Abu Dhabi firm partners with Chicago RE developer

Mubadala Development Company has formed a joint venture with the John Buck Company, planning to take a stake in the company as well.

Mubadala Development Company, an Abu Dhabi government investment firm, has formed a joint venture with Chicago-based US real estate development firm John Buck Company. The new company will specialize in integrated real estate development, leasing and management services.

The new company, John Buck International, will seek to use the developer’s experience with developing property in the US and apply that strategy to developing new properties in the United Arab Emirates. The new company will provide specially designed developments that are tailored to the specific needs of tenants.

In addition, Carlos Obeid, chief financial officer of Mubadala, told a news conference in Abu Dhabi on Sunday that the company plans to buy a stake in the John Buck company. The company is headed by John A. Buck, its chairman and founder.

According to Mubadala, the new company will seek to develop properties in Abu Dhabi that are in line with the ‘Plan Abu Dhabi 2030,’ an urban plan laid out by the emirate’s government. Mubadala is currently developing campuses for UAE University in Al Ain, and for Zayed, Paris-Sorbonne, and New York Universities in Abu Dhabi. The joint venture will reportedly first develop Suwa island in Abu Dhabi, a project intended to serve as a commercial center for the  city which is being developed as part of the 2030 plan. The island is set to include a stock exchange, hospital, hotels and commercial and residential buildings.

Mubadala also has a 17 percent stake in ALDAR Properties, Abu Dhabi's largest real estate development company, as well as stakes in New York-based Related Companies and has entered into a partnership with Singapore government-owned CapitaLand.

John Buck has developed more than 28 million square feet of commercial space across the United States.