Cal’s seeks court approval to commercialise Westminster Rd properties

The founder of Cal’s Manufacturing Ltd has applied to the Supreme Court to modify covenants on two adjoining residential properties on Westminster Road in Kingston for commercial activities.

Its directors acquired the parcels – which connect to Eastwod Park and Red Hills Road in Kingston – for a combined $42 million years earlier. The application for the change of use was published this month in The Gleaner.

Carlton Watson, through his company Carlton Watson Property and Investments Company Ltd, filed the application under the Restrictive Covenants (Discharge and Modification) Act for properties at 16 and 18 Westminster Road.

Watson, who is chief executive of Cal’s Manufacturing, confirmed the ownership of both properties to the Financial Gleaner but declined to disclose the company’s plans for the site.

The properties were acquired years apart. A copy of the title for 18 Westminster Road shows that Carlton Watson and his wife Annette Watson purchased the property for $12 million in June 2006. That property was subsequently transferred by way of gift to Carlton Watson Property and Investments Company Limited in June 2024. The title for 16 Westminster Road indicates that Watson acquired the adjoining parcel for $30 million in January 2022.

The combined $42-million outlay across the two purchases, spanning nearly two decades, and the recent transfer of the earlier acquisition into a corporate vehicle suggest a long-term strategy to assemble a consolidated commercial site in an area that has been gradually shifting from residential to mixed-use.

Eastwood Park Gardens was once a prime residential community, but several businesses have established operations in the area in recent years, including Lillian Limited, a food import and distribution company. Under the Restrictive Covenants Act, the Supreme Court may grant the application if it is satisfied that the character of the neighbourhood has changed materially, rendering the covenants obsolete, or that the restrictions impede all reasonable use of the land.

Cal’s Manufacturing, founded over 25 years ago, produces and distributes 14 food products, including tomato ketchup, lime juice, vinegar, hot pepper sauce, bag drinks, syrup, fruit wine and canned goods. The company was reporting annual revenue of approximately $3 billion as of 2022 and operates from roughly 55,600 square feet of factory space at the Garmex Free Zone complex on Marcus Garvey Drive – the same address listed on Watson’s title for 16 Westminster Road. Cal’s Manufacturing is a family-run business, with Watson’s wife Annette and daughter Lisa serving as directors.

According to its website, the company plans to list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange and obtain ISO 22000 food safety certification.

luke.douglas@gleanerjm.com