OPPOSITION Leader Mark Golding is urging Jamaican business developers to increase investment in inner-city communities as the high population density in these areas make them attractive locations for businesses seeking to meet growing consumer demands.

Golding, the Member of Parliament for St Andrew Southern, made the call on Tuesday, while he was giving his address at the official launch and ribbon-cutting programme at the Rousseau Road Commercial Complex in Kingston.

The complex, which was developed by real estate company Kingston Properties Limited, consists of 14 units of commercial buildings offering more than 26,000 square feet of modern warehouse and office space.

Golding argued that the development in his constituency represents a recognition of an opportunity which others perhaps weren’t astute enough to identify.

“South St Andrew is a constituency predominantly of low-income residents. On the periphery of it, there are commercial opportunities, and I’m happy to see, for example, on Maxfield Avenue, recent developments there in areas which have been plagued with serious social problems and violence over the years,” said Golding as he added that there is significant potential for further developments along these corridors.

“We are seeing investors taking the plunge on Spanish Town Road as well, so Rousseau Road is the northern piece of that. And by putting here what you have put, you are kind of… opening up the imagination of others who may want to follow suit, or indeed your own opportunities to do more of this, even when you’re able to tenure this successfully, and I want to commend you again for that,” said Golding.

“I hope that investments like this will result in some, what I say, backward integration into the communities that lie behind us, so whether it be Maxfield Avenue or Rousseau Road or Spanish Town Road, if you face the road and turn around and look inwards, there are large communities of people living there and there isn’t sufficient investment in those communities and there is great potential for investment there because it’s highly densely populated and there are needs for goods and services, and ready accessibility to goods and services, in these communities.

“I’m hoping that as people become accustomed to operating here and elsewhere on Rousseau Road, Maxfield Avenue, Spanish Town Road, and so on, that we will see people starting to look at the opportunities for investing in communities behind where there are, there is infrastructure, there is… roads, sewerage systems, etc. Some of them are in the process of being upgraded over time, but there are opportunities there,” he continued.

Golding’s call was supported by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, who serves as Member of Parliament for West Central St Andrew.

Holness argued that the country has valuable real estate assets in inner-city communities that are underutilised.

“I commend you for investing in our inner-city communities. I commend you for doing that. Because, make no mistake about it, to put up US$4.3 million in anything is a major risk. It has not escaped me that they have decided to take the risk in a community that persons would take a pause … at the prospect of investment. And I commend you,” said Holness.

“We have valuable real estate assets in our communities just waiting for the enterprising entrepreneur to see the vision and see the value and unlock it with the investment. The leader of the Opposition and I are certain, we agree, that more investments are needed in our communities. So on that note, I [would] welcome Kingston Properties to West Central St Andrew as well. I have some properties there I can point you to,” added Holness.