J$2.8b housing developments for Retirement, Portmore - HAJ projects J$345m profit from investment
Published:Sunday | May 1, 2011 | 12:00 AM
The Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) says It will spend J$2.8 billion to develop homes targeted at low-income earners in St James and St Catherine within the next two years.
The agency is projecting that it will make a profit of J$345 million from the three projects.
Joseph Shoucair, managing director of the Housing Agency, said one of the developments in Retirement, St James, will get off the ground in August.
The agency is spending J$1.1 billion to build 238 detached studio units and develop 128 housing lots.
The homes will go on the market for J$3.2 million, and the lots for J$1.8 million.
Those prices, Shoucair said, should generate a profit of J$92 million for his agency.
Another two projects in Portmore, St Catherine, are expected to bring in even more earnings for the HAJ.
The larger of the two, Country Club II, is a J$995- million investment from which Shoucair says profits of some $139 million are expected.
The development comprises 108 two-bedroom townhouses in a gated community, each 940 square feet in size.
The units, priced at J$10.5 million, should be completed by October.
Purchasers are required to post a deposit of 15 per cent.
$2.4-billion deficit
Also in Portmore, Shoucair indicated that an additional 125 two-bedroom detached houses, each 800 square feet, would be developed at a cost of J$886 million.
Westmeade Willows is expected to generate returns of J$114 million from the units, which will go on sale for J$8 million each.
The 12.2-hectare development is to be completed by March 2012.
A wholly owned government agency, with assets estimated at J$7 billion, the HAJ is working to reduce a deficit of $2.4 billion, incurred in 2009.
The HAJ said it plans some 8,676 housing solutions, to be completed within the next three years, in St Catherine, Westmoreland, St James, and St Ann.