Mixed-use real estate developer LCH Developments Limited, builders of the luxurious Pinnacle project in Montego Bay, St James, has said it is now on the cusp of bringing more affordable housing or mid-scale solutions to market as it moves to attract buyers from other socio-economic brackets.

Speaking at a Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange Forum, chief operating officer (COO) at LCH Developments Tanya Golaub said that more information regarding these projects is expected to come within the next few months.

“The product we are pushing at the moment is the Pinnacle, but there are others in the pipeline which will support affordable living. We have a strategic plan and also some announcements that we are going to be making in the next few months around May/June,” she told journalists.

The price point for these mid-range solutions, she said, will be determined by market and location and similar to the Pinnacle. It will also be commensurate with industry standards.

The LCH executive said that with luxury now redefined to include the ‘Henrys’ (a term now used to refer to a group of high-income earners who can afford certain luxuries but not considered rich) as well as some millennials, these developments are no longer sought after by only those who can easily afford to buy them but also those persons looking for a certain type of modern resort-style living.

Defending the price and fair value of the Pinnacle units, Golaub said they also factor international and local realities.

Located on the Reading peninsula in Montego Bay, the Pinnacle is a US$350-million development which targets mainly high-end buyers offering an eclectic mix of residential and tourism facilities. Its cutting-edge amenities include private villas, penthouses, concierge services, shopping centres, private club, pool, spa and a marina among a number of sporting and other facilities. The development is timed for completion in 2028.

The 24-storey quad tower development, which comprises about 430 residences stretched across one, two, and three-bedroom apartments, is now valued at a starting price of US$430,000 or over $66 million per single-bedroom unit when calculated in local currency with prices expected to move upward based on the level and view of an apartment.

“The difference with the Pinnacle is that it represents branded residence. The fourth tower is going to have a hotel component, while towers two and three offers options for investment, allowing owners to put their properties with the hotel brand and to share in the investment with the hotel. Tower one, on the other hand, is completely residential,” Golaub noted.

With the development already halfway through sales for the first set of units, uptake from the local market so far is said to be very strong.

“The responses have been overwhelming, persons are very interested in the product and in terms of its value, what we are offering is branded residence — which is the first of its kind in Jamaica,” Golaub further stated while pointing to results from some feasibility studies done, which indicate that capacity exist for these units to be sold to Jamaicans, even as some products are curated for international buyers.

“We’re very big on doing different types of market research in real estate and so one of the things we will also be doing in the next few months is taking a look not just on the Diaspora and national or regional markets, but also those internationally, as we move to gauge the interest of persons wanting to own a home in Jamaica,” Golaub added.

With plans to add more developments in Kingston and other parishes across the island before transitioning to the region, LCH as part of its growth objective said it is likewise looking to double down on other segments of the real estate market.

“Apart from affordable solutions, the company for future developments will also be pushing into industrial and commercial as well,” the COO said.