Left: Lloyd B Smith (left), president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce, Clifton Yapp, architect, and developer Angella Whitter on a tour of the Whitter Village in Montego Bay. Right: The partially complete Whitter Village. Phase one, the Whitter Village Centre, is complete. - photos by Sheena Gayle

Western Bureau:

Montego Bay is not intent on being classed only as the tourism Mecca but is securing its position as the ideal place to do business. The inclusion of a billion-dollar multifaceted shopping complex along the Rose Hall main road brings the transition even closer to reality.

The construction cost US$40 million (or J$3 billion) and took just under two years to be completed.

The brainchild of local developers Joe and Angella Whitter, the vision was to create the ideal convenience stop for business, shopping, food and entertainment.

Welcome addition

According to Lloyd B. Smith, president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce, during a tour of the village, the convention centre was a welcome addition to a city which wanted to be known as a business hub.

"Apart from being a facility that provides dining, entertainment and different types of shopping facilities, it will give Montego Bay an enhancement that it desperately needs at this time," said Smith.

The chamber of commerce president also commended the entrepreneurs for completing the project without the scandals that are normally associated with mega construction ventures.

The architecture, which features a magnificent village square highlighted by a landmark clock tower, evokes the nostalgia and ambience of a traditional Jamaican village and was designed by one of Jamaica's leading architects, Clifton Yapp.

According to Yap, "the trend in development around the world is to develop complete town centres, where people live, work and play. That's what we hope to achieve in the long term".

Yap went on to say that any local investor putting up that amount of investment showed commitment and foresight and should be supported.

"I can't think of any local investor who would put up that kind of investment without assistance from the government," he said.

The Whitter Village Centre is the first phase of a comprehensive development plan for the 15-and-a-half-acre site.

The next phase will include the construction of offices and living space to create the ideal town centre where people can work, shop and socialise.

sheena.gayle@gleanerjm.com