GEM Residences

GEM Residences by Eagle Hills on Maryam Island, Sharjah

Quick Information

GEM Residences is a small, beach-side building by Eagle Hills on Maryam Island, the waterfront development in Sharjah's Al Khan district. With roughly 98 homes across nine storeys, it is a genuinely limited release rather than a mass-market tower, and the mix is unusual: one to four-bedroom apartments, duplex penthouses and three and four-bedroom townhouses all sit within the same building footprint.

The appeal here is straightforward. Maryam Island is one of the few places in the northern emirates where a buyer can get a freehold home a short walk from a beach and a promenade, with Dubai reachable in about 15 to 20 minutes on a good run. One-bedroom apartments start from around AED 879,000, which buys considerably more space here than the same money would in most comparable waterfront addresses across the border in Dubai.

Project Overview

The building is deliberately low-rise. At nine storeys with fewer than a hundred homes, the ratio of residents to amenities is far better than in the high-density towers that dominate much of the UAE's mid-market. It also means the ground-floor and podium amenities serve a smaller community, which typically translates into quieter pools, shorter waits for facilities and lower wear on shared areas.

Location and Connectivity

Maryam Island sits along Al Khan Lagoon in Sharjah, close to Corniche Road and within a short drive of the emirate's main commercial and cultural districts. The location's real strength is its position between two cities: it is inside Sharjah, with Sharjah's pricing and space, but physically close to the Dubai border, which puts Deira, Dubai International Airport and Downtown Dubai within a normal commute.

Drive times are approximate and will stretch during peak hours on the Sharjah to Dubai routes, which are among the busiest corridors in the country. Anyone planning a daily commute into Dubai should test the drive at rush hour before committing. Outside peak times, the proximity to DXB in particular is a genuine advantage that few Sharjah addresses can match.

Daily life around Maryam Island

The island itself is planned as a mixed-use waterfront destination, so residents get retail, dining and leisure within the development rather than having to drive out for everything. Around it, Al Khan and the wider Sharjah Corniche area offer established schools, clinics, supermarkets and the cultural attractions the emirate is known for, including museums and the Al Majaz waterfront district. For families, that combination of beach access, community facilities and established city infrastructure is one of the strongest arguments for buying here rather than in a newer, half-built community elsewhere.

Property Types, Layouts and Sizes

GEM Residences covers an unusually wide range of home types for a building of this size. That mix is deliberate: it lets Eagle Hills sell to young professionals, families and downsizers within the same address.

The townhouses are the standout format. A three or four-bedroom townhouse with direct access to a beachfront community, inside a low-rise building rather than a separate villa compound, is a rare product in the northern emirates. The duplex penthouses occupy the top of the building and offer the largest interior volumes in the project.

On value, the numbers are worth comparing directly. At around AED 879,000 for roughly 781 sq ft, the entry-level one-bedroom works out to about AED 1,125 per sq ft. Waterfront apartments in comparable Dubai locations typically sit well above that level, which is the core of the Sharjah value argument.

Payment Plan and Purchase Details

Eagle Hills has used a 30/70 structure at GEM Residences, with most of the price falling at completion.

This structure suits two kinds of buyer. The first is someone with capital who prefers to hold cash until the property physically exists, since only 30% is committed before handover. The second is a buyer planning to mortgage the home at completion, as the 70% balance is close to typical mortgage loan-to-value levels, though banks assess each case on income and eligibility.

The trade-off is that a large sum must be ready in Q4 2027. Anyone relying on financing should get pre-approval well in advance and confirm which banks lend on Sharjah off-plan property, as lending policies differ between emirates. Buyers should also budget for registration and transfer fees, which are charged separately from the payment plan and differ from Dubai's structure. Sharjah permits freehold ownership for all nationalities in designated developments, and Maryam Island is one of them.

Amenities and Lifestyle

For a building with fewer than a hundred homes, the amenity provision is generous, and it spans the building itself, the landscaped park and the wider Maryam Island community.

Pools, fitness and wellness

• Infinity pool, plus separate adult and children's pools

• Fitness centre with basketball court

• Spa, sauna and yoga spaces

• Tennis court

• Rooftop terrace

Outdoor and family

• Around 4,151 sq m of landscaped park with jogging and walking trails

• Children's playground and play areas

• Green recreational zones and landscaped gardens

• Outdoor cinema

• Direct beach access

Services and convenience

• 24/7 concierge and security

• Retail outlets, community cafes and restaurants

• EV charging stations

• Two levels of parking

The private park is the amenity that most affects daily life here. A landscaped green space of that size, shared by fewer than a hundred households and sitting beside the beach, is a materially different proposition from a rooftop deck in a 500-unit tower.

Design

The building blends traditional architectural elements with contemporary design, using a distinctive colour palette, natural wooden finishes and organic materials. It is a warmer, less glass-heavy approach than the standard UAE mid-rise, and it suits a beachfront setting where residents spend time outdoors on balconies and terraces.

The nine-storey height is also a design decision rather than a limitation. Lower buildings on a waterfront preserve sightlines across the lagoon and keep the scale of the promenade human, which is consistent with how Eagle Hills has planned the rest of Maryam Island.

Investment Perspective

Sharjah's property market has opened up significantly since freehold ownership was extended to all nationalities in designated areas, and waterfront stock in Al Khan is among the most in-demand supply in the emirate.

• Scarcity: With around 98 homes, GEM Residences has limited supply, which supports resale positioning within the community over time.

• Price gap with Dubai: At roughly AED 1,125 per sq ft at entry level, pricing sits well below comparable Dubai waterfront addresses while offering similar beach access and a shorter drive to DXB than many Dubai communities.

• Tenant profile: Al Khan draws families and professionals who work in Sharjah or commute to Dubai, which supports steady long-term rental demand rather than seasonal occupancy.

• Product differentiation: Townhouses and duplex penthouses inside a beachfront building are rare in the northern emirates, which helps at resale.

• Handover exposure: A 70% payment at completion is a large commitment in one instalment and needs planning.

• Golden Visa: The UAE's 10-year property investor Golden Visa requires property worth at least AED 2 million. Three and four-bedroom apartments, penthouses and townhouses reach that level; one and two-bedroom apartments do not on their own.

Note that some listings show the project as sold out from the developer, so availability should be confirmed directly. This is general market context, not financial advice.

About Eagle Hills

Eagle Hills is an Abu Dhabi-based private real estate investment and development company, and one of the most active international developers operating in the UAE and beyond. Its model focuses on large-scale, mixed-use waterfront and city-centre destinations rather than standalone buildings, typically combining residential, retail, hospitality and public realm in a single masterplan.

In Sharjah, Eagle Hills is the developer behind Maryam Island, which is the company's flagship waterfront destination in the emirate and its most visible contribution to Sharjah's residential market. The island has been delivered in phases, with earlier sub-communities including Cyan, Azure, Sapphire and Indigo, giving the area a growing base of completed homes and a working promenade rather than a masterplan that exists only on paper.

That phased track record matters when assessing GEM Residences. Buyers can walk the promenade, see completed buildings, look at how the retail and beach areas function in practice, and judge finish quality from delivered stock before committing to an off-plan purchase. Few developers in the northern emirates can offer that level of physical evidence, and for a project with a 70% handover payment it is a useful risk check.

Eagle Hills also develops internationally, with projects across Europe, Africa and Asia, which gives it a scale of operation and balance sheet larger than most developers active in Sharjah. For buyers, that reduces the delivery risk that can accompany smaller regional developers, although, as with any off-plan purchase, confirming escrow arrangements and the registered completion date in the sales agreement remains essential.

About Maryam Island

Maryam Island is a waterfront development in the Al Khan district of Sharjah, built by Eagle Hills along Al Khan Lagoon and facing the Arabian Gulf. It is designed as a mixed-use destination rather than a purely residential enclave, combining apartments and townhouses with retail, dining, hospitality and public waterfront space.

The island's residential component has been built out in phases, with sub-communities including Cyan, Azure, Sapphire and Indigo delivering several hundred homes before newer releases such as GEM Residences. Alongside the homes, the masterplan includes a promenade, a beach, retail outlets, restaurants and a souk-style shopping area, with hospitality components adding visitor traffic and a steadier year-round rhythm to the area.

What makes Maryam Island distinctive within Sharjah is the combination of beach access and city proximity. The emirate's older waterfront areas, including Al Majaz and the Corniche, are nearby and well established, while the Dubai border is close enough that residents can reach DXB in about 15 minutes outside peak traffic. The Expo Centre Sharjah, one of the emirate's main business venues, is roughly 10 minutes away.

For buyers, the practical picture is this: Maryam Island offers freehold waterfront ownership at prices that Dubai's coastal communities no longer match, inside a development that is already partly built and occupied rather than entirely off-plan. For tenants, it offers beachfront living within reach of both Sharjah's business districts and Dubai's employment centres. That dual appeal is what has made the island one of the most closely watched addresses in the northern emirates.