Issa Construction

6 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 10, ISSUE 2 Peter Issa: The real estate market right now is booming, mainly driven by residential developments, although commercial developments are not far behind. Many two-bedroom apartment complexes and townhouses are going up, driven primarily by overseas investors from China. Much residential construction is ongoing throughout the island. Business View Magazine: Whom would you say are the primary buyers of all the residential properties coming up? Are they locals or foreigners? Peter Issa: The main buyers are senior-level employed Jamaicans living in the Diaspora who can afford units costing $40 to 70 million JMD (USD 250,000 – 500,000). Many see investing in real estate back home as a safe way of utilizing their extra money. So, yes, many of the purchasers are overseas, but they are Jamaicans. Locally, affluent Jamaicans buy apartments for their kids returning after studying overseas. Others invest for the rental income potential. Business View Magazine: You’ve mentioned developing KFC and Pizza Hut franchise outlets. Are there any other developments you’d like to mention? Peter Issa: We have completed two major commercial projects in the Golden Triangle which I am extremely proud of. These are the Head Offices for TotalEnergies Jamaica and The Delegation of the European Union to Jamaica, Belize, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands and Cayman Islands. We are currently working on a three-story commercial building on Trafalgar Road, one of the main commercial streets in Kingston. We have submitted the drawings to the local authorities for approval and meeting potential tenants looking for a similar space. In addition to this project, we have a few smaller projects in the pipeline, both sourced through our parent company, Coldwell Banker, and landowners that want to hire Issa Construction to construct for them. Business View Magazine: You have a two-part development process. One, surveying the land and formulating a plan, and two, construction. Coming out of COVID, how would you characterize the service demand within each step? Peter Issa: There’s strong demand for land, which drives up the price of land, construction, and, ultimately, the rental rates you charge. Because land and construction costs are so high, people charge higher rental rates, but how much is too much? How much more can owners charge, considering we are not in, say, Manhattan, where billion-dollar companies can afford to pay ever-increasing rent? The primary workaround is a move towards I SSA CONSTRUCT ION