FULL approval has been granted to local developer Stratosphere Development Limited to launch construction of the tallest building in Jamaica, to be located at 1B Oxford Road in St Andrew, a company official has confirmed.

This comes after Stratosphere Development impressed the Jamaica Fire Brigade, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), the Kingston and St Andrew Municpal Corporation (KSAMC) and the National Water Commission by paying keen attention to safety.

The name of the building will be The Ascent at the Oxford, Sheer Luxury.

During an exclusive interview with the Jamaica Observer, Littleton “Tanny” Shirley, CEO of Stratosphere Development Limited, disclosed that the “iconic” project, which should be completed by 2024, will involve three high-end components which will be hotel, residential and commercial.

Shirley expressed that this “mind-blowing and unprecedented” project will place Jamaica on the path to upgrading its status to that of a Silicon Valley or Singapore.

“This iconic building represents not only our ambition to create the tallest building to be built in Jamaica but also to transform New Kingston to trigger off investment opportunities. Most cities are developed on the basis of high-rise buildings and I think Jamaica is no different, and I think it is time for Jamaica to benefit from global exposure. We have done so well in other areas — sports, tourism and music. It is full time for us to look at economic development to attract a global perspective on who we are.”

Shirley pointed out that the benefits will be enormous for Jamaicans, both in terms of work opportunities and inspirational value, by allowing them to harbour big dreams.

He had high commendations and praises for the government agencies involved for how meticulously, according to him, they probed the details of the proposal to ensure they would be safe for people and the environment.

“I am extremely pleased. It has been a long journey but we understand that the relevant agencies need to follow proper guidelines and processes and have full understanding of how a new venture like this can be secure without risk to the environment and to the public. We are comfortable that the measures taken in our jurisdiction are similar to First World measures, and that is why the agencies in due process would have approved the project and would have played a very important role in guiding us also.

“This would be the first of its kind to ask for approval. That is not something you jump and do overnight, and that is why we were quite patient with the various entities to go through the due process. This is a walk in the park in any other jurisdiction. Fortunately for us, we would be using personnel developers who would have done this many times before. As it relates to safety, it would be the similar safety in other jurisdictions.

“As it relates to traffic flow and all other elements, I have not seen in any city that is highly developed where you don’t have a congested city as it relates to traffic flow. That is the nature of the city; these things need to be understood. As it relates to fire mitigation, technology has shown today where drones are now used as first responders for fire mitigation. We will be using drones. We will be using the most sophisticated fire extinguishing technology to support the project,” Shirley said, emphasising that safety is of high importance.

The CEO said the benefits of the project will have a ripple effect in terms of providing work, training and inspiration for workers and students. Despite the high-end, elegant and pricey nature of the project, the building will have a top-floor observatory tower, overlooking Kingston and St Andrew and beyond, where schoolchildren and the general public will be able to visit at a reasonable cost.

“Schoolchildren can come and visit and go on the top floor, look around and create their own dream and have that moment of tranquility from up top to say ‘I can reach up here.’ It is not only for jobs but it’s also for motivation — motivation for other contractors to say ‘If this has been done, we can do it also.’ So, it will have a ripple effect across the country.

“It is going to be mind-blowing. We are going to have an aquarium, the observatory tower that we expect to be the inspiration for not only the young but middle- and old-age to ascend and explore and see the beauty and the hills of Jamaica, and the landscaping. You will be able to see the mountains, and if you have a good binoculars you might see Cuba. Also, what is transformational is that the clouds are magical, so you will be able to see what you want to see from the magic of the clouds,” he said.

The developers, in deciding how they would solve the issue of parking, opted to build two massive blocks of parking towers.

Shirley highlighted that his ambition is to, at some point, raise the building to at least 27 storeys.

“Our regulators and our agencies will determine that as we look toward the future. Each agency very much would have looked at the risks. That needed to be done. I commend the various agencies for their due diligence. A lot of these agencies sometimes get blamed and accused of all things, but I must say I stand strong in saying these agencies are doing a fantastic job to show accountability to the public.

Jamaica Labour Party councillor for the Trafalgar Division, Kari Douglas expressed pride that the project is in her domain as councillor and told the Sunday Observer that the project supports and promotes the Government’s intentions for a new Jamaica.

“For me as councillor, it is a project I am excited about, one that I welcome. It is novel. I have been pushing for a project like this to come to the shores of Jamaica — and not just in our push to advance the way in which we build and construct commercial and mixed-use buildings but also because it brings a lot of opportunity that stabilises and help to strengthen our economy. Of course for me, this a big transformational and iconic project for the division. There is nothing like it throughout the entire Jamaica. It is historic.”

Douglas said ground will be broken “very soon” and sought to calm any safety concerns that may arise.

“There is excitement all around. I know there are persons who, because of a lack of understanding and information because it has never been done before, people might be a little bit nervous. People want to understand what the technicalities are surrounding the project, the infrastructure that exists, our water supply, drainage and sewerage infrastructure. What I can say is that from what I have seen and learnt from the information presented on the plan, it is definitely something to look forward to and has all the best, top-tier professional experts aligned sufficiently.”