ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda — A major Caribbean housing redevelopment is approaching handover, but the government’s plans for who owns the new homes and how former residents will pay for them remain unsettled.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Cabinet says Pelican Court, a 150-unit condominium development replacing the former Booby Alley community in Point, is expected to be ready for residential occupancy in January 2027. The scheme was financed through a grant of approximately EC$50 million from China and is intended to improve living conditions for more than 300 former residents.
The October 7 Cabinet report makes clear that practical questions about housing allocation, property valuation and possible mortgages have yet to be resolved. Indicative prices of EC$150,000 to EC$175,000 per condominium have been discussed, but the government has not approved final prices.
What happens to former owners?
Under the arrangements being considered, people who both owned and occupied properties in the former community would receive priority for replacement accommodation. Their previous property’s assessed value could be credited towards a new unit. If that value falls short of the new purchase price, a mortgage might be used to finance the difference.
Officials have also discussed cash compensation or purchase options for former owners who did not live in the community. Owners of larger properties may require individual assessment. None of these possibilities should be mistaken for final mortgage terms or a settled compensation scheme.
The government says the National Housing Development and Urban Renewal Company will undertake further assessments, while legal and administrative arrangements are completed before families move in.
Ownership is only part of the challenge
Cabinet also considered maintenance, parking, waste disposal and management of common areas. Such costs can become a significant consideration when people move from individually maintained houses into apartment buildings with shared facilities and obligations.
For other Caribbean countries tackling informal settlement redevelopment, Pelican Court presents a wider policy question: how can public investment improve housing conditions without leaving the very people being rehoused unable to afford their new accommodation?
The government hopes to use lessons from the project in future urban renewal schemes. For the former Booby Alley residents, the more immediate issues are the final allocations, written ownership terms, any mortgage liabilities and the realistic timetable for moving home.
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