DR Henry Lowe, who is making great strides with finding a nutraceutical remedy for prostate cancer, is preparing to renovate and extend his wellness centre, Eden Gardens located on Lady Musgrave Road. Lowe has engaged the services of renowned architect and planner Marvin Goodman & Associates, and the redevelopment project is expected to come in at US$2 million and should be completed in December of this year.

Speaking with Caribbean Business Report from Eden Gardens, Dr Lowe said: “Eden Gardens was established seven years ago. Over the last three or four years, its original intention to be a wellness and lifestyle establishment has gradually changed. It then became a place for weddings and other civic functions.

“We decided to review the entire operations of Eden Gardens and chose to go back to our original mission as a wellness and lifestyle centre. We have done enough studies that indicate there is a demand for this. Not only do we want it to be the wellness and lifestyle centre for the Caribbean but truly a world-class facility. To make it world class we need to redevelop and redesign all the facilities and the things that they offer.”

Eden Gardens will not be shutting down entirely while this work ensues. Corporate seminars will still take place although there will be a temporary postponement of wedding ceremonies and receptions. Some of the service providers will continue and there has been expressed interest in joining Eden Gardens, thereby increasing the number of practitioners operating there. Currently there are doctors, masseuses, nail technicians, nutritionists, Lowe’s offices and a restaurant, all operating under the roof of Eden Gardens.

Dr Lowe is renowned for his pioneering work on fighting prostate cancer and unveiling nutraceutical remedies, and will be setting up a herbal store and gardens which will supply necessary materials for his work. It must be stressed that the nutraceutical production base will be with Lascelles Chin’s pharmaceutical operations. Lowe intends to launch his new product by April of this year.

According to Herb Lowe, Deputy Chairman of the Environmental Health Foundation (EHF) and brother of Dr Henry Lowe, “This centre is not just aimed at Jamaica but caters for the entire Caribbean and hence we saw the need to increase our level of investment and redevelop and expand our offerings. We are revisiting Eden Gardens’ original themes and will be sticking to its core concepts. We are looking to attract patients not only from the wider Caribbean but also from the United States.”

Chairman of NCB Michael Lee Chin has long held the view that Jamaica’s geographical location makes it ideal to position itself as a wellness province where ageing baby boomers can come for medical attention and recuperation in a warm climate albeit in close proximity to the United States. The Lowes share this vision and are acting on it.

Senior Assistant Manager of Pelican Publishers Latoya West added that the Lowes have asked JAMPRO to seriously consider the viability of health and wellness tourism in Jamaica and it has formed a task force to do just that.

Eden Gardens will be offering a full suite of services in this regard including acupuncture, reconstructive surgery and herbal medications. There will also be residential recovery rooms where people can stay over. Eden Gardens will be the ideal place where the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen and come to in an effort to seek rehabilitation and expunge their addictions and afflictions. Also Jamaicans can get remedies and medical treatment at Eden Gardens rather than having to scamper off to Miami. Everything is at Eden Gardens — swimming pool, restaurants, gymnasium, spas, 20 suites, chapel and banqueting facilities, a resident plastic surgeon, corporate meeting rooms, nutritionists, medical doctors interested in wellness remedies and retail outlets. There are plans to have a wellness radio station at Eden Gardens. The idea is to make it a one-stop wellness facility in the heart of Kingston Jamaica, renowned and reputed for its herbal product offerings.

“This will be the first totally green facility in the Caribbean. We are staunch advocates of employing green technology. We will be recycling water, and Eden Gardens will be all solar power-driven. We will also have mineral baths. I must stress again here that we will not be closed while we undergo this redevelopment and repositioning exercise. We are still very much open for business.”