Gov’t advancing plans for legislation to establish business improvement districts

The Government is advancing plans to develop legislation that will facilitate the establishment of business improvement districts.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness made the disclosure during the official opening of the US$4.3 million Rousseau Road Commercial Complex at 11 Rousseau Road in St Andrew on Tuesday.

The development was undertaken by Kingston Properties Limited.

“We’re almost there, [in terms of coming] with legislation to declare business development districts, including tourism development districts. What that will do [is] reduce the burden on each developer. So now all owners and operators in the district will have the same outlook for their property, [and] the security cost is immediately shared because everybody is investing in security.

“Your neighbour is not [going to be] doing something that is inimical to your business… so that cost of operating goes down. But from a logistics point of view, you then begin to develop a very important feature of logistics-driven operations… and that is called clustering,” he said.

Holness noted that the concept of business clusters, used in countries such as Singapore, shortens supply chains, provides greater reliability, and increases efficiency.

“Right now, we are not in a cluster; right now, this [new complex] is by itself. There might be one or two others on the road… but the objective is to get this into a warehouse cluster, then we look to develop an assembly cluster. That’s the idea, ultimately, behind the business improvement district,” he said.

The Prime Minister acknowledged that relocation and redevelopment are among the most challenging activities to undertake, noting that legislation is also being examined to address these issues.

“We are looking at legislation to see how we can preserve the rights and interests of people who own land but, at the same time, facilitate the expeditious change of use, so that these properties here, some of those that are not realising their full value, can be quickly utilised.

“Because I’m sure that when you decided to use the land… you would have encountered change of use and all of those things you would have to do, which can sometimes take longer than the construction itself,” he said.

Additionally, addressing calls for dedicated legislation for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Holness noted that improvements within the current regulatory environment can be implemented quickly to support large-scale real estate development.

In response to proposals from executives of Kingston Properties Limited, Holness stated that he was not opposed to examining the fiscal regime for profit distribution in REITs, provided they are concentrated in areas of strategic national interest, such as expanding and creating the logistics footprint to support the port.

Meanwhile, Holness lauded the developers for investing in the country, adding that it forms part of Jamaica’s ambition to become a major centre for logistics and trade.

“The significance of this complex becomes clearer when we consider the economy we are trying to build,” he added.

Chief Executive Officer, Kingston Properties Limited, Kevin Richards, remarked that the development was shaped by evidence and successfully closes the gap for commercial space.

“Across our Jamaican portfolio, our leasing data pointed to consistent and unmet demand for small and medium enterprises. Distributors, importers, wholesalers like manufacturers and courier operations, their needs were remarkably familiar. They were looking for affordable well-located spaces to receive containers, old inventory and manage their operations under one roof.

“The market offers two imperfect options – large warehouses that exceed both their needs and their budgets, and retail space, on the other hand, that was never designed for inventory. We designed this development to close that gap,” he said.

Richards added that the location, situated minutes from Cross Roads and within easy reach of the Spanish Town Road Industrial Corridor, places tenants close to their customers, suppliers, and workforce.

Leader of the Opposition, Mark Golding, also lauded the investors, noting that there is tremendous potential for further development.

“I’m hoping that as people become accustomed to operating here and elsewhere on Rousseau Road, Maxfield Avenue, Spanish Town Road and so on, that we will see people starting to look at opportunities to invest in communities behind,” he said.

The Rousseau Road Commercial Complex comprises 14 modern mixed-use units built for warehousing, storage, distribution, and office operations.

Each unit features a ground-level warehouse and storage space with a steel-floated concrete finish, a dedicated delivery bay, on-site parking, and a mezzanine level suitable for office space or extra storage.

Most of the units have dedicated offloading ramps that accommodate 40-foot containers, storage heights of up to 25 feet, backup power, and on-site security.

Ground was broken for the property in January 2025 and was delayed by Hurricane Melissa, with further impacts stemming from material availability and labour supply constraints.

- JIS News

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