When most people think of an office park, they picture rows of office buildings that empty out as soon as the working day ends. Boulevard Business Park has been designed around a different idea.
Recently completed in Boulevard City, the development has opened as what is being described as Saudi Arabia’s first business resort. Instead of focusing only on office space, it brings together workplaces, retail, co-working spaces and restaurants within the same destination, creating somewhere people can spend more than just the working day.
The project represents an investment of more than SAR 1 billion and forms part of the wider redevelopment of Boulevard City, an area that continues to evolve beyond entertainment into a destination with a much broader role in Riyadh.
More Than Office Space
The completed development includes nine office buildings with more than 60,000 square metres of leasable office space, alongside corporate headquarters, co-working facilities, retail outlets and more than 1,300 parking spaces.
On paper, those are simply the project’s headline numbers. What makes the development more interesting is how those spaces work together.
Someone could begin the morning in the office, meet a client for lunch, spend part of the afternoon working from a shared space and finish the day with dinner, all without leaving the district. Rather than separating work from everything else, the development has been planned around the idea that people increasingly want those parts of the day to sit alongside one another.
That is ultimately what sits behind the term “business resort”. It is less about luxury than creating a workplace that feels connected to the rest of everyday life.
Designed for a Different Working Day
The way people work has changed, and office developments are beginning to change with it. While many businesses still operate from permanent headquarters, others rely on flexible offices, co-working spaces or hybrid working arrangements. Entrepreneurs, consultants and growing companies often need professional meeting spaces without committing to a large office from the beginning.
Boulevard Business Park has been designed to accommodate both. Alongside larger corporate offices, the co-working spaces create opportunities for smaller businesses and independent professionals who need flexibility as much as they need a professional environment.
The surrounding restaurants, retail and shared spaces also acknowledge something that has become increasingly important. An office is no longer judged only by the building itself but by everything around it that makes the working day easier.
Part of Boulevard City’s Next Chapter
Boulevard Business Park was first announced in 2024 as the opening phase of the wider Boulevard District redevelopment master plan. The project has been delivered through a partnership between HAYY Real Estate Development Company and REQ Real Estate Fund – French Capital, while Sela will oversee the site’s management as businesses begin moving in.
Its location is equally significant. Boulevard City has already become one of Riyadh’s best-known entertainment destinations, attracting visitors for restaurants, attractions and seasonal events. Introducing office space adds another layer to the district, creating activity throughout the day rather than primarily in the evenings.
What It Could Mean for Riyadh
Perhaps the most interesting part of Boulevard Business Park is not the architecture or the investment behind it but what it says about the direction of new developments across Riyadh.
Increasingly, the city is moving away from separating work, leisure and daily life into different parts of the map. Residential communities include cafés and shops, entertainment destinations now feature hotels and offices, and workplaces are becoming places where people can comfortably spend much more than the hours between nine and five.
Whether Boulevard Business Park becomes a model for future developments will take time to see. That will depend less on the buildings themselves than on how people choose to use them once businesses begin moving in.
What is already clear is that Riyadh is thinking differently about the modern workplace. Instead of designing offices as places people simply arrive and leave, projects like Boulevard Business Park are beginning to treat them as destinations that fit more naturally into the rest of everyday life.
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