CTBUH dates the proposal for the tower to 2004 and the start of construction to 2005. Emaar Properties developed the building in what was then called Downtown Burj Dubai, with Atkins as architect and Arab Technical Construction, BESIX and Dutco Group as main contractors. The hotel opened to guests on 1 October 2008. Emaar Hospitality Group presented it as the first and flagship property of its The Address Hotels + Resorts brand, with 196 rooms and suites in a 63-storey building. At the time MEED described it as the second-tallest tower in Downtown Burj Dubai after Burj Dubai.
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On New Year's Eve 2015 a fire spread across much of the building. Emaar's chairman said guests and staff were evacuated safely, that guests and residents were relocated to other hotels in the city, and that the hotel would be restored. On 20 January 2016 Dubai Police presented the findings of their investigation: the fire had been caused by an electrical short circuit in the cabling of a spotlight on a ledge between the 14th and 15th floors of the 63-storey tower, and foul play was ruled out.
In November 2018 Gulf News reported that The Address Downtown had reopened to hotel guests nearly three years after the fire. According to Emaar, the hotel's owner, the refurbishment added new restaurants, additional rooms and suites, and a spa. The hotel's official page lists studio and one- to four-bedroom serviced residences in the same building, four pools including an adult infinity pool, and a direct connection to The Dubai Mall.