Consider city for office space - Greene

Town Clerk Errol Greene has repeated his call for businesses to look to downtown Kingston as they seek to relocate or expand.

Minutes after GraceKennedy opened its new financial centre in the heart of the city, a beaming Greene told The Gleaner that his idea for the rebirth of downtown Kingston involves the opening of several other entities.

"The building was owned by the KSAC (Kingston and St Andrew Corporation) for a little while and we were looking for the ideal tenant, so when we heard that Grace was looking somewhere it was not difficult for a decision to be made when they approached us," said Greene.

He noted that the building, at the corner of Duke and Harbour streets, once housed Barclays Bank and, later, National Commercial Bank, before they moved out.

"While it had all the facilities including the vaults still intact for a bank, there is nothing short of a renascence when you look at what GraceKennedy has done," added Greene.

He noted that while the KSAC does not own any other vacant building, there are several others in downtown just waiting on tenants.

"I think the KRC (Kingston Restoration Company) has an inventory of other available buildings in downtown Kingston and persons should just check."