By Ainsworth Morris
KINGSTON, Jamaica, (JIS) – Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, June 12 broke ground for the multi-million-dollar Wick Hall Estate development, which will provide 221 housing solutions in St Catherine. To be undertaken over 36 acres of land at Featherbed Lane, the project will deliver three categories of housing units priced to meet different income brackets and needs.
These are the Garden, which are two-bedroom and two-bathroom units, starting at $28.5 million; the Classic, three-bedroom, two-bathroom units starting at $33.5 million; and the Terrace, three-bedroom, three-bathroom units starting at $36.5 million.
ALTRUHOMES, which is a part of the ARC Group, is undertaking the project with funding from National Commercial Bank (NCB).
“This is a serious investment. It answers a question Jamaican families ask everyday, where can I find well-built homes in a good location at a reasonable price? Teachers ask this question, nurses are asking it, civil servants, police officers and many young professionals, eager to own their own homes,” Holness noted. The project is in support of the government’s efforts to deliver 70,000 housing solutions to address the country’s housing deficit.
“The National Housing Trust has 42,000 of that, the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) has 15,000 houses to build, but it can’t only be the government that should build. Housing can be provided effectively, affordably and at high standards by the private sector, and I want to use this project as an example of a private sector project that will provide affordable housing,” Holness added.
The prime minister applauded ALTRUHOMES for designing houses that are aesthetically appealing in the old capital, noting that there is a view that the effort of the private sector has been concentrated in constructing highrise apartments in Kingston.
“We want to see the private sector operating in Spanish Town, May Pen [and] St. Thomas in building out houses. Let me use this project as an example of what an enlightened private sector housing thrust could look like,” the prime minister said.
Meanwhile, the prime minister endorsed the move expressed by Mayor of Spanish Town, Norman Scott, to change the name Featherbed Lane, where the housing development will be situated, to Featherbed Drive.
Mayor Scott, in his address at the groundbreaking, said that the matter will be brought to the St Catherine Municipal Council for approval.
“I take note of the Mayor’s commitment to change the name of the road, and I must tell you that I quite understand it,” Holness said, noting the stigma associated with a “lane.” – “It is important that with this development, comes not just the change with infrastructure, but a change in name that reflects the dignity of the place we intend to create,” the prime minister added.
ARC Group chairman, Norman Horne, in his remarks, said that Wick Hall Estate is more than a construction project.
“We’re advancing something that is much larger. We’re advancing the Jamaican dream. I firmly believe that a home is the best route from independence to prosperity,” he said.
Horne highlighted the economic spin-off of the project:
“It creates jobs during the building phase, permanent employment in maintenance, security and community management; spend in the local hardware stores, supermarkets, pharmacies and service businesses, etc; and increased property values in the surrounding area. All the homeowners will have more equity in their properties, a stronger tax base for Jamaica, and a more stable and more productive community. All of us, we all win.”