It’s being dubbed a housing revolution in St Kitts and Nevis. And with that assertion by the developers, they are keen on spreading it across the rest of the Caribbean, including to Barbados.
The Trinidad-based East Coast Housing Development Limited (ECHDL) – the company behind this EC$600 million “smart, affordable home” project, has partnered with the Dr Terrance Drew administration to build 2 400 one-, two- and three-bedroom homes for the state-owned National Housing Corporation (NHC) over the next four years.
Just last month, the executive chairman of East Coast Housing Bryan Singh joined Drew, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Geoffrey Hanley, Attorney General Garth Wilkins and Chairman of the NHC Shawn White in breaking ground to signal the start of the first two, two-and-three-bedroom model houses to be finished by the end of this month.
In an extensive interview with Barbados TODAY this week, Singh said the houses will be constructed in four phases.
“Six hundred houses per phase in four phases, which is basically…each phase is 12 months,” he said, adding that his company’s “secret” technology used in the construction process is why the homes are considered smart and affordable.
An artist rendering of the two-bedroom model.
“There is a huge need for affordable low-income housing in St Kitts and Nevis. [The government] had a tender out, and we tendered and we were chosen in relation to the technology that we use in the timeline that we are bringing. We are bringing our own funding…. We are funding the project 100 per cent.”
Singh also explained that 99 per cent of those working on the project will be locals and the houses are being built in all nine parishes of St Kitts, in the first instance, as per the contract. However, the developer revealed that negotiations are taking place with government officials to executive a similar project in the five parishes of sister island, Nevis.
“The response from the people who have applied has been phenomenal because the people of St Kitts have become more comfortable because they realised that this government is not just talk. This is something the people have been hearing for a while and it actually materialised now,” the building executive asserted.
The construction mogul reported that between 4 000 and 5 000 Kittitians have so far applied for the houses, “and the number keeps rising, and I know for a fact that when the model houses are completed, and they see what it looks like, you will have a barrage of people rushing to apply.”
The three-bedroom smart home model.
With concerns surrounding the climate crisis and the need for resilience and sustainability, East Coast Development will be providing added incentives for prospective homeowners to feel a sense of security living in these units.
“We [are] building quality homes. We stand by it in the sense that we are saying that even though there might not be a Category 10 hurricane, we are giving our houses a 10-year warranty on the structure of the building just in case. But we are building the homes to withstand a Category 10 hurricane. Nowhere in the Caribbean has that been given to any government by the private sector,” the executive chairman contended.
The houses will be constructed on lands that are either owned by residents or by the NHC at a cost of EC$111,375 for the one-bedroom, EC$213,345 for the two-bedroom, and EC$297,000 for the three-bedroom.
“This is much cheaper than what was done before by NHC. At the same time, we are also giving you a stove and a fridge and a housetop water heater at no additional cost to you,” Singh added.
The developer is calling on other Caribbean governments to partner with his company so that their residents can benefit from this “housing revolution”.
“When we are handing over our first two model homes, we want to invite all of the housing ministers of the region to come and witness it taking place in St Kitts,” he said.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
