Real estate development company, Stanley Motta Limited, is to break ground on a new state-of-the-art building at its technology park at 58 Half-Way-Tree Road in Kingston this summer.
The building, dubbed unit one, promises to attract a diverse group of tenants to 58HWT, joining longstanding tenant business processing outsourcing (BPO) firm Alorica at the prime business location.
It will provide an additional 84,000 square feet of rentable space within the park.
Stanley Motta, led by chairman Melanie Subratie, said it is minimizing its risks by ensuring it obtains rental tenants for the building before construction completion.
The building project will significantly boost revenue and profits while improving shareholder value.
“We saw the opportunity to increase the square footage of one of our buildings. We seized this opportunity to diversify the rental landscape, and while doing so, we will unlock value for our shareholders. We have significant experience in executing major projects like this one and look forward to executing this project from planning to construction to property management,” Subratie said.
The building, slated for completion in 2024, will be 126,000 square feet, with 44 parking spaces and over 10 floors.
It will also house a lobby area with requisite restroom facilities, a café, four elevators and a specially designed space to house a rooftop terrace entertainment area.
The property management company has contracted Synergy Design Studio to plan, design, construct and outfit the new building in the heart of Kingston.
“Synergy Design Studio is grateful to be a part of the team to establish a presence in one of Jamaica’s busiest Commercial hubs. The building at 58HWT will be among the tallest commercial buildings in New Kingston. We hope to use this opportunity to inspire more innovations in Jamaica”, commented Synergy’s founding partner, Bruce Lopez.
Stanley Motta said it is in advanced negotiations relating to financing the building and construction.
Concurrently, Stanley Motta is grappling with a substantial rise in inflationary costs across the globe.
Its utility and security expenses increased at the start of April 2022, influenced by higher oil prices and increases in compensation respectively.
Administrative expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2022, increased by 20 per cent, moving from $55.4 million to $66.8 million. This increase is mainly due to a significant foreign exchange loss of $19 million arising from the revaluation of the USD denominated loan.
Revenue for the period ended March 2022 increased by a marginal 5.3 per cent from $119.6 million to $126 million over the corresponding period of the previous year. The increase is attributable to the depreciation of the Jamaican dollar, moving from an average of $147.86 to US$1 as at March 2021 to $156.06 to US$1 as at March 2022.
Stanely Motta noted that it missed out rental income from unit one during the quarter, as preparations were being made to build out the larger space for the unit one building.
Net profit for the March quarter was down 15 per cent, moving from $54.2 million in the comparative quarter to $45.9 million.