Work begins on land to house PriceSmart in Montego Bay
IRONSHORE, St James — Work has started at what is believed to be the future home of a PriceSmart store in the Ironshore area of Montego Bay, St James.
There has been no official word from the management of the international membership shopping warehouse club which now operates in the Corporate Area and its new facility in Portmore, St Catherine.
But a source at the St James Municipal Corporation has confirmed that PriceSmart has started the process of getting the development of its future Montego Bay home.
The source pointed to a property, which was previously used as a golf course in the Ironshore area, where work has started on drainage and roads with the area being cleared of bushes.
“We have the submissions for the development,” said the source who refused to say if the plans had been approved by the corporation.
Jamaica Observer source have reported that the plan to open a branch of PriceSmart in Montego Bay has been in the works for sometime but was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic that reached Jamaica’s shores in 2020.
In had been previously reported that PriceSmart had received approval for the development of its facility on lands in Catherine Hall but it appears that plan has been shelved.
PriceSmart already has a presence in Montego Bay as a Fresh Bakery outlet has been serving customers at its Bogue City location for a few years where customers can get cakes and other pastries at this store.
Work on the PriceSmart facility adds to a number of commercial developments that have taken place, or are being worked on in St James in recent times.
These include Harbour City, one of the largest malls in western Jamaica, which recently has a soft opening where it showed off its 66-unit facility, which includes a hotel in the middle of Montego Bay.
In January National Baking Company Chairman Gary “Butch” Hendrickson outlined plans for his company’s $6.7-billion, state-of the-art bakery at Catherine Hall in Montego Bay, saying that it will be equipped with advanced technology rivalling any similar factory on earth and create employment for at least 75 highly skilled Jamaicans initially.
There has also been a slew of projects by business mogul Mark Kerr-Jarrett in the Westgate and Westgreen areas of the town.
