MoneyMasters breaks ground on US$25m 10-storey commercial project near Half-Way Tree 

When Claudette Crooks set out in 2022 to build a commercial project in Kingston, she had a pointed challenge for Jamaica’s pension fund managers: Instead of investing incremental amounts in New York and London, invest here.

Pension fund managers, credit unions, other investment firms and one individual backed Crooks’ idea and Thursday morning The Sana, a US$25-million, 103,000 sq ft mixed-use landmark at 5–7 South Avenue, Kingston 10, near Half-Way Tree — broke ground. 

“It’s a statement of confidence in what we do,” said Crooks, who is president of MoneyMasters Limited and acting CEO of MoneyMasters-REIF South Development Limited. 

The Sana is being carried through MoneyMasters-REIF South Development Limited, an entity formed specifically for the project and part of the MoneyMasters Group, founded by Crooks, two decades ago.

The Sana will give Jamaican institutional capital a home-grown return while delivering retail, dining, office, and penthouse space to busy South Avenue, Crooks said. For business owners, units start at US$250,000. For consumers, the promise is a modern commercial destination near Half-Way Tree. The South Avenue–Central Avenue site sits within the Half-Way Tree–New Kingston belt, one of Kingston’s main commercial corridors. Across the street is Lane Plaza. The area is undergoing a revitalization. Buildings around the site are in various stages of reconstruction. 

Evan Shaw, chairman of MoneyMasters-REIF South Development Limited, said Crooks searched and found the 1.44-acre site on which The Sana Plaza & Tower will stand. The Sana Plaza & Tower is planned in two phases, with dual access from South and Central Avenues. 

Phase I is a four-storey commercial hub comprising 10 units totalling 28,075 sq ft, with space ranging from 625 sq ft to 10,600 sq ft, according to the project’s marketing materials. It will also house the headquarters of MMREIF, the parent company.  

Phase II is a 10-storey tower — nine and a half storeys of commercial space topped by a half-floor of four penthouses, two of which are reserved and two available. 

Floors one through four of the tower are designated for premium retail; Level 5 for a food court and dining; Floors 6 through 8 for office space; and the upper half-floor for the penthouses. Units are priced at US$400 per sq ft. 

The tower was originally designed for 14 storeys but was redrawn to 10 after running into local planning ordinances, Shaw said. It took about four years to secure all approvals, he added, accounting for the gap between the 2022 land purchase and Thursday’s ground-breaking. A construction contractor has not yet been signed, with that announcement pending, Shaw said. Unit deliveries are projected within 18 to 24 months. 

Crooks said at least 40 per cent of construction workers will be Jamaican. When the spaces are purchased and businesses open, local employment will be significant, Shaw said. 

MMREIF’s completed projects include the Palazzo in Cardiff Hall, Runaway Bay, and a luxury apartment partnership with Concept Homes in Reading, St James, delivered ahead of its 2022 schedule. Its largest ongoing project is Vista Montego Bay Resort, a US$130 million development on Jimmy Cliff Boulevard, with the full five-tower project projected for completion by 2029. 

The South Avenue project is already drawing interest. Dr Velma Brown, attorney-at-law and managing director of Caribbean Legal Suites, said she is in talks with Crooks and Shaw about investing. “The concept is very novel and I think it will transform what doing business in Kingston looks like,” she said of the mixed-use concept combining stores, offices, dining and penthouses. 

Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Daryl Vaz, the keynote speaker, said the project signals that Kingston is transforming into “a smarter, more connected, more resilient urban centre, capable of competing with the best commercial districts in the region”. Vaz added: “Jamaica, despite [Hurricane] Melissa, is still open for business”.

Former Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who cut the ribbon, brought levity to the ceremony. “[Claudette Crooks] wants me to cut the ribbon, which is fairly easy but she wants me to break ground and, as you know, at my age, that could be a challenge,” he said. 

Carolyn.guniss@rjrgleaner.com