The developer of a $36 million upscale office complex near Lyford Cay set to employ about 200 workers in its construction phase said the serious demand for and response to the proposed investment shows "it's all up from here" for the economy.
Kevin Cross, of Cross & Mosko, said that while he continues to hear pessimism about the state of the economy, the "very high" level of interest in expanding into high-end office space from law firms, financial institutions and other major businesses, along with the growing demand for property generally, indicates "this is the beginning" of a major turnaround.
Cross was speaking with Guardian Business about Cross & Mosko's recently announced 120,000-square-foot Deltec Financial Center project, which consists of two five-story office buildings next to Lyford Cay.
To date, Cross said that the company has received enough expressions of interest from firms to fill the space in at least one of the buildings. With significant interest established, groundbreaking could occur in the next three months. Construction is expected to be completed by mid-2016.
The project came about as a result of an excess of inquiries by firms into whether there was available space in an already-existing office space developed and owned by the Mosko Group, Cross told Guardian Business.
"The push is to move this way. We're getting a lot of inquiries from the big law firms. For a lot of law firms they want to be close to Albany and Lyford, and I think things in this area are just going to go crazy; there's a lot of demand for space. We've got this building here and we get asked every week if there's any space available. People seem to want to move away from the smaller buildings that you have a lot of near Lyford into something more grand.
"There's no doubt that things are picking up. I am hearing a lot of pessimism still and I am just amazed because there is so much in the works right now. Every week we're dealing with major, major people, billionaires are coming in and they are buying, so it's beginning, and I think it's all up from here."
Each floor of the office buildings will offer around 12,500 square feet in space, while covered parking will be available underneath each building to fit a total of 220 cars.
Cross said that in terms of its look and feel, the building will be "as good as it gets" - and "the best on the island". "The Deltec Financial Center will be on same level as this building we're in (the Templeton building)," he added.
The announcement of the Deltec Financial Center comes around six weeks after the government announced it had finalized a $140 million expansion of the Albany project, which will include a 60,000-square-foot financial center, designed to cater to law firms and trust companies, among other institutions, as well as retail space. Cross said that the Deltec Financial Center represents a more high-end offering for Cross & Mosko than another commercial real estate project it is currently constructing between the airport industrial park and the Charlottesville residential area.
"It's right next to the airport industrial park. It's a total of about 68,000 square feet of office space. At the back there'll be some warehouses. It's security gated with a wall, nicely landscaped, and there will be individual buildings which are 5,000 square feet, broken into two units.
"There's been good interest there, but I think I'd definitely say this new Deltec center has had more. There is demand for these smaller buildings, your own building, but there wasn't much product like this (Deltec)," said Cross.
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