Shmeisani is Amman’s central business district, home to bank head offices, government departments, hotels and office buildings, a few minutes from the Abdali commercial district. Companies choose it for a central address and short trips between meetings. This guide covers what the district is known for, where it is, who works there and what to look for in an office, using the MSDR Building as a worked example.
What is Shmeisani known for?
Shmeisani is known as the district where Amman does business. Several of Jordan’s banks keep their head offices there, government departments have their offices in its streets, and its hotels host the meetings and visitors that come with them. For a company, the district puts banks, clients, advisers and officials within a short walk or drive of the office.
Their addresses show it. Arab Bank lists its head office on Shaker Bin Zeid Street in Shmeisani, and Bank of Jordan lists its own on Sharif Abdul Hamid Sharaf Street. Citibank’s Jordan office is on Zaid Bin Shaker Street in Shmeisani, and the Ministry of Water and Irrigation gives its address as Jaber Bin Hayyan Street, Shmeisani.
Where is Shmeisani in Amman?
Shmeisani lies in central Amman, a few minutes by car from the Abdali commercial district. The MSDR Building stands at 1 Rafik Al-Adhm Street, at 31.9699° N, 35.8961° E, within walking distance of the district’s banks, hotels and government offices. The location page has the map and photographs of the street.
From the third floor of the building, the view opens over the rooftops of the district, which gives a sense of how close its offices sit to one another. Because of that, a meeting at a bank, a call at a ministry and lunch with a client can all fit into one working day without a long drive between them.
Who works in Shmeisani?
Shmeisani suits firms whose work brings them into regular contact with banks, government and corporate clients. Law firms, consultancies, engineering and construction firms, financial services companies and the regional offices of international organisations all gain from an address where their counterparts are close by.
Smaller teams benefit as well. A firm of six or ten people in Shmeisani shares an address with the banks and institutions around it, which matters to clients and partners who form a view of a company from where it is based. A central address also widens the pool of people who can reach the office easily, which helps when hiring.
How do you get to Shmeisani and where do you park?
Shmeisani is reached by car or taxi from across Amman, and the Abdali commercial district is a few minutes away. Inside the district, short distances make walking between nearby meetings practical. Parking is the daily question for staff and visitors in any central district, so an office with its own underground parking saves time every morning.
At the MSDR Building, two underground floors, Basement 1 and Basement 2, are reached by a ramp from the street, and both elevators run down to each level. Each full floor comes with four allocated spaces and each ground-floor unit with two. Cars may stay in the garage until 7:00 PM and park outside it after that. The details are on the parking and services page.
What should you look for in an office in Shmeisani?
Look at five things before you sign: the size and shape of the floor, the parking that comes with your unit, access hours and security, who pays for which utilities, and how much fit-out the space needs before you move in. Together they decide how the office works day to day and what it takes to set up.
- Floor size and shape. A typical floor in the MSDR Building measures about 24.4 m by 12.5 m outside, with 3.2 m from floor to floor, arranged around a central core with two elevators, a main stair and a fire-exit stair.
- Parking. Ask how many spaces belong to your unit, where they are, and where visitors park.
- Access and security. The MSDR Building is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with a permanent security guard covered by the service charge.
- Utilities. Here water is paid by the landlord, and each tenant pays for its own electricity.
- Fit-out. Partitions, connections to the air-conditioning and heating ducts, light fittings and wiring are at the tenant’s cost, with up to one month allowed for fit-out. The lease terms set out the rest.
What office space is available in Shmeisani now?
The MSDR Building has four units available, 683 m² in all: two ground-floor units of 76 m² and 119 m², the full first floor of 239 m² and the full third floor of 249 m². A full floor holds about 20 people, and each unit comes with its own underground parking spaces. Rent is given on request.
The first floor is finished, with wood-look floors, a curved feature ceiling and glass-walled offices along one side. The third floor is open space with a single existing wall, ready for a tenant to lay out from scratch. On the ground floor, unit one is a finished office with a reception area and private offices, and unit two is an empty, finished unit with several rooms and its own kitchenette.
What is the MSDR Building like?
The MSDR Building has a stone façade and a full-height glass curtain wall, with a ground floor and four office floors above two underground parking floors. A stepped entrance leads from Rafik Al-Adhm Street into a stone-clad lobby with the building’s two elevators, and every floor has ladies’ and gents’ toilets and a kitchenette.
The second and fourth floors are already occupied, so the available space sits on the ground, first and third floors. The floor-by-floor page shows which floors are free and how they stack above the garage.
Is Shmeisani a good place for an office?
For a company that meets banks, government departments and corporate clients, Shmeisani is one of the most practical addresses in Amman. Its institutions are close together, Abdali is a few minutes away, and a building with its own parking and round-the-clock access takes care of the daily logistics.
Tours of the MSDR Building run Sunday to Thursday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Arrange a tour, or with photographs of every floor, the parking and the terms.