MONTEGO BAY, St James — In 2020 when the National Housing Trust (NHT) advertised houses for sale in Cashew Grove, Irwin, St James, it was panned on sections of social media by critics who thought no one would pay $10 million for a one-bedroom house.

But the NHT has had the last laugh.

Between March 3 and 6, 2020, when applications opened and closed, there were 1,741 applicants, according to written responses the NHT provided to the Jamaica Observer. The original plan had been to build 28 one-bedroom units, with one reserved for a public sector worker, civil servant or person with a disability.

“Due to modification to the land site, we reduced the number of houses constructed to 26,” said the NHT.

It also explained that the infrastructure was put in under a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with the Cashew Grove Land Development Ltd, a provident society.

“Work under the JVA began in August 2017 and was essentially completed in November 2018. NHT subsequently built (October 2019 to January 2021) on assigned lots and the units sold to its contributors,” the NHT said.

Housing in Cashew Grove has a long history.

In late October 2006 JIS reported that the then minister of local government and Environment in the then People’s National Party-led Government, Dean Peart broke ground for the Cashew Grove Housing Scheme in Irwin, St James. The project was supposed to see 183 lots on a 20-acre plot of land, and it would be “developed by CAN-CARA Construction Company at a cost of approximately $65 million”.

Work, which was expected to include road infrastructure, water and electricity and sewage lines, was to start the following week and last for six months. Peart is said to have handed out “the first batch of 65 possession letters to successful lot owners”.

Today some of the NHT’s one-bedroom concrete structures with their hefty price tag are being expanded, and the land that houses them are a stone’s throw away from the first phase of the under-construction, high-end gated community of Fairmont Estates. Prices at Fairmont begin at US$150,000 for a two-bedroom detached unit. There will be 41 of those. Prices will go up for houses in the second phase which will have 62 three-bedroom houses and 14 townhouses.

According to its website, amenities at Fairmont Estates will include “a swimming pool with a sundeck, a clubhouse equipped with a gym and lounge area, and a lush green park for recreation and outdoor entertainment. The community also features a tennis and basketball court, a football field and a strolling path”.

Calls to Fairmont Estates to request an interview were met with promises to reply soon. E-mailed questions were not acknowledged but the St James Municipal Corporation says it has granted approval for the project to be developed by Global Precast Ltd. The website lists the developers as A&E Construction Ltd of Kingston.

Fairmont Estates and Cashew Grove are just two of the communities in that section of Irwin. The 144-house Union Acres for civil servants is also under construction while the four-phase Meadows of Irwin development was built within the past 20 years.

The communities are all expected to get a fillip from the planned construction of the US$270-million 14.9-kilometre Montego Bay perimeter road which will provide easy access to Ironshore and beyond.