Subratie, Musson partner on industrial park for Spanish Town
Published:Sunday | February 20, 2022 | 12:08 AM
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Developer Michael Subratie is partnering with Musson Jamaica, to which he is connected, on the transformation of the old Ariguanabo textile factory on the northern outskirts of Spanish Town into an industrial park. The renovations began last...
Developer Michael Subratie is partnering with Musson Jamaica, to which he is connected, on the transformation of the old Ariguanabo textile factory on the northern outskirts of Spanish Town into an industrial park.
The renovations began last October, while completion of the new MJS Industrial Park, a 15-acre complex that will operate as a special economic zone is scheduled for October 1 of this year, with the possibility of a four-month extension.
Ariguanabo was once a key manufacturing operation, up to the 1980s, producing high-quality textiles even after the original Colombian owners offloaded the factory to the Jamaican Government for a song in 1974.
Beset by high raw material costs, inefficiencies, and union activism, the factory was shuttered, and the lands, along with the derelict buildings, were sold for housing development in 2010, giving rise to Angels Estate. But the old factory and warehouses remained.
“It just sat there for decades in a dilapidated state. My father, Stafford, brought it to my attention, and it became a pet project to see how we could revitalise this once heavy industrial area,” said Subratie, a structural engineer, who is originally from Spanish Town.
“I used to visit my grandmother, Adina, two blocks away from the facility, while growing up. My uncles Lloyd and Ralph were former employees of the textile mill back in the late 1950s,” he reminisced.
Subratie will own 40 per cent of MJS, and Musson 60 per cent.
They are pumping US$30 million into the development of the park, where 220,000 square feet of space will be dedicated to light manufacturing and logistics. That element of the project is scheduled for completion on May 1. Another 100, 000 square feet of technology/BPO space is to be finalised by October 1, said Subratie, who conceded that the timeline targets were ambitious.
“We’re definitely looking to hit those targets. True, we’ve had some shipping delays, but the team is pressing ahead, and the latest it will be is February 2023,” he said.
The MJS Industrial Park is projected to create 2,500 jobs for Spanish Town within two years, split 700 for light manufacturing and 1,800 for BPO.
A second phase of the project will commence at a later, unspecified date on adjacent properties owned by related companies that will add another 1,000 jobs, Subratie said.
The industrial park is in the proximity of the North-South Highway and is next door to the GC Foster College. Subratie adds that a potential tenant can use the rail service, which runs past the gate of the complex, to bring bulk goods from Port Esquivel straight to the park for processing and export. MJS is also looking to install a loading platform with a lift crane to facilitate this activity, he said.
The complex will be served by water from a well on the property and with electricity from a 1.8 megawatt solar system to be installed on the rooftop of the building.