by Kevon Browne
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN)—The nationwide housing drive continues as the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis expands their mandate on more affordable housing for citizens under the National Housing Corporation’s Renaissance Project in communities across St. Kitts.
The programme is intended to widen access to safe and affordable homes while placing greater emphasis on construction standards suited to the Caribbean’s exposure to severe storms.
During the recent media tour with the Prime Minister, Hon. Dr Terrance Drew and members of the Federal Cabinet, some of those communities were highlighted.
Construction is underway on 12 homes at Gillard Meadows with the development intended to support residents of St. Christopher 2, where land availability and access constraints have complicated housing delivery.
The representative for St. Christopher 2, Hon. Marsha Henderson, gave an update during the tour.
“They’re about 80% completed; we just need to have the cupboards. Most of them are about 80-90% completed. We just need to make sure that the cupboards are installed, the tiling is completed, and then I’m told by the corporation that we’re going to clean up the site, and they’re going to be ready for distribution for the residents of Central Basseterre. We’re going to have 12 new homeowners, Prime Minister, here in Central Basseterre”
Ottley’s has emerged as one of the principal showcases of the housing initiative, with the development reported to be approximately 80% complete.
Housing developments were presented alongside projects in healthcare, water security, education and heritage tourism.
In St. Peter’s Parish, the Stapleton Residencies are being developed to provide affordable housing for local families. Officials recently toured ongoing housing developments at Stapleton, where 19 new houses are under construction.
Housing projects are ongoing in several communities across the island, including in Ottley’s, Racecourse, Newton Ground, Harry Phipps, Stapleton, Gillard’s, and Sandy Point, underscoring that the government’s commitment to equitable housing development extends to every constituency, according to the Prime Minister.
“We’re going to have more development; people are given access to land where they can build their own houses under the special land initiative, which has the reduced interest rate and so forth. So this is just part of the housing solution that we have. So we just decided to stop here; we have these constructed throughout the country, and we do them in waves, but we want to make sure that one constituency does not get everything.
So when one constituency, we make one round, then we make a next round at every constituency.”
The Prime Minister said construction is happening on privately owned land as well as government community developments.
“We’re building on private land as well. You are seeing just the cluster, but it’s building many more homes on people’s private land that are not in clusters. Because a lot of the land has been given out in the flat areas of St. Kitts, we are having tremendous difficulty finding land for clusters like these. So that is why we are building most of the homes on individual lots, so you will not see clusters. So even though we say we are building these, most of the actual homes are actually being built on people’s private lots. I can say that to you. So this is part and parcel of just a small housing programme.”
The government has tied the housing programme to stronger building specifications.
New National Housing Corporation homes are being constructed with eight-inch concrete blocks, steel reinforcement and heavy concrete roofs, measures officials say are intended to improve resistance to extreme weather, including Category 5 hurricanes.
The concrete roof design also leaves room for homeowners to add another level in the future. That feature links immediate housing delivery with the possibility of gradual household expansion as families’ needs and resources change.
“So you have a private lot, and NHC will build your house according to the NHC plan. It kind of makes it easier for NHC, the procurement process, the building process, so we can build many homes in a short period of time.”
Prime Minister Drew said the pace of building has become sufficiently intense to place temporary pressure on local concrete producers, which are working to keep up with demand from multiple housing sites.
The construction activity is also supporting local contractors, tradespeople and suppliers involved in trucking, steel, block making, carpentry, plumbing and electrical work.
