A building which has become a hallmark in the centre of the busy Half-Way-Tree area has been given a facelift as the Hosang family, who owns the property, looks to expand its operations in the area. The newly renovated two storey edifice will be called Shops of South Odeon.

The mastermind behind the development project, Bruce Hosang, told the Jamaica Observer that the project is one which he and his brother, Dennis Hosang, devised after recognising new opportunities in the market.

“We were talking about what we could do to enhance this area and the property that we had out here. With COVID-19 and the things that were happening, we found that the existing tenant wanted to reduce his footprint and give back some of the space. So, it just presented itself as an opportunity for us to now look at the bigger picture and see what we can do to better utilise the space as well as enhance the area,” said Bruce Hosang.

The family, which also operates both Tastee franchise locations in the Half-Way-Tree area decided to spend millions to make the vision a reality.

“We’re just under US$1 million, in terms of what we’ve invested out here in enhancing and developing the space,” Bruce continued.

“We’ve been in Half-Way-Tree for over 30 years, it’s more than just a business opportunity for us. We come from emigrants who migrated here and, if you were to talk to some of my family members, they would tell you that it means more to them,” he added.

The entrepreneur explained that it’s an investment the family is sure to recover in no time, highlighting that his confidence has everything to do with the potential of the space and the fact that it is a high-traffic vicinity.

“In terms of just being able to find tenants, it’s an excellent location. There’s a lot of traffic down here so the place pretty much sells itself. So, economic-wise, it’s really a property that we’re looking to just rent out and, so far, we’ve had a good experience with it.”

At the same time, he revealed that tenants would not have to break the bank in order to secure any of the units.

“We have done our research and we’ve gotten comparisons. We’ve reached out to several people in the industry, real estate agencies and stuff like that, and we’re actually on the lower end of the asking price. A space of about 800,000 sq ft we’re renting it for about US$1,200-US$1,500 a month. We’re probably 20 per cent below what the market is. We’re more interested in getting people here that will thrive. We don’t want to stress our tenants with the haggle of having to afford rent, we want them to survive, and their success means our success,” Hosang stated.

In terms of the types of businesses being targeted, Hosang noted that there is a preference for small and medium-sized enterprises. But he admitted “the area really dictates what businesses will do well here, so you can see that this is the transportation hub of Kingston. So we have a clothing store downstairs, we’re looking to have a beauty supply store here as well, phone accessories, stuff that people on the go need and are convenient to them.”

He also disclosed that a cannabis dispensary store will open on the ground floor of the renovated building, which will be the first cannabis-related company in the heart of the Half-Way-Tree area.

“I have a tenant downstairs who’s going to open a cannabis store, they operate under the name Jamaica’s Finest Cannabis (JFC), and I’m interested to see how they do. They have their licence and they are fully approved to operate a dispensary, they are just going through the process now with the authorities to have the store opening. They hope to be opened by the end of this year,” he added.

So far, about 90 per cent of the units are already rented.

“As far as our obligation as a developer, we’ve completed the project so how we rent the space now is, we give the tenant pretty much a shell, so they have their storefront and they have their three walls. They would come in and do their tiling, put up all their interior wall and floor finishes, fixtures, and that sort of stuff,” explained Hosang.