CHARLES KONG SOO
The traffic challenges and overpopulation in the central business district of Port-of-Spain have driven organizations, local and international, to developing commercial hubs/districts outside of the capital city.
Commercial developers have capitalized on this and met demand through new projects in developing areas such as Aranguez, Trincity and Chaguanas, which offer ample office, retail and warehouse space, abundant parking and greater access to other parts of the country.
In an interview last week, Port-of-Spain businessman Wil Chang said it was more convenient to shop in these locations outside of the capital.
He said although for the past four years rent in those areas had increased or doubled, it was still “slightly cheaper” than in Port-of-Spain.
Asked if when these businesses migrated out of the capital, rental costs or real estate value dropped, he said they remained the same.
Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (Doma) President Gregory Aboud, in an interview, had a different view.
He said rent in Port-of-Spain was actually far less than outside, compared to West Mall or Trincity Mall which were attracting customers.
The epicentre for retail trade is in downtown Port-of-Spain on Fredrick, Henry and Charlotte streets.
A mall on Henry Street has a spot advertised at $38,000 for 500 square feet which work out to $76 per square foot.
The rent at a leading mall in north Trinidad averages $35 to $40 per square foot.
At the Government-owned New City Mall, in Port-of-Spain, a tenant revealed that a 10'x10' store costs $900 per month and a 20'X10' store costs $2,000.
He said at the “ethnically dominated” malls a store can cost from $15,000 to $20,000 a month and a small kiosk can cost $8,000.
At another Government mall, East Side Plaza, it costs between $1,000 to $1,500 for a store and $500 for a kiosk, the drawback is a lack of amenities such as central air-conditioning.
Real estate takes steep nosedive
Along Melville Lane and other parts of Port-of-Spain, there are business places with "For Sale" or "For Rent" signs up.
The real estate agency Terra Caribbean published an article in November which stated that while Port-of-Spain is the business centre for much of the country and is an important financial services hub for the Caribbean, the commercial density has resulted in challenges in parking, traffic and office space availability.
Terra Caribbean Trinidad's ten-year Commercial Rental Rate Study from 2007-2017 revealed that in three short years, 2014 to present, the commercial office rental real estate market had taken a steep nosedive into near stagnation.
The data was collated from over 40 buildings and the study focused on A Class, B+ Class and B Class buildings within high demand areas with the purpose of assisting and advising tenants, building owners and developers on pricing decisions and market rates.
Within the last two years (2015-2017), however, as large corporations of the petrochemical industry had downsized operations globally, as well as in Trinidad, in response to a worldwide decrease in the demand for oil and by-products of oil, space in A Class and B Class commercial buildings had become available, resulting in a vacancy rate of approximately 20-25 per cent in the private office rental market.
In response to the rapid shift in the economy, some commercial tenants capitalized on decreased rental rates in A Class and B Class spaces and relocated to upgraded locations. The information showed that the current commercial office rental market was conducive for tenants to relocate from substandard accommodations to superior, more modern buildings.