BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A four-apartment building on Wellington Road was demolished yesterday (Oct. 7) following plans proposed by the National Housing Corporation.
The demolition process began sometime around 6:00 a.m. yesterday (Oct. 7) and the demolished building is a part of plans for new developments to enhance the community.
According to information from the Communications Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister (CUOPM), last week, Minister of Housing, Public Works, Utilities and Energy, the Hon. Dr. Earl Asim Martin informed that the buildings would not be renovated due to structural challenges and would be demolished by the National Housing Corporation (NHC) and a modern commercial/residential development constructed.
In a previous interview, General Manager of NHC Judith Rawlins said that the building was constructed in the 1950s and is now in a deteriorated state.
“There will be new developments within this community to enhance the environment, part of our job at NHC is to create houses for people, and these houses have been a part of CHA for many years. They are now in a deteriorated state and a lot of them are not in the condition where they can actually be occupied,” she said.
She said the occupants of the building which housed four different families have either moved on or relocated to other NHC project homes.
The General Manager said they already have several new designs for the area and hope to start building in 2013.
“It’s part of the commercial stretch that is developing along Wellington Road and part of the community in terms of housing. The concepts range from creating modern dwelling to creating a mix of commercial and residential areas.”
The building is the first of six, located on both Wellington Road and West Street, that are scheduled to be demolished.
However, many residents are concerned about where they would live, knowing that the cost of living is very high and that rent could cost them anywhere between EC$500 to EC$800 per month as they were paying less than EC$50 for their apartment.
They claimed that they are low income earners and to a dwelling place that could fit into their budget could only be found in the rural parts of the island.
This, they added, would be additional burden to their pockets because they have to find money to pay for transportation to and from work and also for their children who are attending schools in the city.
A number of people currently residing in the other apartments said that sometime in the past officials at the NHC had told them they would be relocated in the Shadwell area, but since then no word has been forthcoming.
It was also said by some residents that NHC officials had told them they could have remained in the buildings, but they needed to finance the repairs. However, after the said officials had interviewed them, it was realised that they were low income earners and could not foot the bill; therefore the decision was taken for them to vacate the apartments.
