Developer to build town houses on former Byron Lee property
RANSFORD WHITE, a developer of commercial and residential real estate, is taking on a new project at Stony Hill, St Andrew, which will roll out 48 town houses on a property that formerly belonged to musician Byron Lee.
The property at Long Lane was purchased by Ransford’s company Mount Royal Developments Limited at an undisclosed price.
The developer awaits final approval from planning authorities, according to project manager Richard Williams, who said the town house complex is expected to cost around $500 million.
The units are to be sold for about for $15 million to $17 million each, he said.
Mount Royal’s developments to date have been centred in St Catherine.
Alongside its foray into St Andrew, the company is also awaiting approvals for another town house complex to be built in Portmore.
PAST PROJECTS
Its past projects include the Mount Royal Estate in Portmore, a residential enclave consisting of detached two and three-bedroom, single story homes; and commercial developments, including a new gas station, offices for telecommunications firm FLOW Jamaica, and a building formerly occupied by Famous nightclub and which is now home to Buzzers.
Mount Royal also built a 10,000 square-foot, triple floor unit that was slated for a theatre, but that plan was jettisoned after the developer failed to find a concession holder interested in showing films. The space was eventually rented by business process outsourcing company IBEX Jamaica, a subsidiary of IBEX International.
Mount Royal also developed the triple-phased Portmore Pines Plaza, where it is currently adding 4,500 square feet of new office space in a new two-story building.
Williams said the credit union of the Jamaica Constabulary Force is likely to occupy the entire space, which is being developed at a cost of $60 million.
Portmore Pines faces rivalry from the upmarket Sovereign Village complex, whose owner is also thinking of adding more commercial space within the area, but Williams said Mount Royal serves a different clientele, that the units are intended for start-ups, and are constantly in demand.