Following the sale of the Knutsford Court Hotel last year, the four-acre property situated in New Kingston is being renamed to Summit by its new owner, Novamed Limited.

According to Novamed’s founder and director Dr David Walcott, the new name of the soon-to-be ‘smart business campus’ is being revealed following the completion of a US$40-million deal.

“The deal was done with a specially structured vehicle which took us a few months to complete, and renovation plans have already started for what will be Jamaica’s first smart commercial centre. Our plan is to bring a highly international flavour to Jamaican commercial real estate and use technology to efficiently engage our clients and meet their needs,” he said in a news release on Tuesday.

Novamed Property Limited as the the investment vehicle was specially created to acquire and/or operate real estate properties in the health care, lifestyle, and commercial spaces. The real estate investment company already operates a growing portfolio of companies which includes: First Step, a medical education business, and CareerMD, a professional consultancy for medical practitioners. The company also holds a stake in the Windward Medical Centre, whose services it has digitised since a 2018 acquisition.

The company co-founded by Kirk-Anthony Hamilton, head of the Infiniti Partnership Inc, and Kevin Donaldson, founder of Roots Financial Group, aims to bring innovative solutions to emerging markets in the Caribbean and Latin America by investing in health care specific assets, including real estate, operating companies, and medical technology.

By repurposing the once popular hotel used by many companies to host their annual general meetings, Novamed through Summit intends to unleash its vision for transforming the New Kingston landscape.

The property was acquired from business leader and hotelier Kevin Hendrickson, who also owns the Courtleigh and Jamaica Pegasus hotels.

“Summit will facilitate progressive businesses which operate in the finance, fitness, food, health, recreation, legal, ed-tech sectors, among others,” Donaldson stated.

“Some of these operators have already began to set up shop as seen by the recent announcement from GenX, a carnival band, which now has its show room located there,” he said to the Jamaica Observer.

He further said that although renovations to the complex are not yet complete, some degree of commercial activity will commence on property in the coming days via the Chelsea Avenue entrance.

When the development is completed, consumers will be able to access the property from two easily accessible entrances along Chelsea Avenue and Ruthven Road.

“The overall renovations are expected to be completed in the next 12-18 months, we’ve submitted our approvals to the relevant authorities to have them signed off after which we’ll move to the next step,” he further told the Business Observer.

At the centre of its ‘smart city’ concept will also be ‘The Summit House’—a hub where businesses and consumers can connect to fuel solutions to drive economic growth.

“Summit will be a relaxed and innovative work environment that will provide high levels of tech connectivity for start-ups and mature businesses. We are building a permanent version of the ecosystem platforms we’ve successfully created,” Hamilton added.