of the future is on that is

always getting bigger, and better.

“Our student housing development in Muscat is approximately 25% larger than the Dubai property and is currently in its completion stage of construction with 2,700 beds,” he says. “The student residence blocks sit on top of a two-story retail and services centre with landscaped podiums and an outdoor cinema.”

Strategic Housing is also launching multiple projects in Saudi Arabia including the design of a large student community in Riyadh. And beyond that?

Rao tells us, “We have plans to expand throughout Asia and Africa, as there is a large gap in the market, and we benefit from being pioneers in the student housing field in collaboration with our joint venture partner, Asset Living, US’s largest student housing operator.”

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CORPORATE OFFICE, 409 LIBERTY HOUSE DIFC, DUBAI, UAE - PO BOX 507227 EMAIL: INFO@THEMYRIAD.COM TEL: +971 4 388 0303

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