25% of units remain at K2 waterfront apartments, no problem selling units

Three-quarters of the apartments at Kingston2 (K2), the $2.1-billion residential development overlooking the downtown Kingston waterfront, have been sold, according to the project’s developers.

Richard Lake, principal director of Island Homes, said the response has validated the decision to build a development targeted at professionals within the largely working-class community of Bournemouth Gardens in east Kingston. Of the project’s 119 units, he said 75 per cent have been offered for sale and purchased.

“All of the units we put on the market have been sold. So we don’t have any problem selling at all,” Lake said following Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.

K2 is a 10-storey residential development in Kingston 2. The complex comprises 54 studio apartments measuring 374 square feet (sq ft), 28 one-bedroom units of 738 sq ft, 35 two-bedroom apartments of 827 sq ft, and two larger two-bedroom units of 1,201 sq ft on the ninth floor.

Contractor BYD Construction built the project for developer Sherbourne Limited. The company, incorporated in 1971, previously developed Sherbourne Heights in St Andrew, while management of K2 has been assigned to affiliated company Island Homes. Both are connected to the Lake Group, headed by Chief Executive Officer Lisa Lake.

Prices start at US$104,600 for studio units, according to the development’s website, with larger apartments priced at US$200,000 or more. The development includes common areas, a fitness centre, plunge pool and sky deck.

Its defining feature is the harbour view. Every apartment was designed to overlook Kingston Harbour, a selling point Lake said has strengthened the project’s appeal.

“All of them have magnificent views. The apartment is designed so that everybody has a harbour view,” he said, adding that floor-to-ceiling windows also provide ventilation.

The philosophy behind K2 combines residential development with proximity to employment. Rather than continuing Kingston’s outward residential expansion, the developers are betting that more people will choose to live closer to where they work.

“If you look at any major city, you have to have accommodation where you have employment,” Lake said. “We were convinced that the beauty of the location and the advantages of living where you work would make it viable, and it has proven to be correct.”

The target market includes young professionals and first-time workers, as well as overseas buyers seeking investment properties.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, who participated in K2’s 2023 groundbreaking ceremony, described the project’s completion as a vote of confidence in Kingston’s redevelopment and waterfront revitalisation.

“This is a tangible expression of confidence in Kingston’s future,” Holness said. He argued that K2 demonstrates that residential investment can flow into established communities that historically have attracted less attention from major developers.

Holness also highlighted the developers’ effort to price K2 below comparable uptown projects, saying the mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units serves a segment that has not always received sufficient attention.

The early sales response has encouraged the developers to look beyond K2.

“We’re very encouraged with the results and look forward to doing several more,” Lake said, citing potential projects in Portmore and another apartment development in Montego Bay.

neville.graham@gleanerjm.com