Gov’t renting large chunk of new space in Kingston, BPO moving into Bolt’s building

Government entities will occupy a large chunk of the new office space that has come on the market in the capital city in the past few months, checks by the Financial Gleaner show.

The 10-storey commercial building situated across from King’s House on Hope Road, Kingston has been rented by a government entity to occupy the entire building, while a 25,000-square-foot office building at 15 West Kings House Road is to be shared by two government entities, according to the realtor who struck the deals.

Meanwhile, a BPO company is currently putting in its fixtures at the new building at 30 Hope Road, in which sprint legend Usain Bolt is an investor.

“With regard to (Bolt’s) building on Hope Road, which is 60,000 square feet in size, and designed for the BPO industry, a tenant has been secured to occupy the entire space, which they will be doing shortly,” said David Dixon, realtor/commercial specialist at Re/Max Elite Realty.

“The tenant, whose name we are unable to disclose at this time, is presently doing their buildout of fixtures and should move in by September,’’ he said.

With respect to the 10-storey building across from King’s House, Dixon said a government agency had been secured as tenant, and so it is now off the market.

The building at 15 West Kings House Road remained unoccupied for more than a year after its construction, but is now said to be close to landing two government tenants.

“We are in talks with two government agencies to occupy this space and we anticipate the signing of a contract anytime now. It has taken some time to rent, but this is normal for government entities because of the procedures that need to be adhered to when the government is involved,” Dixon said.

Further uptown on Constant Spring Road, a newly built, six-storey building remains on the market.

“Whilst there have been several interested parties, given the nature of their lengthy approval process, we have not received a commitment and, as such, the property is still available for lease,” Dixon said.

But down the road at the MacMasters Plaza, 95 per cent of the retail shop space already has tenants, but the final handover of the space to the occupants is pending. The complex includes a supermarket, a pharmacy, doctor’s offices and a food court.

Despite the amount of new space on the market, Dixon says there are still opportunities for growth in the commercial real estate segment, overall, especially in rentals and sales in retail, office and warehouse space, citing the four-storey building, which will offer retail/office space at 56 to 58 Lady Musgrave Road, being developed by Ripton Contracting Limited.

“... Lady Musgrave is one of the most sought-after locations and we are now taking reservations for this building,” Dixon said.

The demand for residential real estate has softened in recent times, but there has been robust activity in the commercial segment.

Judy Benjamin, managing broker of Benjamin’s Realty Services, says the demand for commercial space is manifested nationwide.

“Over the last few years, they have seen the growth of this new concept of boutique-style commercial spaces, like on Lady Musgrave Road, Gore Terrace, 13 West Kings House Road, with the units of 1,500 square feet or less,” said Benjamin.

“Rental can range from $85,000 to $300,000,depending on the facilities,” she said.

She noted that similar small commercial spaces were being established in towns like Linstead and Bog Walk in St Catherine, and Mandeville in Manchester, while a large commercial strip had been developed in Drax Hall, St Ann.

“The request for warehousing space cannot be filled. We’ve seen across Spanish Town Road warehousing being built like never before,” Benjamin added.

The realtor said commercial real estate was being driven by activities in the small business sector.

luke.douglas@gleanerjm.com