BOJ spending $420m on twin tower design
Published:Wednesday | November 27, 2024 | 12:08 AM
The Bank of Jamaica, BOJ, has earmarked $420 million for the design of a new office tower at its Nethersole Place base in Kingston.
The identity of the consultant selected for the job is yet to be disclosed.
“The consultant that we have secured, that cost is at $420 million,” said BOJ Deputy Governor George Roper during the central bank’s quarterly briefing on Monday.
The sum covers professional services for architectural, civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical design.
BOJ will be constructing a new ‘10-storey office building and parking facility’ at Nethersole Place to accommodate its expanding staff and operations. The current tower spans 14 storeys and was opened in 1976. The BOJ started operating in 1961 in a smaller building.
The central bank explained that for several years it has been “grappling” with the need for space to accommodate the expansion of its staff, currently numbering 700.
The central bank’s regulatory functions are expanding and will soon encompass the entire financial system, which will add insurance companies, securities dealers and pension funds to the banks that it already supervises.
“Right now, we are not housing one-third of our staff, so we do need housing for offices and parking,” said BOJ Governor Richard Byles at the briefing.
In October, the BOJ acquired a 11,000-square foot property on Hillcrest Avenue in Kingston for US$8 million from Sygnus Real Estate Finance Limited. The bank, which is based on the Kingston waterfront, plans to use the Hillcrest location as back-up, in case its head office becomes inaccessible or goes offline.
“The risk of earthquake and storm surge has come home to us in an acute manner. Where we are now is not adequate in many respects, and so we have started to hunt for a solution,” said Byles. “We currently cannot house everybody at this time, [even] without adding the additional mandates,” Byles said.
The development of a structure at Hillcrest remains under consideration.
“Nethersole is further down the wicket and we are not there with Hillcrest as yet,” said Roper.