Rose Hall Development Surge Positions St James Community as Next Major Growth Hub

ROSE HALL, St James — Development activity along the Rose Hall corridor outside Montego Bay is now being compared to how Drax Hall, St Ann expanded over recent years.

Councillor Anthony Murray of the Jamaica Labour Party, who represents the Rose Hall Division, said he is encouraged by what is now taking shape in the area.

“Rose Hall is becoming the Drax Hall of St James with all the development that is taking place,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Murray said Drax Hall evolved into a busy centre for housing and business projects, while also building a name as a suitable venue area for major events, and he believes Rose Hall can match or even exceed that trajectory.

He linked that outlook to the scale of projects now advancing in and around the division. “I know we have Moon Palace [hotel], doing both residential and commerce development; Unico and Hard Rock hotels are to come on-stream,” noted Murray.

Moon Palace, valued at US$700 million, is planned as a 1,200-room luxury property and is expected to rise 33 storeys, which would make it Jamaica’s tallest hotel. The project is also to include staff accommodation on nearby land beside the main site.

The Unico 18°77° Hotel is set as a 451-room, adults-only luxury resort, while the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Jamaica now under construction carries an estimated US$850-million investment and is intended to operate as a luxury all-inclusive property.

Murray said these headline projects are already encouraging supporting business activity aimed at hotel operations and the needs of workers and nearby residents.

He said there are reports that a major fast-food company intends to establish a location in the Rose Hall area, though he did not identify that brand. He did, however, name one confirmed investment: “A Fesco gas station is being built now at Barrett Town,” he said.

The councillor also referenced long-standing plans for lands near Dreams Resorts. “Those lands were earmarked long ago for different developments, different entities have lots there,” he said.

Although several approvals were granted years ago, Murray said he is pleased these initiatives are materialising during his tenure. “There is development happening across the parish but I am happy that a lot of it is happening in my space, under my watch as councillor,” he said. “Even if you go as far as Long Bay, you see some development going on out there, as well,” declared Murray.

He said once the projects are completed, people who have not visited for some time may hardly recognise the district. “The transformation that is taking place will make the place look really different, especially for persons who have not been here for a while. They will find it hard to recognise [with] what is going on here in Rose Hall,” Murray said.

Murray added that this push fits into a broader parish strategy, including plans to establish a defined town centre in Rose Hall. “Part of the concept is to build the town of Rose Hall because Rose Hall doesn’t have a town. It’s something that [Tourism] Minister [Edmund] Bartlett has been speaking about for a long while,” he explained.

He said the St James Municipal Corporation has been helping to move projects through the approval process in line with regulations. “We don’t sit back and hold on to permits, we allow persons to get their building permits within the regulations and we let them go so people can build, people can invest,” he said.

Murray argued that more than 10,000 people living in nearby communities should gain easier access to jobs, shopping and services closer to home, reducing routine travel into Montego Bay and Ironshore. “This development will take some pressure off the city because you will have other options… You don’t have to head to Montego Bay for employment, you don’t have to go into Ironshore or Montego Bay for shopping, we’ll have some of those facilities right here within the space,” declared Murray.

He said residents are already seeing benefits as hotel construction progresses, with some people finding work now and more long-term positions expected when the properties open. “Quite a number of persons within the space — since the work for the hotels started — they have gotten work already and there is more long-term employment when the hotels do come on stream, so they are seeing the advantages,” declared Murray.

He also pointed to population movement into the area and associated demand for housing, which he said is creating additional room for economic expansion. “We already see additional people moving in too and they need a place to stay; and so it provides opportunities for economic growth in the space,” Murray added.

Murray said he expects Rose Hall, within a few years, to become a model many communities in Jamaica and abroad will watch closely.