KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaican housing developer Kemtek Development and Construction Limited has entered the commercial property market with a six-storey office complex on Constant Spring Road, adding a new source of potential rental income while continuing major residential construction in St Catherine.
The 90,000-square-foot development at 147–149 Constant Spring Road was officially opened on Wednesday, November 4, according to reports published on November 6. It houses the company’s headquarters, with five floors designated for leasing. The project follows approximately six years of planning and development after the site was acquired in 2020.
The investment is a notable shift for the family-owned business, established in 1989 and best known for housing projects. Kemtek has not publicly disclosed the cost of the new complex or its financing structure, so its financial return cannot yet be assessed.
Chairman and managing director Dr Sylvester Tulloch described the opening as an extension of the company’s construction expertise into a different part of the property market. The business has previously delivered more than 3,000 housing solutions in its North Coast developments, according to statements reported from the opening.
Of greater immediate relevance to homebuyers is Kemtek’s continuing involvement in Greater Bernard Lodge, St Catherine, where it says it is undertaking five gated residential communities representing approximately 2,500 housing solutions. Those are project pipeline figures, not evidence that all units have been completed or placed on sale.
The opening also drew remarks from Deputy Prime Minister and National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang, who linked well-planned housing to safer communities. Roads, drainage, lighting and secure tenure, he argued, matter alongside the buildings themselves. His comments reinforce a broader question for Jamaica’s housing expansion: whether essential community infrastructure is being delivered at the same pace as new homes.
For Kingston’s commercial market, the new building increases potential office supply along an established business corridor. Actual occupancy, lease rates and demand have not been independently established, however, and should not be inferred from the building’s completion.
The development illustrates how a longstanding residential builder is diversifying into income-producing commercial assets, even as Jamaica faces continuing pressure to deliver housing that is both affordable and supported by reliable infrastructure.
Featured image: architectural illustration, not a photograph of the Kemtek development.
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