THE former Oceana Hotel building, which currently houses the Ministry of Health in downtown Kingston, is up for sale and could be reconverted into a hotel if the Government has its way.

The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) stated last week that it would prefer if prospective buyers of the property intend to convert it into a hotel, as it was up until its closure sometime around 1994.

“Special consideration will be given to investors with the objective of rehabilitating the building to its original use as a hotel,” the UDC’s corporate relations department said in response to queries from the Sunday Observer.

However, interested parties are not limited to using the property as a hotel, but they will have to submit a complete proposal, inclusive of detailed plans for their proposed development, the UDC said.

“The sale of the Oceana Hotel complex is directly related to UDC’s programme for the redevelopment of downtown Kingston. Assessment undertaken by the Corporation indicates that the highest and best use of the building is as a hotel. The Corporation is of the view that it is important for private sector interests to be given opportunities in the redevelopment programme, and the hotel provides such an opportunity,” the agency said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has confirmed that it will be leaving the multi-storey property located on Kingston’s waterfront, but has not indicated where it will go. A source at the health ministry told the Sunday Observer that it has been looking for a suitable location “for years” but has not yet found one.

The UDC said it had set a time frame of six to eight months for Oceana’s divestment, but declined to disclose its reserved price.

However, the UDC, which is the principal public sector entity responsible for planning and designing urban environments in Jamaica, was upbeat about the divestment.

“A number of prospective investors have expressed keen interest in the acquisition of the property,” the corporation said.

Purchasing the Oceana to reconvert it into a hotel would be an excellent move for any shrewd investor, according to executive director of the Kingston Restoration Company, Morin Seymour.

“It’s a good buy for any innovative local or foreign investor. Downtown is a nice place to work,” Seymour, who has worked in the area for 22 years, told the Sunday Observer.

He suggests that the complex could have a number of segments; it could be part residential, include hotel rooms, a bar area and some corporate offices.

The new hotel would be strategically located in close proximity to major businesses, legal firms, the Bank of Jamaica and other financial entities, the Parliament and the courts.

“People talk a lot of nonsense, but downtown is still the heart of the administration of the country. We have the Supreme Court, major law firms DunnCox, Myers Fletcher and Gordon, Livingston Alexander and Levy, headquarters of Scotiabank and GraceKennedy. If I walk out of my office I can get everything done within five minutes walking distance,” Seymour said.

The KRC head insisted that crime in the area was a problem that could be managed. He said his studies of 10 cities in the United States and four in the United Kingdom used the same formula, which was to place adequate police personnel in the area at all hours of the day and night.

“Philadelphia is no safer than downtown Kingston, yet I stayed there with (former US president) George Bush Snr, (former US national security advisor) Brent Scowcroft and (former US Secretary of State) Colin Powell; we were all on the same hotel floor,”

he emphasised.