Government to look at constructing town houses

Government intends to take housing in St.Vincent and the Grenadines to another level, experimenting with town houses, targetting young professionals.

This plan comes seven months into the Government’s second term in office. Julian Francis, Minister of Housing said the government wants the Housing and Land Development Corporation (HLDC) which it subsidizes, to become self-sufficient by moving into the construction of homes for the upper end of the market.{{more}}

During the government’s first term in office it created the HLDC housing agency to construct homes across the country for Vincentians who earn incomes that are fairly low.

Financing a tertiary level education is never an easy task, more so constructing a home shortly after studying. Hence provisions are now being made for university graduates, which would allow them to get a home of their own and at the same time ease their financial burdens.

On Thursday, July 13, Francis, announced the package for university graduates returning home, while handing over 14 low income houses at Basin Hole, Colonarie. This must have sounded like sweet news to the ear.

“Those persons have qualified themselves, getting their degrees, coming back home and are attracting salaries that they can afford to pay for a house and a car at the same time. We are therefore cateringto that and want to make an offer to these young university graduates coming home who may get $3,600, $4,000 or $4,500 a month salary – let us build you a house. And the same arrangements that you have right now for the low income houses, we’ll try and get that established with the financial institutions,” said Francis.

Francis said the demand for government constructed homes is greater than the supply. So far the HLDC has built 326 low-income houses and there are 1,800 applications still resting on its file.

Francis said his administration also wants to build homes for young married couples.

“I want to encourage young persons, …you see a joint income is easier to pay for something than a single income. I will say for married couples, offer that as an attraction for them,” said Francis.

Francis said the government would not be competing with the private contractors, but aims to provide a better service for homeowners and builders in SVG.

With regards to the Colonarie homes, he said that they were completed almost a year ago, but the reason why they had not been handed over is that some of them had been earmarked for persons affected by storms in the previous two years.

He said it has been a mammoth task trying to get the persons allocated to the different homes.

Meanwhile, 14 homes were presented at Basin Hole, Colonarie to Rebecca Bucchan, Edith Pope, Patsy Warrican, Alfred York, Natasha Grant, Wilmouth Quashie, Vanessa Lawrence, Morrison Abbott, Kenton Pope, Mineva Grant, Susan Pope, Nadine Pope, Jean Burke and Pearl Ryan.