Fri | Mar 29, 2024

Shock as Terra Nova pulls luxury apartments off market

Published:Monday | October 31, 2022 | 12:09 AMNeville Graham/Business Reporter
The Hussey family has changed plans for the Residences at Terra Nova in Kingston.
The Hussey family has changed plans for the Residences at Terra Nova in Kingston.
Sandwiched by Terra Nova Hotel honchos Andrew Hussey and Ruth Hussey, Prime Minister Andrew Holness looks at a replica of its multibillion-dollar Residences luxury building on June 1, 2021.
Sandwiched by Terra Nova Hotel honchos Andrew Hussey and Ruth Hussey, Prime Minister Andrew Holness looks at a replica of its multibillion-dollar Residences luxury building on June 1, 2021.
1
2

The shock announcement that residential units have been yanked from the J$7-billion, multistorey luxury Residences at Terra Nova has left stakeholders puzzled, with the lead realtor on the project insisting that he had bankable offers on half of...

The shock announcement that residential units have been yanked from the J$7-billion, multistorey luxury Residences at Terra Nova has left stakeholders puzzled, with the lead realtor on the project insisting that he had bankable offers on half of the 61 units.

Coldwell Banker, with veteran realtor Wayne Stewart, who was acting as lead agents. Stewart said he had firm commitments from 29 purchasers with another five set to come on board this week.

“We were looking at about 34 offers out of the 61 units available. There were also 31 hotel suites for a total of 91. We could have sold off the other 27 or so residential units with ease,” the Coldwell Banker agent said in a Gleaner interview.

“Coldwell Banker did everything that we were asked to do. We gave our efforts and time. We marketed the product. We still think it’s an awesome product. Taken to its entirety, it could have been a model because there is nothing like the Residences, of Terra Nova in Kingston or in Jamaica for that matter,” he said.

Meanwhile, Andrew James, chairman of the Real Estate Board (REB), said that despite not yet being officially contacted, the industry regulator already has the matter on its radar and list of priorities.

“We’ve not yet been officially notified, but this arrangement that we’re hearing of was not what was granted. My best guess, subject to advice, is that anything that they’re doing, they’ll have to reapply,” was the quick comment from the REB chairman when contacted Sunday.

James was clear that the regulator would seek to protect the interests of depositors.

“One of the purposes of the Real Estate Board is to protect purchasers’ money. The fact that deposits were collected, we have to now ensure that due process is followed,” James said in a Gleaner interview.

The REB also has the power to intervene in failed real estate developments, taking over the assets so that the development can be completed or assets sold to recover deposits. James said that the REB has activated its systems.

“I’ll have to hear our technical and legal people, and based on the advice, we’ll take it from there,” James told The Gleaner.

The 14-storey development at 17 Waterloo Avenue, Kingston, sits on a portion of the present property that is the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel, which opened in 1959. The present owners, the Hussey family, decided to add the new building, which was introduced to the market in mid-2021.

So far, two lower floors, plus the subterranean level, have gone up.

Stewart lamented that there may have been a lack of understanding on the part of some financiers. He says while he cannot produce empirical evidence, the market for luxury residences is currently underserved, and there is a disconnect on the part of bankers.

“Every time I talk to the bankers, they seem to be comparing a Mercedes-Benz to a Corolla. There is just no comparison there,” Stewart said.

He is supported by one developer who did not wish to be named for the story.

The developer said that in his years of providing housing in the public and private sectors, he has noticed market distortions resulting in some units being priced below their true value, thus diminishing the saleability of premium products. The developer said that persons selling higher-end housing units are finding it difficult to attract buyers, resulting in slow take-up.

The Residences at Terra Nova offered 37 two-bedroom units at US$537,800 each; 13 one-bedroom units at US$402,600 each; three three-bedroom units at US$902,150 each; and eight penthouse suites valued at US$1.62 million-US$1.73 million each.

The developers, the Hussey family, say they have decided to reconfigure the project from being a mixed-use business development to a commercial building only.

“Effective immediately, there will be no residential units available for sale. Instead, the new building will only accommodate hotel suites and amenities as an extension of the existing hospitality facilities on the premises, “a statement from the developers said.

Contacted for comment and elaboration, director Christelle Hussey Harris said she had nothing further to say beyond the statement issued Sunday and directed further enquiries to CEO Andrew Hussey.

Calls all day to his given number went unanswered.