WEDNESDAY was one of the happiest days of Tyra Green’s life.

A recipient of one of the 248 units in the Howard Apartments housing development, Green was one of the new homeowners who expressed gratitude to God, the National Housing Trust (NHT) and Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness for making homeownership possible.

Many of the other homeowners expressed that before Wednesday, owning a home had been merely a dream for them.

“This is one of the most exciting moments for me,” Green told the Jamaica Observer. “I always wanted to own a home. I applied just a couple of months ago then a list came out in the Observer and my name was on it. To own something is one of the greatest things. It gives you a more comfortable environment for you to focus more going forward.”

The Howard Apartments on Howard Avenue in St Andrew. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

For Michelle Bennett-Henry, the occasion was much more than receiving the keys to a house. She said it represents hope, security, opportunity, and the fulfilment of dreams, “which for many of us, once seemed beyond our reach”.

“We come from different walks of life and we are all hardworking Jamaicans who have made countless sacrifices to provide a better future for our families. Some are middle income earners while others never imagined that home ownership would one day become a reality,” she said. “Today, by God’s grace and the effort of those who believe in us, we stand here together as proud homeowners.“

The gated Howard Apartments, consisting of 248 apartments, sits inside two four-storey buildings on Howard Avenue, off Waltham Park Road in St Andrew.

The complex has paved roads, storm water drains, a potable water distribution network, a centralised sewage treatment system, and amenities including a clubhouse, an area for exercise, and a play area for children.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness (left) hands over Ian Smikle’s keys to his unit at The Howard Apartments in St Andrew on Wednesday. Smikle was the first of 248 beneficiaries to receive his keys. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

“A home is far more than brick and mortar. It is a place where children will grow, where families will gather, memories created and dreams will continue to flourish,” Bennett-Henry said. “It is a foundation upon which stronger families and stronger communities are built.”

The development was undertaken through the NHT’s Guaranteed Purchase Programme and executed by Centauri Real Estate Company Limited. The development also forms part of the NHT’s innovative First Home Programme, an initiative designed to support greater mobility along the homeownership journey. Under the programme, eligible homeowners will have the option to sell their apartments back to the NHT. The repurchased units will then be made available to other eligible contributors, preserving affordable homes for successive generations of first-time homeowners while enabling existing homeowners to access new NHT financing to purchase another home.

The development includes five units which will be allocated under the NHT’s social housing programme.

While the homeowners were bursting with joy on Wednesday, Holness impressed on them the need to take care of their properties, and immerse themselves in the upliftment of the wider community.

Even while congratulating the new homeowners, Holness sought to explain to them that close-quarters living requires them to be mindful of, and kind to their neighbours.

The Howard Apartments on Howard Avenue in St Andrew. Keys to the new studio units were handed over to 248 Jamaicans on Wednesday. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

“Your neighbour is separated by only a wall and as you open the door and you come outside on the balcony you are likely to see your neighbours. You have common areas, parking lots, and so forth. There is an old saying which says good fences make good neighbours. There are no fences here, so I say now that good behaviour makes good neighbours,” Holness said.

He added: “You must be [conscious] of your neighbour. It is not ‘do unto your neighbour as you would have them do unto you’. Do what the laws of the strata require you to do… there are no fences here and therefore it is the good behaviour that is going to create the good neighbourhood.”

Holness said the development demonstrates the potential for greater investment in affordable housing and encouraged developers to respond to the demand for quality homes at accessible price points.

He reiterated the Government’s dedication to continue pursuing a range of housing solutions to ensure that more Jamaicans can access safe, affordable and appropriate housing based on their circumstances and needs.

Georgia Alexander cries as she awaits her keys to her unit at The Howard Apartments in St Andrew Wednesday. The new homeowners all expressed gratitude to the State agencies for making homeownership possible (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Meanwhile, basking in the euphoria, Paul Mcglashin told the Observer that becoming a new homeowner makes him feel “great, great, great, great, great”.

“I am from Kingston 5 in the Cross Roads area. I was paying rent. I didn’t really like the idea of paying for something and at the end of the day it is not your own. Now, I have something that is my own. At the end of the day this will improve my life a lot, knowing this is an investment I can pass on to my daughter,” he shared. “She is 22 years old. There is no room for adding on, but that is more than okay.”

And Renee Howard expressed that while she loved her relatives and being around them at the family home in Mavis Bank, St Andrew, she still saw the need to own her own space.

“I am feeling really happy to be the owner of a new home,” she said.