The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

WORKS Minister Desmond Bannister yesterday hailed the development of an upscale housing community in western New Providence as a sign of the growing investor-confidence in the Bahamian economy.

Mr Bannister made the remarks to reporters after touring the construction site of the new housing project located near Love Beach, which is set to be completed by next year’s end.

The prestigious residential community, called Westend, covers five acres of land and will feature 80 housing units ranging in costs between $300,000 to $500,000.

Project developer, Constantinos “Costa” Berdanis, said the development, once completed, will house one, two and three-bedroom condominiums as well “luxurious” town homes that will also offer special amenities. “We have one bedrooms, two bedrooms, three bedrooms and we also have luxury townhouses. We’re at the point now where we’re 40 percent sold,” Mr Berdanis said. “The prices are from three to four to five hundred thousand in that range and the luxury townhouses are a little higher up.

“We have 24-hour-security front and back. We’ve got garbage pickup every day. The property comes with access to a beach so you can use a beach here on the property. Half of the property is designed for Airbnb capability and the other half is designed for 30-day so we’ve separated them. We have separate pools for the Airbnb’s, and on the residence side, we have a $1m dollar gym facility which is really really gorgeous.”

He also said the company’s workforce for the project is mostly Bahamian.

“We have a hundred percent Bahamian employees,” he said. “I would say 99.9 so we’re one hundred percent Bahamian.. and we haven’t really started fully yet because the infrastructure crew is still on board here and once they’re finished in two months, I can bring a full crew here but right now we have about 80 to 100 guys off and on with subs and sub-contractors and again, everyone is Bahamian.”

As it relates to the project’s timeline of completion, he said officials are “looking at the end of 2022” provided that there are no delays due to COVID-19.

After touring the site yesterday, Mr Bannister told reporters the project shows the growing confidence investors have in the Bahamian economy.

He also pledged the government’s assistance with the development, saying officials will do whatever they can to offer incentives where needed.

“What’s very interesting is to see that we have an enterprising investor who has sought to initiate his investment and has done so without any assistance,” the works minister noted. “It is an indication of his confidence in the Bahamian economy and his confidence that he’s going to be able make a wonderful return on his investment and he has hired in excess of 100 people, and I understand that when they get really moving, they’re going to be hiring approximately 400 people working at this site.

“It is a mid-range price which is very affordable and based on what I’ve seen in respect to engineering works and the elevation, it’s a well-thought-out concept and as you can see the neighbourhood is a very very desirable area for people to live in.”