Thursday, October 8, 2026
The agency set up to rebuild Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa is now rethinking how much of downtown Kingston it needs. The National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) had announced a five-year lease at 14 Ocean Boulevard valued at about US$726,000 a year, roughly J$115 million to J$116 million, at US$26 per square foot. After criticism of the cost, the Government says the rollout will be staggered, with significantly less space needed at first, and the Information Minister has said NaRRA could eventually occupy as little as half the space originally planned.
NaRRA says the building was chosen for its ability to withstand hazards and keep working through disasters, and a National Land Agency check found the rent in line with market rates and what other state bodies pay. But with about J$30 billion of the capital programme reportedly allocated to the authority this fiscal year, and families across the island still repairing roofs, a market-value rent is not the same as public value. The revised cost, and what happens to the five-year lease already announced, have not been made public. So if the space is halved, will the bill be halved too?
On Kingston’s waterfront, a giant in a suit with an office tower for a head stacks bundles of cash marked “US$726,000 A YEAR” onto a swaying scaffold of pink pigs, the bottom one stamped “5-YEAR LEASE” and a banner across the middle asking “HALF THE SPACE?”. Below, residents carrying zinc sheets and building blocks walk past, one woman holding up a placard that reads “STILL REBUILDING”.
Read more: NaRRA Cuts Office Plan After Rent Backlash
Visit our YouTube Community ↗