NEGRIL is better known for white sands, exotic hotels and relaxing vacations. However, housing developer Robert Cartade has tapped into the allure, seeking to penetrate the resort town with high-end housing; offering 171 residential units in a $4-billion development along the world-renowned hotel strip.

Priced between US$143,000 ($12.4-million) and US$899,000 each, the units — a mix of villas, super studios and townhouses — sit on 23 acres near Bloody Bay at one end of the famed Negril seven-mile, white sand beachfront.

And purchasers have eagerly bought into the Little Bay Country Club project with Phase one, comprising 71 houses, seeing the majority of units sold, Cartade told the Jamaica Observer Tuesday.

Dreams of jet skiing and motor boats will however have to be set aside as Government has designated the area along the coastline a fish sanctuary, barring all types of motorised craft.

“Spearfishing is also banned,” said Cartade. He however added that many types of water activity could still be done at the property. “Sailboats are permissible, so is snorkeling and we will be cordoning off an area for swimming.”

In fact, Cartade’s housing project has benefitted from Government’s strict regulations barring motor boating and intrusive water sports activity typical to tourist resorts.

According to Cartade the beachfront property, which was owned by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), was on the market for close to 20 years prior to its sale to the housing developer.

“We are the only people that made the fish sanctuary into a positive,” Cartade declared. “We submitted a development plan (to UDC) that included and protected the sanctuary.”

An open house this Easter weekend, to woo purchasers aims at showcasing the house designs and enviromentallyconscious approach in Cartade’s bold business venture.

“We have two model units on show; one fully-furnished showing the decor possibilities, and another showing how the unit will be delivered to the purchaser,” said Cartade.

Green initiatives associated with the Negril housing development include external energy-efficient lighting, an underground electrical distribution system and each unit being equipped with a water tank.

“We are connected to the NWC trunkline, so it doesn’t affect the envioronment at all,” Cartade said of sewerage disposal at the housing scheme in the environmentally fragile area.

Cartade’s company, Selective Homes, broke ground in September 2010 and delivery of the Phase I Units are expected to commence in September this year — two years later.

“We are running behind schedule but we anticipate a September delivery for phase one,” Cartade insisted, adding that the delays were caused by “elements out of our control”.

He however declined to reveal the reasons, saying only that the matter was currently before the court.