Johnston and Dequity break ground on $1.2b apartment development Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

New kid on the block Johnston Development Group Limited (JDG) has broken ground on its first real-estate development, dubbed, The Cardinal Residence.

The company and partners Dequity Capital Management broke ground on the development at Graham Heights in Kingston on Tuesday, October 11.

JDG is headed by young entrepreneur Jamila’ Kibebi Johnston.

The development, based in the Golden Triangle in Kingston is scheduled to be completed in another two years and will feature a mix of studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments, priced at roughly US$200,000.

In total, 54 luxury residential will be built at a cost of $1.2 billion.

Jamila Kibebi Johnston, CEO at Johnston Development Group Limited gives Welcome Speech at Cardinal Residence Groundbreaking Ceremony.

JDG is majority owned by Jamaica Fruit and Shipping Company of which Charles Johnston is the managing director and chairman. Jamila owns another 29 per cent and Dequity, which is owned by Kadeen Mairs, holds the remaining 20 per cent.

“Since the inception of JDG, it has been the company’s mission to ensure it adds value to the real estate sector from every angle,” Jamila said in a media release.

“Our partners, Jamaica Fruit and Shipping Company Limited and Dequity have been very supportive in the execution of our maiden development and are quite excited for us to offer a premium product that homeowners and investors will be able to buy with confidence,” she added.

The Cardinal Residence will provide convenient access for its residents to a plethora of major businesses and amenities in the corporate area, the company said.

For its part, Chief Executive Officer of Dequity Capital Management, Adrian Smith, said JDG is on a path to reshape the real estate market locally.

“It is Dequity’s mantra to invest in entrepreneurs and solution-driven ideas, and The Cardinal Residence offers a solution to investors and homeowners alike in quality diversification and customizable living spaces respectively,” said Smith.

Jamila, who was previously featured on Loop News’s‘Young People in Business’earlier this year, said she was inspired to bring to life her passion for real estate in this, her new company, following the devasting impact of COVID-19 which”shut down her others businesses completed.”

Despite the deleterious effects on the global economy, several business interests have noted the myriad of opportunities that have emanated from the pandemic.

For Jamila, “with COVID, I was able to put my efforts into driving this passion that I have had.”

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