Wick Hall Estate housing project breaks ground in Spanish Town

Prime Minister Andrew Holness delivered the keynote address at the official groundbreaking for Wick Hall Estate, a planned housing development on 36 acres at Featherbed Lane in Spanish Town, St. Catherine. The project is expected to add 221 homes to the area and was presented as part of a wider push to expand organised, affordable housing in Jamaica.

The ceremony opened with prayer from Bishop Omar Ricketts before Spanish Town Mayor Norman Scott brought greetings and said the redevelopment signalled a renewed outlook for the old capital. Scott said he would move through the municipal council to have Featherbed Lane renamed, with Featherbed Drive and Featherbed Boulevard both raised during the event.

Developer Norman Horne, founder and executive chairman of ARC Manufacturing Limited, said Wick Hall Estate was intended to support home ownership, family security and generational wealth. He said the development would include three home types, a gated layout, clubhouse, pool, park, playground and nearly seven acres of green space. He also said the homes would be built with solar water heaters, hurricane-resistant windows and solar-ready features.

Horne said eligible purchasers would be able to access a First Global Bank programme requiring as little as one per cent down. NCB, represented by corporate banking vice-president Karen Lyn, was identified as a project financier, while Brothers Construction was also recognised among the partners.

Andrew Wheatley, member of parliament for St. Catherine South Central and minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, said the constituency was open to further investment and described St. Catherine as a growing centre for residential and commercial development.

Holness said the project showed how private developers could help meet Jamaica’s housing needs outside the high-end apartment market. He said government agencies were pursuing 70,000 housing solutions, while the country still faced a wider shortfall. He urged developers to use building technology to deliver homes at price points ordinary Jamaicans could reach, including lower-cost options, and argued that planned communities improve productivity by giving residents proper roads, water, waste collection and well-designed homes.