Kingston Properties Limited (KPREIT) is weighing plans to transform its East Street lot in downtown Kingston into a modern parking facility, in what could become the company’s first mobility infrastructure.

Lot 7 East Street, acquired late last year under a sale and leaseback arrangement, is currently used to service tenants of two adjacent buildings KPREIT owns on Duke Street. But with occupancy levels rising and a fresh push underway to maximise underutilised assets, the company is actively exploring the idea of a high-tech parking solution that could both increase income and improve the downtown experience for workers and visitors. The development plan also complements KPREIT’s growing cluster of commercial holdings in the area.

“Downtown Kingston desperately needs better parking,” chairman of KPREIT Garfield Sinclair told shareholders during the company’s annual general meeting on Wednesday. “One of the options we are considering is a modern, automated parking lot with minimal human intervention, which could bring efficiency and security to an area that’s long had challenges.”

Although no final decision has been made, Sinclair indicated that a development project for East Street lot is being mapped out for 2026, following the scheduled completion of it mini-warehouse complex on Rousseau Road in Kingston. That industrial project, comprising 14 warehouse units, is already 20 per cent complete and on track to begin leasing in the first quarter of 2026. It will mark KPREIT’s first foray into ground-up construction.

The East Street lot sits within walking distance of the Supreme Court, ministries and several corporate offices.

Parking in downtown Kingston remains a long-standing issue, with motorists often circling narrow corridors in search of secure spaces — a factor that has limited accessibility and, in some cases, commercial vibrancy. Sinclair noted that KPREIT’s proposed redevelopment would attempt to address that infrastructure gap while enhancing the yield potential of its growing downtown cluster.

That strategy appears to be well under way.

At the close of 2024, KPREIT reported assets under management of just over US$86 million, up from $71 million the year before, with Jamaica accounting for 44 per cent its portfolio. The acquisition of the East Street lot and the two Duke Street buildings were part of that buildout. Together, they support the company’s plan to reach US$100 million in managed assets, a goal it hopes to achieve by year-end.

The company has signalled that it will continue to route assets based on opportunity and performance, including through property sales where appropriate. During the first quarter of 2025, KPREIT reclassified one of its Jamaican properties as “held for sale” as it prepares to offload the asset.

Sinclair, responding to a shareholder question during the AGM, confirmed that the property is being positioned for divestment. “We transfer properties that are imminently about to be sold into ‘held for sale’ ahead of the actual closing,” he said, before declaring that the company was not ready to name the asset that it plans on offloading.

KPREIT ended the first quarter with a 92 per cent occupancy rate across its portfolio, up from 81 per cent at the start of the year. The company also delivered a six per cent rise in net profit to US$1 million and a 55 per cent increase in funds from operations to US$520,000, buoyed by the performance of new assets in the UK and Jamaica.

Although most of the company’s expansion in recent years has occurred outside of Jamaica — particularly the Cayman Islands, the United States and more recently the United Kingdom — CEO Kevin Richards said KPRIET continues to see strong potential in its local assets, especially in the industrial and office space.

Nonetheless, KPREIT continues the search for properties outside of Jamaica.

“We are looking at industrial opportunities outside of Jamaica,” Richards told shareholders.

At the same time, the company is looking to capitalise on undervalued segments within the office market.

“Office is opportunistic — that’s really the basis of our strategy, finding where the opportunities are,” Richards said.

“The sector has been depressed since the pandemic, but that’s created space for us to pick up very attractive deals. These are sustainable assets with strong tenant bases and long-term leases in place. We’re also seeing more employers asking staff to return to the office, so there’s growing demand for well-appointed office spaces,” he continued.