The Annette Crescent office/residential complex in 3D. The development is to be completed by November..- Contributed

Aiming to capitalise on limited land space in the city of Kingston, Edward dePass and the Mahfoods, partners in a company called ALF Investments, are developing a complex that mixes offices with residential living.

The idea of mixing commercial and residential activity has been executed here before, with Oaklands at Constant Spring Road among the more prominent; but ALF Investments has taken a different, but not entirely new approach.

Its two-storey complex at the corner of Annette Crescent and Waterloo Road - just across from Pepper's nightclub and the Shell service station - will have apartments on top and offices below, both to maximise on space and as a security feature, said DePass.

"There is finite space in the city, so this design, like other such around the world, suits Kingston perfectly," he told Sunday Business.

"During the day, there is activity that provides the apartments with security and at night, the offices are secured by residential activities," he added

Other mixed-use developments tend to separate the two, usually with offices and/or shops in the foreground and apartments or houses to the back. Indeed, neighbourhood planning usually envisions commercial activity alongside homes, as in the case of Angel's in St Catherine.

But ALF's approach has been tried before. The multi-storey Dorchester in New Kingston, for example, has apartments on top, while the ground floor is owned and occupied by state financier National Export-Import Bank of Jamaica, which acquired the property from National Investment Bank of Jamaica last year after the latter's merger with Development Bank of Jamaica.

24-hour security

The Annette Crescent complex is a small project due to be finalised in November. ALF is investing $70 million in six apartments and six offices, and 29 parking spaces.

The offices range in size from 434 sq ft to 780 sq ft, with a starting price of $5.5 million. The apartments, which start at $8.6 million, range from 771 sq ft to 1,373 sq ft.

DePass said, notwithstanding the constant people traffic, the complex will have 24-hour security with individual intercoms.

ALF Investments' track record includes Trade Centre on Red Hills Road, Woodlands on Shortwood Road, the Marketplace on Constant Spring Road, all in the city of Kingston. The company has on the drawing board a 39-acre residential complex in Temple Hall in the upper reaches of St Andrew.

The development will provide 180 homes priced at $8 million to $13 million, dePass said.

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