JMMB Real Estate Holdings Limited, the property development arm of the JMMB Group, is moving ahead with two major commercial developments in Kingston as it deepens its push into the non-financial sector.

The company confirmed to the Jamaica Observer that both projects — one on Harbour Street in downtown Kingston and another on Haughton Avenue in New Kingston — are now in the tender phase, with contractors being procured. However, the company did not disclose details of the project costs.

“While development budgets are in place and actively monitored, we are not able to disclose the estimated costs at this stage,” JMMB said in an emailed response to queries following the company’s 2025 Annual General Meeting on Friday.

“Construction is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, with Harbour Street projected to take 18 to 20 months and The Haughton approximately 22 to 24 months to complete,” it added.

The two projects, which received statutory approvals earlier this year, mark the next phase in JMMB’s plan to monetise its $4-billion land bank through high-value commercial real estate. The downtown Kingston development will see the renovation of 35,000 square feet of office space, while the Haughton Avenue development will comprise a 10-storey building with parking and 45,000 square feet of modern offices. The Haughton Avenue property currently houses JMMB’s head office, JMMB Bank (Jamaica) Limited and JMMB Investments.

JMMB told the Business Observer that it has set a profit hurdle rate of 15 per cent on each development, a benchmark that signals the financial conglomerate’s intent to pursue property projects with clear, market-based returns rather than relying on passive asset appreciation. According to JMMB, the approach also reflects the group’s broader emphasis on value creation through disciplined capital allocation.

On the matter of financing, the company said: “As a non-financial subsidiary, JMMB Real Estate Holdings Limited will participate in the marketplace like any other developer, seeking financing and partnerships based on the most favourable terms available for each project.

In keeping with its build-and-sell model, JMMB says it plans to either divest the completed properties on a floor-by-floor basis or secure medium-term leases per floor, with eventual disposal aligned to its long-term investment strategy.

That strategy is already being executed at the company’s first completed project at 102 Hope Road and 1 Liguanea Avenue — a four-storey complex where JMMB’s digital branch occupies the ground floor and upper levels are leased to external tenants.

The property began generating rental income during the last financial year and provided the initial proof of concept for the subsidiary’s ability to finance, build and manage income-producing commercial assets.

The subsidiary, led by Tracey-Ann Creary, reported a net profit of $332 million for the 2024/25 financial year and contributed $760 million in income to the group through rental earnings, property sales, and revaluation gains. It also paid $200 million in dividends, according to disclosures made at the company’s AGM.

At the meeting, Group CEO Keith Duncan emphasised that the real-estate arm has become a self-sustaining business, independent of group subsidies.

“They’ve built a standalone, self-sufficient operation…not subsidised by JMMB or by shareholders. They are creating their own shareholder value, and that’s exactly the kind of diversification we want to see,” Duncan, who was recently appointed senator in the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, said.

With the two Kingston projects advancing and design work already underway for developments in Mandeville and Montego Bay, Duncan said JMMB’s real estate division will be a growth engine for the group.

Artist’s rendering of JMMB Real Estate’s planned redevelopment on Harbour Street in downtown Kingston, part of what Head of Real Estate Development Tracey-Ann Creary describes as an effort to “revitalise the area through the renovation of 35,000 square feet of commercial space”.