Multi-storey units planned for old GT Housing Trust site
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government has earmarked land held by the National Housing Development Trust in George Town, at the end of Courts Road, for its first effort to build multi-storey social housing. So far, the homes that had been funded and built by the government-owned trust have been two- and three-bedroom single-family houses. The need to squeeze more units into crown-owned property has emerged from the government’s task force to tackle the housing crisis and the cost of land.
Appearing on Radio Cayman’s For the Record last week, Planning Minister Jay Ebanks, who has responsibility for affordable homes, responded to concerns about the lack of affordable home projects happening in the capital.
The cost of property has been driving George Towners out of their own district, and the government is facing criticism from the opposition as well as from working families unable to buy a home. But Ebanks said his ministry was developing affordable homes across the Cayman Islands including the capital. “We are committed to building homes… in George Town,” he said.
The site behind the old Cox store (now Blackbeard’s) “is probably going to be one of our first test sites for a multi-storey complex,” Ebanks said, adding that the government is looking for additional crown land in the capital for affordable homes. However, the NHDT will not be building on the 24-acre plot government already owns off the Linford Pierson Highway because of drainage problems.
“It’s not that we don’t want to build on that site… but there is development to the west of Randyke [Gardens] and this property is to the east of Randyke,” he said. “If we develop that particular site to the… standards and the heights it has to come, Randyke will be worse than it is right now.” He said the government had to find a solution to the long-running problem of flooding in that area before any more development could happen on that land.
The minister has previously indicated that the site, which is mainly mangrove wetlands, would not be developed. In October 2021, local environmental activists met with Ebanks after submitting a proposal for a mangrove preservation area, asking him to reconsider using the land for development and marking it for conservation instead.
At the time CNS spoke with NHDT Director Julio Ramos, who agreed it was a particularly environmentally sensitive area and said that if the Trust could get equivalent land elsewhere, they would not object to the land being reclaimed by the crown for conservation.
Building homes that ordinary working Caymanians can afford is becoming a critical issue, given that the average price of residential property sold in the Cayman Islands in 2022 was US$1.32 million, an increase of more than 9% on the previous year. No substantial drop in property prices is expected and private sector developers continue to focus almost exclusively on the high end of the market, which has created a housing crisis for ordinary workers, compounded by a lack of reliable public transport.
Because of extreme traffic congestion and poor transport provision, even if people are able to find homes to either rent or buy in the Eastern Districts, the commute can make life very difficult, especially for working parents. As a result, the government is looking to plug the gap by providing homes for workers to live in and around the capital.
Speaking to Chamber of Commerce members earlier this month, Premier Wayne Panton committed to “substantial new investment in affordable housing” as part of the Cayman Sustainability Agenda. He said that the National Housing Development Trust was poised to deliver 100 affordable homes in the next two years.
“We must build more affordable housing,” the premier said. “Building more affordable housing means the construction of apartment blocks and single-family homes. But, it also means examining our laws to allow us to take advantage of the land we have to increase density and build more homes.
“Building up two or three floors, not thirty storeys in this case, will allow us to conserve our land, add more housing units to the market and bring down costs,” he said, noting the current debate on very tall buildings, a proposition promoted by both Deputy Premier Chris Saunders and McKeeva Bush MP, who recently filed a private member’s motion in the parliament.
“Denser communities will also help us address our transportation and health issues by improving walkability in our country,” Panton added. However, he did not indicate how high the apartments would be, given that there are now parts of George Town that allow for as much as ten storeys.
Bush’s motion asked the government to consider lifting height restrictions in some areas to allow buildings up to 20 storeys, mainly catering to the demands of wealthy developers. Although he accepted the PMM, the premier told parliament he wanted to see a national debate about the issue first.
“I feel strongly that we need to include the people of the country,” he said at the time, noting that previous decisions to increase building heights were reactions to lobbying from specific developers. He said that future increases should be properly planned since Cayman is already suffering the consequences of excessive and poorly planned development.
With the erosion on Seven Mile Beach, there is a need to put an end to development there and begin some type of managed retreat. In light of this, Panton accepted that tall buildings might be the answer to that costly problem. “Managed retreat is necessary,” he said. “A compromise in respect of that is to allow buildings to go higher… That is what I think the people of this country have a right to have a say in and not just us making assumptions about what people feel.”
Panton has not said how this would impact social housing and how tall he believes affordable apartment blocks might be.
See Jay Ebanks on Radio Cayman below:
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: development, Local News
Instead of spending millions on building this project why doesn’t govt buy out let’s say Britannia from Dart and turn it over to Public housing. Can u imagine the outrage Cayman and haters I will now get.
What is the population growth of the Cayman Islands, if growing, what is the time line for running out of what is regarded as residential space? The English are pretty good and providing statistics for making such decisions. Subsidized mortgages and down payments will avoid apartment complexes with lower land footprint, but the flip side is it uses more property. As for apartment complexes creating ghettos, how is that any different from city centers and neighborhood’s looking like ghettos, lack of enforcement of environment laws and public health standards is the key issue with property decline. No political sensitivity is required in enforcement of laws / rules / regulations.
Adopted Son of Boss Hogg building project off eastern Avenue next to Dog City ! Where could this possibly go wrong??
Try and leave Roderick alone. He’s a good guy.
Lol – Dr. Frank McField proposed multi-stores low-cost housing 20 years ago. It now seems Dr. Frank was just a visionary ahead of his time.
This is not about ‘projects’ but creating affordable sustainable solutions for a working community. With so many problems to fix, including public transport, this is a good start for a government model to support planned multi-storey housing development within town. The approach needs to be equitable and the genetrification of town should include all levels of society.
https://architectureau.com/articles/perth-development-accepted-to-one-planet-living-program/
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/c1cb5831-5a3c-4b3f-9d11-6d2455b8e744 🙂
Doh what?
Jay is Cayman’s homegrown version of Patrick Star!
Wow! That picture is worth a million uprooted mangrove trees.
Looks like he was playing marbles on the school grounds and some one shattered his prized juggy ! A look that says I can’t believe you just did that ( translation “I can’t believe I am in charge of all this difficult stuff”
“Social Housing”. Disturbing term. As opposed to what? Regular housing or anti-social housing?
I worry that what the term means is Cayman projects. If you’re unfamiliar with the term “projects”, in the U.S. it means ‘areas of subsidized housing where rent is based on income.’
Where are we going? Are we supporting Caymanian endeavours or are we supporting rich part-time residents who pour money into the government coffers?
Have you paid attention to what the typical working class Caymanian can afford for housing? YES – subsidized housing is exactly what is needed. And we don’t care what label you give it, sitting in your plush gated house – grow some bal.s.
In the U.S. vernacular it translates to ghetto- as I said in a previous post, instead of progressing we are regressing. So we had the Progressive government now we have the Regressive government for the people. While some Ministers live in their sprawling estates and some planning to move to gated communities. You still think they have your interest on their minds?
You got a better solution than subsidised housing? Let’s hear it then.
Subsidized mortgages. Subsidized down payment. Subsidized loan guarantees.
Enforcement of maintenance and immigration laws.
All work much better than subsidized housing, cost less, and prevent ghettoisation.
Totally agree with anonymous at 1:01. I guess the Minister does not comprehend the mayhem that can occur with hundreds of underprivileged persons, living side by side, above and below each other who are experiencing the same kind of stress and uncertainty in their lives all at the same time. Please bear in mind that while having shelter is of paramount importance it is only a part of one’s dignity, safety peace of mind and security. If you want to help these people please try to achieve a holistic environment for them to grow and care for their families. You go ahead and build these multi- level structures and watch the deterioration of the properties, the area and more importantly the persons who will occupy this building.
Where do you put Caymanian families if they have nowhere else to go?
Stop having children you can’t afford, stay in school and study, listen to your parents… life will be a lot better.
Agree completely. Well said.
Perhaps the EWA opening up “unattractive” parcels can be used by government to provide housing on relatively inexpensive land.
We will hope for that.
Keep filling in the natural flood areas and uprooting our mangoves defenses. Its not as if we live in a tropical storm region of the world and have never had a significant hurricane.
Except the price will go up as soon as the road goes in. They should buy it now then put the road in. Of course, that would rather defeat the point which is to enrich certain land owners and developers, not to build lost cost housing or save the taxpayer money.
Spot on.
Eat some cake as we are just fine here in our gated communities, living the good tax free lifestyle. You are all eaten up with envy.
troll. Spoken like a true crap-disturber.
Once the poors finish my new luxury home, I wish not to see nor think of them as I live my best life in my tax free nirvana.
You better be careful, the poors may come around when you least expect them.
So you favor your countrymen/women to have NO housing? (And I am assuming you are Caymanian, living in Cayman and not sitting on a couch in Panama). Communities and housing are what you make of them, not labels given by those who don’t want mid/lower class residents. Sorry to impose on your gated community lifestyle, we just want decent housing.
Blackbeards best stock up on 345
simply introduce a property tax on properties above 2 million and a sales tax on properties sold by non residents.
no, dummy, investors won’t walk away.
these funds can be used for affordable housing projects .
teach the excessive wealthy to give back what they took from the now poor.
so I must work so you don’t have to? solid Caymanian give me give me logic there bro.
It’s not a give me give me logic it’s ensuring that you that a fair shake is given to your hosts. You do realize that this and other strategic measures will go a long way way in preventing your residence bring broken into and ultimately maybe even saving your miserably rich life. People like youse is nutin but an arseewipe.
Language, grammar, spelling, logic? You make it perfectly clear why you are in need of subsidized housing. Subsidized by those who stayed in school, studied, and worked up from entry-level jobs to actually pay for our lifestyle.
Another attempt by an expat to save their tax-free income at the expense of Caymanians. You would pay taxes in your home country if you were there, and the less fortunate would benefit from your tax contribution whether they stayed in school or not. Good try though….
7:42 here. Good try on your part. You are incorrect on all points. I have no expat tax-free income! I support my community – do you??? I stand by my statement – I worked 41 years for my retirement, never asked/received assistance. Those who get educated, accept the reality of working from the bottom up, and make sound decisions will succeed; how are you doing?
We live in a society, bro.
Imagine how great it would be if we had Habitat for Humanity here.
How great it would be to have some humanity period instead of all the greed.
Yeah. All the expats could do it for PR points.
Guess you will be going to visit your MP to complain as well.
in fact ask them for money because they’re taking a lot of it.
There is already a sales tax on property sales. It is called Stamp Duty.
Raise it for properties over $1 million
Raise it for all non-Caymanians that purchase property in the Cayman Islands.
The road is just an excuse to build more condos and hotels. Cayman lost it’s vibe.
And how much have the exceptionally wealthy Caymanian families given back to the community. Nada!
Who else donates to the charities? Not you guys.
And drive the money away. Teach the excessive wealthy to go some where else and not have to give their money to those who don’t work.
when i want save money..i hang out in a cheaper country fir 2 months….e.g. in 2018 i went to asia country…spent 6k usd including tickets…rented apt..hung for 2 mts..when i got back 11k ci in acct..paid 2000 bills…and had 9k ci still to play with….pretty sad isnt it caymanians! i know where i headed in retirement…but if you fail to plan..plan to fail! i building 6 apts to leave with property management company…hooefully steady stream of income to add to measly pension…but i see it working! to retire here i be sufferring and joining NAU line…nah sah!
Ghetto talk, and little truth I suspect. Nice PIPE dream.
A Caymanian accent is now “Ghetto talk”, wow!
Reality sucks bro. That was no Caymanian accent that I know from 1984 on. Wow!
You detected a Caymanian “accent” from an online post? You should start marketing those skills globally. I expect you won’t have much business however.
Welcome to the “Projects” generation. NY came with these (not) lovely ideas decades ago. Now they have a “Hood”. What secure strategies will be put in place for the latter not happening here? Or, will it be wait 6-10years then try to do something about it and can’t????
When people do not take ownership and have to pay for things, they do not appreciate/take care of things as much as if they owned. Project style living has never ended up positive.
Where were the “very concerned generational Caymanians” when it came time to decide between selling out our country or preserving our heritage? Generational Caymanians are a huge reason we are now in this black hole that is sucking us in. Your pockets are gilded with our lost future.
“Your pockets are gilded with our lost future.”
I don’t know if that is a quote or original content but that’s good writing. Not to mention accurate af. Kudos.
imagine having a reliable public transport that runs across the island. where you can live at peace thinking “I don’t need to worry. I’ll catch the next train to east end which would only take 20 mins to reach”
that, my dear friends is the only solution to all of the islands’ major problems like housing and traffic.
time to think who owns all the petrol bunks on the islands. apparently, them and automobile businesses are the only ones that will be affected by a reliable public transport like trains.
This is facts and I wish Caymanians would wake up and realise that these wealthy Caymanian families and business owners run things with vested interests in certain things not happening nor changing.
Trains! Surely you are in a different country. Lets start with commercial busses running every 15 minutes from East to GT to WB. Second circuit in central N – S.
This morning I woke up in a curfew in dis ya concrete Jungle ! I was a prisoner too please Jay stick cows and trucks and heavy equipment! Before you get us all seriously hurt and destroyed
Low cost housing should be owned by government and rented to Caymanians. Why don’t we start with areas like Dog city, Swamp, Rock hole?
and where do you want all the expats you pay the lowest salaries to to live?
They don’t need help living responsibly.
most of that land you are talking about is classed residential/commercial.that why not as it’s worth a fortune.it might look like crap now but you ain’t buying it for pennies.
The Planning Minister snapped figuring out ‘heart hands’ to flash his darling developers 🫶
This style of living will only attract ghetto style neighborhoods.
We have a major problem right now with foolish Caymanians marrying for convenience and some to give anchor babies to criminals so that the courts will allow them to stay here..One country to the East has got this down to a science and then the Government is forced to keep them here on our dime. We need to put a stop to this as these will be the same people overrunning these homes and bringing their nasty culture and crimes here..
Change the laws to protect those of us that follow the law and not use the government and the current laws for their purpose of finding a way into Cayman to live of our hard work.
sorry but it’s already too late to stop.
big mack planted the seed,now those people have infiltrated every level of society,they help thier own,just like the philipinos they help thier own also.the philipinos came an because they say politely yes sir/mam they are liked,some are educated well an are in every level of some of the top jobs silently taking over.ive even heard them themselves laughing about how they made up a resume full of lies,copied an pasted coz they know nothings checked.
so if anyone out there is wondering why they can’t get a job,can’t find a job paying a proper wage ,that’s why.
an now this guy wants to build ghettos,just like frank mcfield wanted to.
Yeah but Frank had a little side deal going as I recall….
Philipinos at least show up on time and do a full days work…without attitude.
If their resumes are padded, then their inability to complete tasks will soon be
revealed .
Take a look at that photo. Then take another look.
That’s the image of a man with the background, education and understanding of the economic implications of his policy that I want to have the unilateral responsibility for deciding the housing policy of an island with a GDP of six billion dollars.
With the full backing of the hundred or so voters who put him there.
Pastor Alfredo
Shame none of the occupants will be able to afford Kirk Market prices. Guess they’ll all need a car.
Kirk Market pricing is competitive with the other stores, and the customer service is top notch.
No it’s not.
it’s better than fosters!
Incorrect.
The same bag of frozen chicken I can buy at Fosters for $7.99 costs over $13 at Kirk’s.
Your turn.
cool. chicken. that’s the only thing you have. I buy meat from hurleys cause it’s better. all of them are overpriced but the same items at fosters are 4 dollars more than other places. especially baby items.
Stop having unnecessary babies then. Hurley’s meat is ludicrously priced and awful.
If you don’t work for a living then you can’t afford to pay the taxes (sorry, Duty) that make Cayman Islands one of the most expensive places on the planet to live. Get a job like 90% of us do or quit complaining that our jobs keep you fed but not housed.
where exactly on courts rd? past Summerfield?
if it’s anything we can agree on is that this project will be severely over budget and poorly constructed.
We need wait and see if it even comes to anything more than heffalump flapping his useless gums.
its nice that we have 3 golf courses within about 1 mile of eachother isnt it? one of which has been shut for 5 years or so
its a great use of land isnt it….just sitting right there, used less than pretty much any other tract of non-swamp/mangrove on the entire island…just…sitting…right…there….3 of them
anyone? anyone? we are so short sighted and always defending the interests of the rich…all that land is right there..the golf courses can be moved anywhere, heck you could even put them in barkers because they’re actually environmentally fairly good….again, all that land, right there, a govt with courage should just do it
I’d make a bet that at least 50% of the condo’s between Margaritaville Hotel and Kimpton Hotel inclusive are empty far more often than they’re full.
We don’t have a housing shortage in Cayman, we have a policy failure. Its common globally, but we live here so we focus on Cayman as we should.
Dart has left the ruins of a hotel (19 years destroyed this year, different ownerships yes but now Dart) just sitting there, could easily have been reclaimed by govt and develop medium density lower cost condos in a good location (Dart will tell you is the court case..its not, its Dart)
We could reclaim loads of land in the sound to the south of the airport all acorss the bay to Hirst road area and kill 2 birds with one stone (housing and road networks)
we could completely rezone and revamp down town georgetown
we could kick the governor off the beach and build 10 storey low cost housing there for locals…ooh, no, think of the expat 2nd home owners
we could relocate the airport out East and build there
we could do loads of things.
we wont though. instead we’ll ask developers to build 15 storeys on the beach and sell to expats that wont live in them….and warm our seas with reflective glass….the Watermark apparently is doing that already and its not even finished
Now Barker’s is doomed for a 5 story hotel resort
We have the Savannah/South Africa crew to thank for that.
1 south African. don’t paint us all as land destroyers! some of us are actually standing with Caymanians who want to preserve this land.
Mr Botes is a great man who is always helping Cayman. Shame on you for picking on him so much.
You could also elect ethical and educated Ministers. But you won’t.
I thought Mugabe was dead
Does anyone know what qualifications our esteemed Planning Minister has that allow him to actually be the Planning Minister? Asking for a friend.
that can be said about almost every politician.
It’s gotta start with ministry of education
Short answer: he has NO qualifications! Not even sure if he got anything beyond a leaving certificate from high school.
Did he even get that??
Apparently he dropped out of school- so most likely he is 1 of those crayons who is not the brightest in the box.
Sure, he was elected. Only qualification needed by law to be appointed. Don’t think he’s qualified? Don’t elect him. All the handwringing is comical when the power of the vote could improve the third world CIG. When a man is taped on video beating a woman in a drunken rage, and gets re-elected, and then appointed speaker… That’s all the proof the world needed to see to realize how far Cayman has to go. In the meantime, we are puppets to those with better education, clearer goals, and the conviction to get things done – To their benefit.
as I have said before the majority of electors on this Rock does not want educated, smart, people of integrity to represent them!
gold medal in the “first to the all you can eat buffet”.
runner up in the “egg&spoon race”
Albeit pleasant man but in no way capable of this position. If he Has an ounce of common sense he would admit his shortcomings and take on somebody who can actually answer questions in an informed way. Im sorry but Mr Jay needs to step aside. He is not the right person to showcase this role.
Can they not just all go live in Panton Place?
“Duh!” would be the perfect caption for the photograph!
Short for housing project…what has cayman come to…
Those damned poors. Can’t they just be kept out of sight and quiet?!
What has Cayman come to?
Easy. A refuge for the wealthy to invest in land and real estate to sell to mostly expats in the finance and law industries, continually driving up the value and cost of all real estate.
The divide between the have and have nots grows by the day.
20,000 blonde expat wives cry in unison
Stop bringing in and holding on to people who have nothing to offer but their “breeding skills” and are supposedly cheap labour. By the time nau is paying for their produce there’s nothing cheap about them.
“Affordable housing” is code for low income housing.
Low income means can’t afford regular expenses.
Living in multi level housing will require monthly ‘strata’ fees.
Strata fees are for maintenance, landscaping , insurance and so on.
Low income earners won’t be able to afford this additional monthly cost.
Either government will have to pick up those costs, or the buildings become slums.
Be careful what you wish for.
Hey, Cruella, the local dogs wont make a nice coat, but go on with your hate on the poor people.
There is no ‘ hatred for the poor’ as you put it.
The simple facts are that the expenses associated with running, maintaining and insuring the blocks , will have to be found from somewhere.
Low income earners will not be able to afford these costs, so government better factor in management and associated expenses.
Public housing works,despite the colonial mindest of those who are colonizing the country.
Have to agree with you, these developments will very quickly become problem areas for crime and antisocial behaviour where ironically working Caymanians will not want to live anyway. A potential solution to this is put some restrictions in place that are actually enforced in relation to persons moving on to island and secondly stop allowing rampant development by speculative construction firms putting up expensive condos on every spare bit of land. oh sorry both of these options would hit the Cayman cartel in the pocket so it will never happen.
why are low income families, low income families, and what happens when you put a bunch of them together in a small space? What examples will the children be growing up with? What kind of behavior do you think is going to reinforced and magnified? The same kind of behavior that got them there in the first place.
This is obviously a ploy by rcips to ensure job security in 20 years. Also, this is a recipe for disaster.
let me get this right… No solutions to fix the broken education system, broken homes, no solution to empower Caymanians, no solutions to bring down the cost of real estate and cost of living… We’re going to build some American style project housing in paradise.
Agree with your sentiment. But stop believing the Government can bring down the cost of real estate.
They can’t. Well, that is if we want to maintain a Free Market Economy.
God forbid they address the root causes for the demand first.
You mean the myth of Caymanian unemployment?
No, the AirBnBs and selling to expats. Other countries are bringing in restrictions to help with their people being able to afford housing.
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/world/2023/02/17/portugal-ends-golden-visas-curtails-airbnb-rentals-to-address-housing-crisis
Cayman and Portugal are not comparable at all. Portugal has this golden visa thing going on because that’s how badly they need people to come and inject money into their country. Their economy is pound for pound nothing compared to ours.
People come here because there are jobs for them, because the economy is growing. And it’s growing faster than we can keep up the infrastructure and housing.
Two very different scenarios. Portugal (and most of Europe) is not the example (for anything) that we want to be following.
Shut up – we like it just the way it is. You cry babies just need to work harder so you can have something also instead of wanting give-a-ways all the time.
CONTRACEPTION.
I sincerely hope that government views the results in most other countries where multi-storey social housing has been built. Most have not turned out well. Two or three storey may work but attention must be given to providing good access, security, lighting, recreational areas, etc.
In our case this will be nothing more than housing for Mac’s new Caymanians and their brood , aka Jamaicans , who will form a new ghetto stronghold.
Blaming Jamaicans is undefeated
that’s because the ‘new’ Caymanians can afford it. What does that say about the work ethic of the ‘existing’ Caymanians?
Still poor, bobo
For who exactly Jay?? The Courts Projects Dog New Jackcity 2.O The new Cayman Diaspora will be overwhelm with glee by this. Caymanians will not be able to afford these or will not reside in this crime ridden project. Thanx minister Jay or his political appointee new area leader for GTown North .
We want our own Tivoli Gardens, aren’t we really progressing?
psst …hey jay…billionaires own most of the land…that the problem…i figure next they gonna implement income tax as billionaires dont like pay import duties! ha ha ha…resta world laughing at us….
And the land was sold to the billionaires by ……wait for it, dumbass @1:34….Caymanians.
I wonder why two people thumbed down the incontrovertible fact that it was Caymanians who sold the land to the billionaires!
It would be good to see well designed 3-6 storey apartment blocks
that is quite honestly the funniest photo I’ve ever seen and perfectly encapsulates out entire government
Jay needs to stop bowing down to the South Sound NIMBY crew and get that site developed.
Seh, seh, seh I remember when we used to sit
In the government yard in George Town
Oba observing the ‘ypocrites
As they would mingle with the good people we meet
Good friends we have, oh, good friends we’ve lost
Along the way
In this great future, you can’t forget your past
So dry your tears, I seh
Jay head get so big the headphones can’t even go over top.
I am in total agreement that social housing is needed. But applicants MUST BE low income working CAYMANIANS ONLY. I understand that low income foreign workers are struggling to find affordable places to rent. However, that situation should be dealt with between them and their employers.
For once, the CIG must grab the bull by its horns and see this social problem through for CAYMANIANS ONLY!
Minister Jay bless you as you are a man who will get things done!
Can you enlighten us on 5 things he has gotten done?????
Roads pave nice in North Side.
move the government buildings to boddentown so that you can ease congestion in town if you’re going to build all the s***.
*East end
*little cayman
Projects….. eyesores is what this will become
This is the attitude so prevalent now as the country is gentrified more and more daily.
it was bound to happen- gentrification that is. Are you surprised? Really?
“Denser communities will also help us address our … health issues”.
Denser communities have never been known to improve health for the residents.
Build 4-5 storey buildings for multi-unit complexes with a wavier for the typical density requirement. Subsequently, impose rent controls on those units at a fixed % to the projected lifetime cost of each unit (e.g. upfront capital plus estimated O&M, insurance, etc.). If major variation on items like insurance or O&M inflation, rent control value can be indexed for periodic adjustment to provide solid, but unspectacular, returns. Rent controls will effectively also create a ceiling on sale values, which will keep these units more affordable for initial purchase or subsequent sales over time. The higher density should provide sufficient returns to developers that they may undertake these projects rather than luxury or mid-range units for the same parcel. Now, whether rented or purchased, those units will be more affordable (and compete with) other housing units on the market.
wa a laugh….supporting the worlds richest and poorest..while we caymanians stuck in middle sufferring…i looking somewhere else to live….cant survive here anymore…esp with moron’s at the helm! lol
The middle class is long gone, bobo.
there is no-one in cig or civil service with expertise or qualifications to tackle the housing issue
if we can’t be honest and face these facts we will never be closer to a solution.
Nor Environmental Impact Assessments apparently…since it has to hire $2,000,000.00 American firms for those.
The two earlier public meetings re.’the road’ were literally to ask the people whether they were taking everything into account. I thought THEY were the hired experts !?
another laughable update…they have talked about high rise development on that site for the last 12 years.
if it done…this will become cayman’s first multi-story slum/ghetto.
Why not come out with it and say you hate the poors and would rather they live in terrible housing conditions, or would you rather not see nor think about the poors as you gentrify the country?
OK I hate the poor or anyone else that affects my tax free lifestyle.
Tax free but not Duty free. Cayman Islands is one of the most expensive places to live on the planet because of the massive duty on everything. Did you think it was the shipping(that you pay more duty on)?