The government-owned property company is awaiting development briefs for the former Planning Department building on South Hill and Cyril Le Marquand House, and hopes that planning applications for both sites could be submitted by the end of next year.
Managing director Lee Henry (pictured right) said that JDC was ‘willing and able’ to work on regenerating sites that are surplus to government requirements following the redeployment of staff to other premises.
Mr Henry said he expected that South Hill would host a residential development, but that it was not yet clear whether regeneration at Cyril Le Marquand House would be for residential or office use.
‘The first step would be design briefs from the Environment Minister, and then we would look to have design teams who would work up proposals for both sites,’ he said.
In publishing its 2018 annual report and accounts yesterday, JDC outlined what it described as an ‘exceptional’ year. Total income of £23.4 million for the year was up 47% on 2017, while operating profit of £18.7 million was up 177% on the previous year.
Key achievements during 2018 included the sale of the inaugural International Finance Centre – IFC 1 – for £43.7 million, resulting in a net profit of £9.5 million. The second building in the series – IFC 5 – was completed and had been 87% let by the end of the year.
The IFC complex also saw the completion of Trenton Square, described as ‘the largest piece of public realm created in Jersey since 2011..
JDC was not purely focused on the Waterfront in 2018, with significant progress on the former Jersey College for Girls site to the north of St Helier – 28 first-time-buyer units from the 40 being constructed at College Gardens were handed over, with another 40 units transferred to the Jersey Homes Trust for social housing for the over-55s. A total of 139 out of 187 apartments were completed and handed over to purchasers.
Mr Henry stressed that 100 per cent of the profit generated by JDC was either paid to the government as a dividend, invested in public infrastructure as directed by the Treasury Minister, or invested in future development projects.
‘2018 has been the most successful year in the company’s history, with record financial results,’ he said. ‘Construction activity levels in 2018 were at an all-time high, with contracts to the value of £158 million. During the year, JDC sold its first IFC building, realising a healthy commercial return, as well as completing and selling 139 residential apartments at College Gardens, including 68 affordable homes.’
Future Waterfront initiatives are likely to include progress on IFC 6, which is the third of the buildings on the Esplanade. Mr Henry said JDC was ‘fully engaged’ in seeking an anchor tenant for this development and would press ahead with construction once the tenant was in place. A planning application for the fourth building in the series – IFC 2 – is also likely to be submitted during the next 12 months.
