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Contact:
Rose Marie Harris
Monday, March 29, 2004 – The long awaited Choc Gardens Housing Project is
due to break ground in early April, 2004. The 90 acre development is located in
the north of Carielle, to the south of the Old Allan Bousquet Highway and the
J.Q. Charles Factory compound, to the east of Sunny Acres and to the west by
Union Hill Top.
The granting of full approval with conditions by the Development Control
Authority (DCA) on March 3rd, 2004, saw the culmination of over nine months of
physical planning by the St. Lucia National Housing Corporation, the
organisation charged with implementing the project on behalf of the government
of Saint Lucia.
The project is anticipated to yield in excess of 225 serviced lots, of which 70%
range between 5,000 – 10,000 square feet. The houses are to be built at the
request of the client. The majority of the lots offer an excellent view of the
Atlantic Ocean and Pigeon Point to the north.
This new development has become a reality, after Prime Minister Honourable Dr.
Kenny Anthony’s 2003 budget address. Dr. Anthony, at the time spoke of the need
to give a further boost to the housing sector as there was an acute shortage of
housing stock in the north, from Gros Islet to Castries, especially given that
current mortgage rates are at their lowest ever, ranging from 7.99 per cent to
12 per cent.
He added then, that activity in the construction sector would help provide
additional stimulus to the economy through investment in housing, and provide
much needed jobs to reduce unemployment.
“The problem which faces the government is the unavailability of
government-owned lands in the north. In actual fact, the government of Saint
Lucia owns just about 27 per cent of Saint Lucia’s total land acreage, exclusive
of forest reserve. Usually, government has to purchase or acquire land from
private individuals for housing development,” said Dr. Anthony.
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