By Nagra Plunkett, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE MAJOR expansion project for Spot Valley in St. James, which will include the construction of some 2,000 housing solutions and a 50-room heritage hotel, is to begin in January 2003.
While the cost has not yet been announced for the five-year construction programme, $1.2 billion will be spent on infrastructure work. This will include building roads, sewage lines, water and power supply.
"I can't tell you what the overall development will cost; I can only give you the figure for the infrastructure," said Evon Williams, of Design Collaborative, the project's architect.
The proposed site for the construction is a 580-acre property owned by Montego Bay businessman Thomas Chambers, one of the major shareholders in the Spot Valley Development Company, which is responsible for the project. In the first phase, 550 affordable houses will be built and 500 lots, measuring 1/4 to 1/3 of an acre, demarcated for sale.
DEVELOPMENT BRINGING BENEFITS
"The notion is to have Spot Valley as an attraction," Mr. Williams stated. "We are going to be expanding on the existing community known as Spot Valley."
The site is listed under the umbrella of the Housing Act and an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study is being done for the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA). Talks have also been held with residents in the area in a bid to sensitise them of the project.
In addition to the hotel and houses, the development will see the construction of a town hall, a community centre, bus terminal, sport centre, fire station, a school and a commercial centre.
Williams has also said the Jamaica National Heritage Trust has identified Spot Valley as a heritage site. It was once a premier sugar producing area and has remnants dating back to slavery and Arawak occupation. "The heritage hotel will capitalise on the historical background of the site and we intend to have a museum as well," Williams said. "We are not only going to build houses, but bring economic and education base for Spot Valley and the communities in its environs."
