Letter of the Day | NHT needs to clear air on Ruthven Towers

THE EDITOR, Madam:

This is an open letter to Mr Martin Miller, managing director of the National Housing Trust (NHT), and Mr Donald Moore, senior general manager, construction and development at the NHT. I, like many Jamaicans, am concerned about the astronomical price of the residences at Ruthven Towers, which starts at about $27m for the one-bedroom unit.

This price means that if a borrower finances 10 per cent of that cost, or about $3 million, and borrows $24 million for over 25 years at six per cent per annum, the monthly payment will be just under $155,000 per month. To qualify for a mortgage of $155,000 per month, the person would have to be earning in excess of $450,000 per month, almost $6m per year. With that kind of cost profile I ask, for what market segment, what category of contributor is this project designed. Less than 10 per cent of employees in Jamaica earn $6m per annum.

But I have a few other questions:

(1) What was the projected selling price of the units when the project was developed?

(2) What was the acquisition cost of the land?

(3) What was the estimated cost of completing the project?

(4) What was the actual cost of the project?

(5) Who was the developer?

(6) Who are the principals of the company which developed the project?

(7) What was the original design of the building?

(8) At what point were instructions given, and by whom, to increase the size (add floors)?

(9) What impact did the expansion have on the overall cost?

(10) Have all the amenities been installed and if not, by when will they be installed?

(11) Was an environmental impact assessment done for the expansion, and was the National Environment and Planning Agency’s approval obtained prior to the expansion?

(12) Was the project fully financed by the NHT, or were other sources used? If other sources were used, what source, and at what cost?

(13) Will there be a phase two and if so, what is the projected cost?

(14) On what environmental and cost models are these projects developed, and what lessons have the NHT learnt from the Paddington project in terms of take-up, the length of time it took to be sold, and maintenance and security costs?

CANUTE THOMPSON

Senior Lecturer – Educational

Policy, Planning, and Leadership

The University of the West

Indies, Mona