Barita expands real estate portfolio
BARITA Investments has completed the purchase of 100 acres of land in St Ann with plans to construct high-end luxury properties.
The land forms part of Windsor Estate and is located next to the Marina Bay development, a few minutes away from the Mammee Bay exit of the Edward Seaga Highway in St Ann.
Jamaica Observer sources say Barita, which is majority-owned by the Paul Simpson-led Cornerstone Group, completed the purchase in a deal worth close to US$60 million ($9 billion).
It is understood that the land was purchased from the Karl Hendrickson-owned National Continental Corporation.
Properties in that area of St Ann which are located near the sea are reportedly valued between US$800,000 to US$1.5 million per acre.
Barita Investments’ principals have declined to comment on the deal but Business Observer sources say the beachfront property is to be used to locate uber high-end villas and resort homes along with luxury residential properties.
The latest land purchase by Barita Investments coincides with the recent designation of the nearby Ian Fleming Airport in Oracabessa as a port of entry for commercial flights.
In May this year the Business Observer revealed that Barita Investments had purchased the St Mary-based Reggae Beach property from billionaire Jamaican-Canadian businessman Michael Lee-Chin.
That purchase was made through the investment and brokerage firm’s special purpose vehicle, MJR Real Estate Holdings.
A source close to that deal indicated to the Business Observer that the property is valued at US$50 million or about $7.5 billion. The disclosure of that purchase came in the wake of Barita raising $10.78 billion in an additional public offering (APO) in September last year.
Reggae Beach is an over-250-acre property located midway between Ocho Rios, St Ann, and Oracabessa, St Mary.
The Reggae Beach property is to be used to enter into a major public/private arrangement with the Government for a multipurpose, “one-stop essential services development” project.
That project is expected to include the development of a tax office, hospital, courthouse, educational facility and police station. The cost of the impending development was not disclosed. Work is expected to begin in 2023.
