The first phase of the Sun Coast Beach Club in St Thomas is on track for completion in December 2027, following delays in design, financing, and logistics.
“The original architectural design was very traditional, but after travelling around the world and seeing different styles, we scrapped the original plan and decided on a Spanish-inspired design done by Bizet Construction,” said Kevin Frith, chief executive officer of TCF Holdings Limited, the company behind the project. Lance Thomas is chairman of TCF Holdings Limited.
Phase one of the development comprises 133 units made up of two-bedroom houses and two-bedroom duplexes, selling for US$450,000 and US$550,000, respectively, he indicated.
The price point represents an increase from the US$350,000 starting price when Sun Coast Beach Club was first announced in 2022. Frith said the concept has undergone substantial changes since then.
“We call it a gated, affordable, luxury, resort-style residential community,” Frith told the Financial Gleaner.
Construction of phase one will cost US$35 million, financed by private institutions that Frith declined to identify.
A further 263 units are planned for a second phase at a later date. The building contractor is the Landmark Group. “Bringing in Landmark on the project was the best decision we could have made. I would say they work very efficiently and deliver high-quality finishes,” Frith said.
About half the units in phase one are already under offer, with roughly equal numbers being purchased by locals and overseas buyers, he said.
“Quite a few Jamaicans abroad want to return home to live there, while a few non-Jamaicans just want to have a home in St Thomas,” he said about the prospects.
With the recently named Paul Bogle Highway from Bull Bay to Morant Bay now in place alongside other developments in the parish, Frith said projects such as Sun Coast Beach Club offer a better return on investment than comparable properties elsewhere in Jamaica. Proximity to Kingston is a further draw.
“It’s an easy drive from there to work, whether you work downtown, Marcus Garvey Drive or New Kingston. It’s like a 25-minute drive from the property to any of those locations,” he said.
Infrastructure development at the site is about 65 per cent complete, with construction of the units at roughly 40 per cent, Frith said.
Frith recently travelled to the United Kingdom to market the venture alongside reggae artiste and St Thomas native Gramps Morgan, whom he described as a brand ambassador, investor and homeowner in the project.
“We plan to start aggressively pushing sales next January, but we are more focused on completing the project for now,” Frith said.
The development of St Thomas, long regarded as a neglected parish, has seen state and private-sector investment such as the Morant Bay Urban Centre, the construction of 895 housing units at Rozelle Estates, and plans for a new shipping port near Yallahs.
luke.douglas@gleanerjm.com
