Kingston Properties Limited (KPREIT) is weighing plans to transform its East Street lot in downtown Kingston into a modern parking facility, in what could become the company’s first mobility infrastructure.
Lot 7 East Street, acquired late last year under a sale and leaseback arrangement, is currently used to service tenants of two adjacent buildings KPREIT owns on Duke Street. But with occupancy levels rising and a fresh push underway to maximise underutilised assets, the company is actively exploring the idea of a high-tech parking solution that could both increase income and improve the downtown experience for workers and visitors. The development plan also complements KPREIT’s growing cluster of commercial holdings in the area.
“Downtown Kingston desperately needs better parking,” chairman of KPREIT Garfield Sinclair told shareholders during the company’s annual general meeting on Wednesday. “One of the options we are considering is a modern, automated parking lot with minimal human intervention, which could bring efficiency and security to an area that’s long had challenges.”
Although no final decision has been made, Sinclair indicated that a development project for East Street lot is being mapped out for 2026, following the scheduled completion of it mini-warehouse complex on Rousseau Road in Kingston. That industrial project, comprising 14 warehouse units, is already 20 per cent complete and on track to begin leasing in the first quarter of 2026. It will mark KPREIT’s first foray into ground-up construction.
The East Street lot sits within walking distance of the Supreme Court, ministries and several corporate offices.
Parking in downtown Kingston remains a long-standing issue, with motorists often circling narrow corridors in search of secure spaces — a factor that has limited accessibility and, in some cases, commercial vibrancy. Sinclair noted that KPREIT’s proposed redevelopment would attempt to address that infrastructure gap while enhancing the yield potential of its growing downtown cluster.