MONTEGO BAY, St James — How does an active construction site for high-rise buildings prepare for hurricane season? According to Yangsen Li, the CEO of LCH Developments which is behind the US$450-million development, The Pinnacle, they are ready.

“We have prepared for the hurricane season,” Li told the Jamaica Observer.

The Swallowtail, one of The Pinnacle’s four planned 28-storey towers, is already 15 floors up in the air.

“Every material, every chemical, they are properly stored, every equipment is properly stored away,” Assistant Project Manager Natalee Prout told the Sunday Observer during a discussion on how the development would stand up to the onslaught of a tropical cyclone.

“It would include all checks to ensure that there is no debris, there is no loose metal hanging around. In the case of heavy equipment, such as cranes and so forth, which are deployed, we follow the guidance of the Safety Division of the Ministry of Labour,” she added.

Prout explained that there are personnel on site capable of pulling down and safely storing equipment at a moment’s notice.

“We try to reinforce any steel that is on a frame; so for example, we just do extra reinforcement, batten down what needs to be battened down,” she added.

From inception, developers have stressed that, when completed, The Pinnacle will be able to withstand severe weather events.

“We are ready for anything based on the structures and just the engineering components that we’ve combined for this project because we know that would be a major query [when] building the tallest building in the Caribbean,” said Prout.

“We know that would be a concern for the Caribbean and so we ensured that there was nothing they needed to worry about,” she continued.

She outlined measures being put in place to withstand the elements.

“We’ve utilised a triple-layer glass curtain wall for superior insulation. This design, it keeps heat out while maintaining comfortable internal temperatures,” Prout explained.

“Those glass walls are very strong, very sturdy. The strength and durability has been tested, you don’t have to worry about it being shattered and it can withstand winds that would be categorised as a hurricane six,” she declared.

The Pinnacle, for which ground was broken in January 2024, is nestled on the Reading Peninsula in St James. Structures will be just metres from the shoreline, susceptible to wind and rain.

“The windows and doors have been rigorously tested in a Chinese lab to withstand up to a category 6 hurricane and then the hollow space between the glass layers creates a thermal buffer, ensuring a stable internal climate regardless of external weather conditions,” Prout assured.

She said there is also the confidence that comes from what has been a seamless blending of local knowledge and the expertise of Chinese developers.

“The beauty of this project is the integration between the Jamaican building technologies and then the Chinese building technologies, we’ve integrated and combined the two,” she remarked.

“The Chinese would be susceptible to what you would call typhoons whereas we are known for the hurricanes. So based on the engineers, we’ve combined both technologies and we’ve come up with a structural plan that can withstand any outside effects, any weather conditions,” Prout asserted.

She outlined some of the measures that are already in place, including the composition of the foundation.

“Each building is on 400 piles and the strength of the concrete is 11,600 psi,” she disclosed.

“Normally, the concrete that Jamaicans would use on a residential home is somewhere between 2,000 – 4,000 psi,” she stressed.

According to Prout, they have drilled 100 feet into the bedrock as part of the foundation, to ensure that the buildings are solid.

“It’s coupled with six-foot-thick rafts made with 6,800 psi and 350 tonnes of steel structure, so the building isn’t going anywhere,” she declared.

Prout maintained that there would be no issues even if the buildings were taller than the planned 28 storeys.

“Because of the robust foundation, that foundation can support a staggering 400,000 tonnes. We are doing 28 floors; so even if we wanted to double or triple that, the foundation could withstand that weight. That is how strong and durable that foundation is,” she declared.

She said in addition to wind and rain, The Pinnacle is also being built to withstand lightning strikes.

“The building’s grounding system and the grounding resistance is less than one ohm; it surpasses the Jamaican standard of 10 ohms” said Prout.

“The system guarantees that electrical discharge such as lightning strikes are safely and rapidly conducted into the ground rather than the building, protecting both the building structure and the occupants,” she added.

She said on every few floors, there will be equal potential rings in place to channel potential lighting strikes into the grounding system.

“These rings prevent lightning from directly striking the building’s glass curtain walls by redirecting them safely into the ground,” Prout explained.

Meanwhile, she said work is progressing steadily on the overall project which includes a commercial complex in close proximity to the luxury residential area comprised of apartments and villas along with supporting amenities such as a marina and members only club.

“We are going to bring over our sales office at the commercial centre in July of this year and then the [Swallowtail] Tower, the super structure, should be completed by October this year. Then the interior works and et cetera should be completed next year,” Prout said.

The Pinnacle’s first tower, The Swallowtail, is now up to 15 storeys of the 28 planned.

The Pinnacle’s glass walls can withstand Category 6 hurricane winds.

On every few floors of the four 28-storey towers of The Pinnacle, there will be systems in place to channel potential lightning strikes into the grounding system.