LCH Developments is now wooing prospective tenants for its US$10-million commercial development which is an integral part of The Pinnacle. At the same time, it is counting on a European company — whose name it will soon announce — to boost sales on the residential side of the swanky project located in Reading, on the outskirts of Montego Bay.

More than 100 people, including confirmed and potential buyers as well as realtors, were invited to a “hard hat” tour of the project two Saturdays ago. LCH’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Yangsen Li was on hand to give them a walkthrough of the 3,800-square-metre commercial space that he anticipates will house restaurants, a supermarket, pharmacy, banking facilities, retail shops and more.

Li said that structure will be up and running by next August. It will be open to the local community and has a separate entrance, closer to Reading main road, from the rest of the historic development.

The recent tour was also an opportunity to show how work has progressed on the overall project which includes four 28-storey towers, a 15-slip marina for yachts, a five-storey members’ only club exclusively for occupants of its luxurious apartments and villas, along with a long list of impressive features and amenities.

“Before we cast the foundation for tower one I wanted to invite clients who already bought units, or potential clients, to come see our quality work. I want them to see our steel structure, see all the pilings, all the little details. Everything is very outstanding quality,” Li told the Jamaica Observer.

He said the addition of amenities, including more restaurants than originally planned, combined with the escalating price of freight, steel and fuel have taken a toll. The price tag for The Pinnacle — including the commercial building — has now climbed from the US$350 million originally touted to about US$450 million. However, according to Li, they are still within budgeted variations. He also stressed that they are still on schedule despite challenges with heavy rains like those that lashed the site on the day of the tour.

“Phase one — which is tower one and tower two along with seven-floor parking — is projected to be completed 36 months from now, meaning 2027,” the CEO told the Sunday Observer.

According to The Pinnacle’s marketing and sales leader Dominique Silvera, more than 280 units, split evenly between towers one (The Swallowtail) and two (The Canary) are now on the market.

“There are 141 units in each tower, and there are two of them so a total of 282 is released. Having achieved 40 per cent of sales in those towers within six months of launching is unheard of,” added Silvera who has years of experience in the Caribbean’s luxury real estate market.

She said 25 per cent of sales so far have been to locals and 75 per cent of the units have been snapped up by people from the Diaspora or affinity buyers who had an existing interest in Jamaica.

“They found us before we found them. Quite frankly, in terms of our marketing outside of Jamaica, we’ve only just begun with that process,” Silvera told the Sunday Observer. “We’re now on to the next phase, where we’re going to be introducing our product as what really is a residential resort.”

She said their marketing efforts will be ramped up after September 9.

“We are gearing up for the exciting announcement of our brand operator,” said Silvera who added that the company in question is a known European name.

It will manage towers two, three, and four — the Canary, Hummingbird, and Phoenix —which will offer a luxury hotel-style experience.

Li said a lot of time went into making the right choice of a management company, one that buys into LCH’s vision of ensuring that the properties reflect Jamaican culture. There is training provided for staff, and local produce is widely used in their operations.

He anticipates a huge fillip in sales once that team is on board.

“I have every confidence that by another six to 12 months we will increase to 80 per cent,” he said.

Silvera was equally optimistic.

“By bringing a global brand to the development, this is going to open up other avenues that we probably never thought of before,” she said.

With the hotel side tied down, LCH is still selecting a property management firm for Swallowtail’s resort residences. The goal, as Silvera emphasised, is to offer clients a stress-free experience from purchase to occupancy.

For Jamaicans living abroad, she said, The Pinnacle “presents a very turnkey, hassle-free opportunity”, a place for them to stay during visits to Jamaica. Then there is the added benefit of having someone else handle all the details when they are off-island.

“Through the investment tower, when they’re not here they’re not dealing with the semantics of owning a property in Jamaica,” explained Silvera.

“When they call into our sales centre, we literally walk through the whole process with the clients and help them with everything…We try to make it a very seamless approach, especially for the offshore buyer,” she added.

She pointed out that whether they are locals or from overseas, clients are reassured by LCH’s strong roots in Jamaica. Construction work is being done by Brothers Concepts & Solutions Limited, an LCH affiliate, which has a long history of other projects under its belt. These include Soleil, an upscale luxury lifestyle residential development in Freeport, Montego Bay. Also in the western city, it has worked on The Montego Bay Racquet Club Condominiums & Spa, a private eight-storey luxury high-rise residential; the just completed Grand Depot Supermarket in the Fairview section of the western city; and the 200,000-square-foot US$10-million Harbour City Shopping Mall.

In Westmoreland, Brothers Concepts also built Villa Tao, a modest residential project comprised of three two-storey buildings. It is now working on the 2,500-unit Bernard Lodge housing project that is part of the Greater Bernard Lodge Development in Portmore, St Catherine.

Meanwhile, China Geotechnical Engineering Ltd, another LCH affiliate, also offers its services in Jamaica and other Caribbean locations.

For Li, who has made Jamaica his home for almost two decades, the work that LCH is doing, especially The Pinnacle, will signal to the world that “Jamaica is ready” for world-class development.

“I believe once The Pinnacle is finished, a lot of people are going to copy us. I want everybody to say, ‘Yes, this works’. And people will start to develop our country. This will give people confidence and people from the Diaspora, international investors, will move their focus to Jamaica. That is really our purpose, to try to build up our Jamaica,” he said.