KINGSTON, Jamaica – Kingston Properties Limited (KPREIT) announced on Friday that it has closed on the acquisition of three condo units at Opera Tower in the Downtown Miami area as part of the 1031 Exchange programme in the US.

The 1031 Exchange programme allows property owners to defer capital gains tax when the registered property is sold. The acquisition now brings the total number of residential units held by KPREIT to 27.

The company also said in a notice placed through the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) that it has engaged bankers to secure financing for its programme of acquisition going forward.

The notice to the Exchange on April 29 said that the company has engaged bankers both locally and overseas to secure financing for its programme of property acquisitions

A total of US$4.5 million has been approved and available for deployment in the local, regional and international markets in keeping with KPREIT`s diversification strategy.

In Bayshore, Fort Lauderdale, the company has four residential condos which were also purchased in the latter part of last year — October 2015.

KPREIT in final quarter 2015 sold an apartment building it owned at 555 SW 4th St, in a section of Miami, Florida known as “Little Havana” in December 2015. The property was offloaded for US$2.19 million or the equivalent of $262 million.

Kevin Richards, new CEO told the Jamaica Observer in April that an advantage in operating in the US is their 1031 exchange programme, which allows an investor to defer the capital gains tax from the disposal of an asset, with specified restrictions.

“For example, we purchased an apartment building in Miami in 2014, sold it in December 2015, and will be reinvesting the proceeds shortly under the same programme to benefit from this programme,” he explained

KPREIT had held the Miami property for only six months, having purchased the 19 unit apartment building in August 2014 for US$1.88 million or the equivalent of J$211.43 million.

Richards said that in 2016 KPREIT would be looking at commercial opportunities in the US in key states that have a greater degree of economic resilience.

The company is also looking at opportunities in the hotel sector regionally.

Property owned by the company in Jamaica is a 52,000-square-foot commercial complex on Red Hills Road in Kingston. Properties owned in the United States are 15 residential condos, a 19-unit apartment building and another five residential condos — purchased in September 2015 — all in Miami, and now the units in Opera Tower.

The company is holding land for development in Waterworks, Westmoreland.

At year end 2015, the company  improved asset value to $1.73 billion, compared to $1.43 billion the previous year .