NHT and Developer Partner to Deliver 895 Housing Solutions at Rozelle Estate in St. Thomas

Morant Bay, Jamaica — 10 February 2022

The Prime Minister broke ground at Rozelle Estate in St. Thomas, setting in motion a $9.6-billion housing development that will deliver 895 residential solutions on 187 acres of land located approximately three kilometres west of the Morant Bay Urban Centre. The project, a partnership between the National Housing Trust and New Rozelle Properties Limited, will comprise one and two-bedroom detached units delivered over 24 to 36 months.

Of the 895 units, the NHT will directly deliver 660, with the remaining 235 built by New Rozelle Properties Limited under the Guaranteed Purchase Programme. The Rozelle Estate development is located along the Paul Bogle Highway on Jamaica’s south coast, a corridor that is beginning to accumulate residential investment as highway improvements steadily shorten the effective distance between St. Thomas and Kingston.

St. Thomas and the Highway Effect

St. Thomas is a parish in transition. The Paul Bogle Highway has begun to redefine the travel time between Morant Bay and Kingston’s commercial centres, a change that land markets are already starting to price in. Rozelle Estate, positioned along this corridor, benefits directly from the infrastructure investment without yet carrying the premium pricing that more established highway-adjacent locations command.

At $9.6 billion for 895 units, the per-unit cost works out to approximately $10.7 million on average before finishing, marketing, and distribution costs. For the NHT’s target market of low to lower-middle income contributors, this unit economics profile, combined with NHT mortgage financing, should translate into accessible monthly payments. The idyllic south coast location, as the NHT itself has described it, adds quality-of-life value that the price alone does not fully capture.

The GPP at Scale

The hybrid structure at Rozelle Estate is worth noting. The NHT delivering 660 units directly while absorbing New Rozelle’s 235 units through the Guaranteed Purchase Programme is a model that distributes execution risk while maximising total output. The GPP component allows a smaller private developer to participate in a large-scale project with the security of a guaranteed buyer, while the NHT focuses its direct construction capacity on the majority of the scheme.

This kind of hybrid public-private structure is increasingly the preferred model for large parish housing projects in Jamaica, and for good reason. Pure public delivery struggles with scale and speed. Pure private delivery struggles to price affordably without subsidy. The blend, when executed well, captures the advantages of both.

“Rozelle Estate is one of the more exciting large-scale housing announcements in St. Thomas in years,” said Dean Jones, Managing Director of Jamaica Homes. “The highway effect on this corridor is real and accelerating. Families who get into Rozelle now will benefit from the infrastructure premium as the south coast corridor continues to develop.”

What 895 Units Means for Morant Bay

A development of 895 units, delivered over two to three years, will materially alter the formal housing supply in Morant Bay and its surrounds. The Morant Bay urban centre serves as the administrative and commercial hub for the entire parish. Increased formal residential supply in its periphery will ease pressure on the informal settlement areas that have historically absorbed population growth without the benefit of proper infrastructure or tenure security.

The detached one and two-bedroom unit format, rather than the apartment blocks favoured by urban schemes, reflects an understanding of what St. Thomas families want. Land. Space. A garden. The NHT has read the local market correctly, and the delivery of Rozelle Estate on time and to specification would be one of the more consequential housing achievements in the south-east corridor’s recent history.

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