MONTEGO BAY, St James — The former sugar cane belt community of Clark’s Town in Trelawny, is earmarked for a major transformation with plans by the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) to construct roughly 2,000 housing solutions in two phases, on lands which were formerly engaged in sugar cane cultivation.

 Speaking with the Jamaica Observer West following his participation in a panel discussion at the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry Expo 2020 held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre last week, chairman of HAJ board, Norman Brown, said the construction of 1,000 units will be targeted in the first phase, which is primarily to provide housing solutions for workers in the tourism sector.

“At present there are 8,000 to 9,000 hotel rooms planned for Trelawny of which about 5,000 are built already. These people [workers] need communities to live in, or if you don’t get that what you going to have is that people are going to create their own circumstance, but we would prefer if it comes in an orderly, structured way,” Brown argued, adding that, “The land acquisition is on its way to Cabinet.”

“We are acquiring the land from the Sugar Corporation and we see the need for the units so we are going to start and that is the first phase.”

Additionally, Brown told the Observer West that the HAJ and the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) will partner to improve amenities in the former sugar belt community to complement the upcoming housing solutions, which are to each sit on a 3,000 square foot plot of land.

“There is a joint committee with the UDC that is looking on the other section [of Clark’s Town] now. We want to develop the town of Clark’s Town to add all the amenities to support that housing development,” he said.

Brown made the plan public after members of a panel — discussing housing needs in western Jamaica — which included renowned land developer, Mark Kerr Jarrett, expressed the need for Government to provide more affordable housing solutions.

“I think when it comes to affordable housing, we need to look at a totally new model,” Kerr Jarrett argued.

He noted that the housing structures now being offered for middle- and lower-income earners are not affordable to them.

“It is not affordable, so we need to think of a totally new solution that is cost-effective,” Kerr Jarrett advised.

“You are going to need a few concessions from the Government to meet the price point, but once you create those formal housing areas, you will reduce crime, you are also giving people dignity and security of tenure, and getting the crime reduced.”

Brown said the houses could attract prices of between $7million and $8million.

“We want to start with the one bedrooms, something that sells for somewhere between $7million and $8million and a person who is earning $12,000, $15,000 a week they can afford easily. We sell them with a development plan so after three to five years you end up with a two- to three-bedroom house in your own yard on a 3,000 square foot land,” said the chairman of the HAJ board.

He added that following completion of the first phase, the HAJ will be looking to put up another 1,000 units in Clark’s Town. “It [housing solutions] fits into the Government’s plan because of climate change. In the event of hurricane and so on, it fits their plans of putting units further inland, also we want to supply the market with tourism workers.”