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PATRICK FOSTER, Observer writer fosterp@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, February 22, 2008
THE National Housing Trust (NHT), over a four-year period, spent $400 million purchasing four parcels of land on which it is unable to construct houses.
Housing development on three parcels has been shelved by the NHT as the lands have turned out to be unsuitable for housing, while the high cost of the fourth has rendered it uneconomical.
The questionable purchases were for lands located in the parishes of St James, St Mary and Westmoreland and acquired by the NHT between 2002 and 2006.
Among the plots are 101 acres in the upscale Ironshore area of Montego Bay, which the NHT bought for $202.5 million in 2006, and 68 acres of alleged swamp land in Westmoreland, bought for $30 million in 2005.
Before that, in 2002, 733 acres were bought by the NHT at Unity Farms, St Mary for $62.5 million, but these lands have sat idle since then.
In 2006, the NHT forked out $105 million for 166 acres at Enfield Meadows in Westmoreland, but housing development is yet to be initiated.
In the case of Ironshore, where the NHT paid approximately $2 million per acre, analysts contend that construction on the high-value lands was incongruent with the low-to middle-income housing construction mandate of the trust, a fact admitted by Donald Moore, NHT senior general manager for construction and development.
"For Ironshore, the location of the property and the infrastructure requirements are indicative of a low-density, high-income development better done by others," Moore told the Observer via e-mail this week.
"For three of the properties - Paradise, Enfield and Unity Farms - the planning authorities have not supported our developmental proposals," Moore added.
The NHT did not say why the planning authorities refused to grant permits for housing construction on these properties.
However, one source close to the NHT said that the purchase of land at Paradise, located just outside Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, was ill-advised as a large portion of the property is unstable swamp land.
"I don't see any houses being built there," the source told the Observer on condition of anonymity.
Checks by the Observer to identify the actual boundaries of the Paradise property were unsuccessful, but the general area is marked by a sprawling papaya plantation and one commercial establishment close to the roadway.
"We do not know when there will be construction there," an NHT insider told the Observer. "The land is zoned for agriculture, and a change of use would have to be done. That takes a long time."
According to information from the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), there is a standard procedure when procuring land for housing development in rural areas.
"A letter of enquiry, accompanied by a location map, must be submitted to NEPA or through the parish council," Natalie Fearon, public education and corporate communications manager, told the Observer.
"That is the first step of the process to determine whether or not the land may be used for housing," Fearon explained.
She said that consultations with the Ministry of Agriculture would then indicate if the property could be released for a change of use.
"After that, a formal application for development may be submitted."
Friday, February 22, 2008
THE National Housing Trust (NHT), over a four-year period, spent $400 million purchasing four parcels of land on which it is unable to construct houses.
Housing development on three parcels has been shelved by the NHT as the lands have turned out to be unsuitable for housing, while the high cost of the fourth has rendered it uneconomical.
The questionable purchases were for lands located in the parishes of St James, St Mary and Westmoreland and acquired by the NHT between 2002 and 2006.
Among the plots are 101 acres in the upscale Ironshore area of Montego Bay, which the NHT bought for $202.5 million in 2006, and 68 acres of alleged swamp land in Westmoreland, bought for $30 million in 2005.
Before that, in 2002, 733 acres were bought by the NHT at Unity Farms, St Mary for $62.5 million, but these lands have sat idle since then.
In 2006, the NHT forked out $105 million for 166 acres at Enfield Meadows in Westmoreland, but housing development is yet to be initiated.
In the case of Ironshore, where the NHT paid approximately $2 million per acre, analysts contend that construction on the high-value lands was incongruent with the low-to middle-income housing construction mandate of the trust, a fact admitted by Donald Moore, NHT senior general manager for construction and development.
"For Ironshore, the location of the property and the infrastructure requirements are indicative of a low-density, high-income development better done by others," Moore told the Observer via e-mail this week.
"For three of the properties - Paradise, Enfield and Unity Farms - the planning authorities have not supported our developmental proposals," Moore added.
The NHT did not say why the planning authorities refused to grant permits for housing construction on these properties.
However, one source close to the NHT said that the purchase of land at Paradise, located just outside Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, was ill-advised as a large portion of the property is unstable swamp land.
"I don't see any houses being built there," the source told the Observer on condition of anonymity.
Checks by the Observer to identify the actual boundaries of the Paradise property were unsuccessful, but the general area is marked by a sprawling papaya plantation and one commercial establishment close to the roadway.
"We do not know when there will be construction there," an NHT insider told the Observer. "The land is zoned for agriculture, and a change of use would have to be done. That takes a long time."
According to information from the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), there is a standard procedure when procuring land for housing development in rural areas.
"A letter of enquiry, accompanied by a location map, must be submitted to NEPA or through the parish council," Natalie Fearon, public education and corporate communications manager, told the Observer.
"That is the first step of the process to determine whether or not the land may be used for housing," Fearon explained.
She said that consultations with the Ministry of Agriculture would then indicate if the property could be released for a change of use.
"After that, a formal application for development may be submitted."
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