MONTEGO BAY, St James — Urban Development Corporation (UDC) Chairman Norman Brown says Watson Taylor Park in Lucea stands a good chance of being dramatically upgraded as the UDC moves to duplicate the Harmony Beach Park model used in Montego Bay.

“In Hanover, I think Watson Taylor Park is being considered. It’s not confirmed yet but that’s the most likely location that would be a park,” he said.

Brown was speaking during Tuesday evening’s launch of Recover and Rebuild Jamaica Expo 2026 at Pier One in Montego Bay.

Watson Taylor Park is a 7.5-acre public recreational facility and beach which currently serves as a community gathering space. It has a public play field but lacks many basic amenities.

In contrast, the 16-acre, $1.3-billion Harmony Beach Park, which was opened in 2021, is a free to access facility with lush lawns and jogging trails providing the backdrop for a sliver of beach and inviting blue waters. There are changing rooms, a variety of food shops and parking is available for patrons of events often staged there. Harmony Beach Park is being touted as the blueprint for public parks in several parishes across the country, part of the Government’s push to ensure there are opportunities for locals to enjoy free beach access.

“We have so far identified the lands in Priory; there is a beach as you go through Priory towards St Ann’s Bay, on the left side, that is our next project,” Brown disclosed Tuesday.

“In Negril, close to Long Bay, we are going to do a similar one. You know that Brooks Park in Mandeville was announced, I think we have identified [a location] in St Mary as well. It is very expensive to keep going but that is part of the corporate social responsibility that we have embarked on and we have been instructed that a Harmony-level park must be in every parish,” he added.

Brown pointed out that although it was opened with locals in mind, Harmony Beach Park has also been a hit with visitors.

“Of late we have seen tourists now dominating the beach over there. It tells me that interaction with us is great and that is what the intention is, to make all people feel equal and enjoy the facilities,” said Brown who was recently appointed to the UDC board.

“The mantra of UDC was that we create urban spaces for our citizens to enjoy. If our visitors come, they can also enjoy; but our primary responsibility and role is to the citizens of Jamaica,” Brown added.

According to him, they recently completed the second phase of Harmony Beach Park which included further build out of the amenities. Now there is just one thing left to do.

“The running track, those rubberised tiles have been removed because they keep getting loose. No matter how we try, you cannot get it fixed properly,” Brown explained.

The jogging trail’s surface was made from recycled material, part of the UDC’s incorporation of sustainable technologies in the park’s design to provide resiliency. Another material will be used to do the repairs.

“We have now signed a contract to use the chevron, like what is on Catherine Hall or the stadium; a softer version will be paving all of the tracks so that you will get your jogging trail back on very soon,” Brown revealed.

The UDC chairman also touched on an upcoming project that will have implications for Harmony Beach Park, which is centrally located on Howard Cooke Boulevard.

“The UDC, as well, has been charged with doing a master plan for the entire waterfront — from the police station to Dead End — because we have to reshape the waterfront in Montego Bay,” Brown said.

The focus will be on the coastline from Howard Cooke Boulevard to Jimmy Cliff Boulevard. That project has been in the pipeline for years but Brown said it is now closer to implementation.

“[The waterfront] is undervalued by virtue of what is there now — disorganised and not properly kept. There is indeed a plan being worked on, which will come to the public quite soon, that will see us creating a promenade from the Freeport area all the way down to Harmony Park,” he said.

A return of the Build Expo event after a 10-year hiatus, Recover and Rebuild Jamaica Expo 2026 is being staged in partnership with the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It will be held at Montego Bay Convention Centre, July 11-12 and, according to organisers, the goal is to help Jamaica rebuild faster, smarter, and stronger.

Expo organiser Dwight Crawford (left), architect Isiaa Madden (centre) and Urban Development Corporation Chairman Norman Brown during Tuesday’s launch of Recover and Rebuild Jamaica Expo 2026 at Pier One in Montego Bay.

An aerial view of a section of Harmony Beach Park in Montego Bay, St James. (Photo: Courtesy of JIS)

Jason Russell, president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which is partnering in bringing Recover and Rebuild Jamaica Expo 2026 to life., addressing the launch of the event at Pier One, Montego Bay, on Tuesday.