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Most residential masterplans use the word 'community' as a selling point. Fay Hills uses it as an organising principle. There is a difference, and it shows up in how the development is actually structured.
Fay Hills is a 380-acre masterplan developed by Taraf Holding in partnership with Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. It will eventually comprise four interconnected residential villages, each with its own identity, its own lifestyle logic, and its own physical character, linked to each other by shaded green corridors, landscaped parks, and shared infrastructure. Two villages are now launched: Fay Gardens and Fay Valley. Two more are in the pipeline.
Understanding why Taraf structured Fay Hills this way, rather than as a single large development, tells you something important about both the development philosophy and the opportunity it represents.
The Problem with One-Size Communities
The standard approach to large-scale residential development in the UAE is to build a single product type at scale. A villa community of 500 units. A tower of 400 apartments. The marketing positions the community as cohesive; the reality is that everyone gets the same thing in slightly different sizes.
Fay Hills takes a different view. A 380-acre site in Masdar City is large enough to accommodate genuinely different kinds of living, different densities, different unit types, different amenity sets, different relationships between the home and the outdoors. Dividing that site into four distinct villages allows each to be designed around a specific lifestyle rather than averaged toward a general one.
Village One: Fay Gardens
33 acres · 130 villas · 4–6 bedrooms · Three signature parks
Fay Gardens is Phase 1 of the masterplan and the village that establishes its character. The design premise is simple: nature and architecture working together rather than against each other. Villas are positioned to face the parks, not the roads. Shaded walkways connect homes to communal spaces. Private gardens extend the interior outward.
The three parks at the heart of Fay Gardens, Terra, Aria, and Azura, are not interchangeable green spaces. Each has a distinct purpose. Terra is the social park: designed for gathering, events, and active use. Aria is the active park: movement-oriented, with sport and wellness facilities. Azura is the serene park: quieter, more contemplative, oriented toward calm rather than activity.
This differentiation is architecturally deliberate. A family with young children and a retired couple both live in Fay Gardens, but they use different parks, have different relationships with the communal spaces, and experience the community differently. The three parks make this possible.
Fay Gardens holds Estidama Pearl 3 certification, one of Abu Dhabi's most rigorous green building standards. The community is also LEED-aligned. For more on what these certifications mean in practice, our piece on Taraf's green credentials at Masdar City explains the full picture.
Village Two: Fay Valley
~80 acres · 381 homes · 2–6 bedrooms · Palm grove-inspired
Fay Valley is Phase 2, and it covers more than twice the area of Fay Gardens while offering a wider range of home types, from 2-bedroom townhouses with a guest room through to 6-bedroom villas. The design identity shifts here from park-centred to landscape-immersive.
The organising metaphor for Fay Valley is the palm grove, a reference to the traditional Arabic landscape of filtered shade, rhythmic planting, and the particular quality of light that comes through a canopy. The community is structured around jogging trails, yoga lawns, botanical gardens, hammock lounges, and shaded gathering areas. The intention is a neighbourhood that feels restorative rather than stimulating.
The townhouse typology that enters the masterplan here is also significant. Fay Valley offers 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom townhouses alongside the larger villas, opening the community to a wider range of buyers: younger families, couples, investors seeking a more accessible entry point into the Fay Hills masterplan.
Villages Three and Four:
Taraf has confirmed that Fay Hills will comprise four villages in total. The two remaining phases have not yet been named or formally launched, each village designed around a specific lifestyle premise rather than as a repeat of what came before.
This phased approach serves buyers in two ways. First, early-phase buyers in Fay Gardens and Fay Valley enter a masterplan that will only grow in infrastructure, amenity, and community value as subsequent phases are built out and populated. Second, buyers who want to wait for later phases, with potentially different product types or price points, have the option to do so.
What Makes the Four-Village Structure Work
The village model is only as good as what connects the villages. In many masterplans, the 'connectivity' promised in the brochure amounts to a road. In Fay Hills, the connective tissue is the green corridor network, shaded pedestrian links, pocket parks, and landscaped pathways that make moving between villages on foot a genuine experience rather than a functional necessity.
This matters in the Masdar City context specifically. Masdar City was built around the principle of pedestrian-first urban design, a model that replaces car dependency with walkable, shaded streets and clean air. Fay Hills inherits and extends this framework. Moving from Fay Gardens to Fay Valley, or to the facilities of the wider Masdar City, is designed to be a pleasant walk rather than a drive.
The wider Masdar City context also adds shared infrastructure that most standalone communities have to build from scratch: schools, a university campus, retail, a metro link, and proximity to Abu Dhabi International Airport. For a fuller picture of what Masdar City offers as a location, our guide to Masdar City covers the neighbourhood in depth.
The Investment Logic of a Phased Masterplan
Buying into a phased masterplan at Phase 1 or Phase 2 carries a specific investment proposition that is worth understanding clearly.
Land value appreciation. As later phases are built and the masterplan fills out, the overall land value of the development tends to rise. Early buyers benefit from this appreciation without having paid for the completed masterplan.
Community maturity. A filled, active community is worth more than an empty one. As Fay Gardens and Fay Valley move through handover and occupation, the social infrastructure, the residents, the routines, the local character — develops in ways that support resale values.
Rental demand. Masdar City's existing population of 15,000 residents and professionals creates genuine rental demand for quality homes in the area. Fay Hills, as the most significant residential addition to Masdar City in recent years, is positioned to capture this demand across both short and long-term rental markets.
For a broader view of how off-plan investment in Abu Dhabi works, our strategic guide to off-plan property in Abu Dhabi covers the mechanics in detail. And if you're thinking about why sustainable community credentials matter for long-term value, our piece on the future of sustainable communities in UAE real estate is the place to start.
Which Village Is Right for You?
The four-village structure of Fay Hills means that 'buying into Fay Hills' is not a single decision, it's a choice between different lifestyle propositions at different price points and different stages of delivery.
Fay Gardens suits buyers who want a larger villa (4–6 bedrooms), value the park-centred design, and want to be in the first and most established phase of the masterplan. Entry from AED 4,500,000.
Fay Valley suits buyers who want more flexibility in home size, from townhouses to large, and respond to the more landscape-immersive, restorative character of the palm grove design. Entry from AED 3,140,000.
Later phases may open additional options as they are announced, different typologies, different price points, and potentially different lifestyle identities again.
To explore floor plans, payment structures, and availability across both launched villages, visit the Fay Hills masterplan page or speak to our team directly.
