MONTEGO BAY, St James — Not yet in possession of the money it needs to upgrade the Old Shoe Market in this western city, the St James Municipal Corporation (SJMC) has stepped away from managing the facility, even as it keeps an eye on the haphazard development once again taking place there.

“We understand that people want to do business. We understand that we are taking some time to get them that space that we have committed to and, as a result, we are being lenient,” Mayor of Montego Bay and chairman of the SJMC Richard Vernon told the
Jamaica Observer Monday.

“We are monitoring the situation but they are getting some leeway to go ahead and do what they are doing,” he added.

The Old Shoe Market, which runs along South, Harbour and St James streets, has been used for vending for years. The space is a collection of wooden shops, power lines, and tarpaulin. The plan is to retrofit metal containers for sellers to use as shops, in addition to putting in utilities and other amenities and generally bring order to the site which has been plagued by periods of criminal activity. Funding for the project is expected to come from sale of sections of the Bogue Lands, where informal occupants have been given an August 2026 deadline to pay for commercial property they are using.

Until then, unable to do work at the Old Shoe Market as planned, the SJMC is allowing vendors to repair or rebuild damaged structures. There was a massive fire there in October 2023, and nearly 40 shops were destroyed. There was another blaze in 2024 followed by the devastation caused by last year’s Category 5 Hurricane Melissa.

“Once you are doing any type of construction you require a permit; however, we are not doing any form of enforcement in the area now. But we are monitoring the space. If it is that we see that certain things are being done that is significantly out of line, then we will intervene,” assured Vernon.

He explained that the local authority is not providing the usual amenities and vendors are using the space for free.

“At the moment we do not regulate that space, but we are going to use it for the development. The persons who are operating there currently, they don’t pay anything to the municipality, they are not provided with security or waste management or any of those amenities,” Vernon told the Observer.

He is optimistic that progress will be made soon and plans to build a modern facility to house vendors will be back on track. According to the mayor, the shops are now being designed.

“What we intend to do is upgrade the space for the regularisation of small businesses,” Vernon stressed.

“When persons occupy these shops, they will no longer be seen as street vendors, obviously, but small business operators. This is an alternative for persons who are operating on the street to get a formalised structure to operate from,” he added.

Vendors display wares at the Old Shoe Market in downtown Montego Bay.

View of shops on the outskirts of the Old Shoe Market in downtown Montego Bay.