Plan for bigger Coverley

By Cheryl Harewood

There are plans to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into building more houses and facilities at the lifestyle residential development in Coverley, Christ Church.

This was revealed by businessman Mark Maloney, of Housing Concepts SRL, who told the Weekend Nation in an exclusive interview that the new wing, Residences At Coverley, will be constructed to the west of the already established Villages At Coverley.

“What has been created to date would have seen an investment of BDS$250 million and we anticipate that the overall investment, once the current and future plans are built out, would be in excess of $1 billion,” he said.

“Our expansion will include the construction of 650 pre-designed, three- and four-bedroom homes of varying styles, a new town square, recreational and outdoor living and sporting facilities. We will also be building a hospitality campus of the highest standard to serve Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean, as well as a senior living facility to accommodate the elderly. Homes will range from single family to duplexes and two-storey units. We will be launching this expansion in March and we are currently working with the relevant regulatory agencies,” Maloney added.

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley had mentioned in her 2023 Budget that the Florida International University would be starting up a branch in Barbados.

An upbeat Maloney said: “We want the Villages at Coverley and the Residences At Coverley to be the most desirable place for Barbadians to want to live. Of course, we will be enforcing standards in the new development to be upheld by everyone. This is because people want to know that what they buy into is still relevant years down the road, and to do so there are covenants to protect homeowners’ investment.”

Expansion at the Villages At Coverley over the past two years has witnessed the construction of 200 homes, ranging from $380 000 and up. This month a new Starbucks will join the already close to 15 restaurants and other facilities at the lifestyle community. With the expansion, a home store, a second beauty salon and a hardware store will also be added.

High demand

The Villages At Coverley is already home to about 3 500 people, with 1 000 homes constructed to date.

Maloney said there has been a high demand for houses in the lifestyle community.

“We have been in a positive trajectory since 2019, and we have opened up three new villages – Cherry South, Ackee West and Sugar Apple – over the past two years. Approximately 200 new homes have been constructed. Our challenge right now with the current demands is not how we will be able to sell these houses, but being able to build enough to meet the market demands.

“We carried out a study on the real estate market and an absorption report shows there is a huge demand for homes as we are building, and that persons are leaning more towards buying homes in communities. They are also enticed by the lifestyle community. Many people are leaning towards this kind of living and our infrastructure is designed to the highest standards to meet the demand.”

The developer said the demographic of those living in Coverley was mixed – young professionals, retirees, whole families and even investors who are purchasing the homes and turning them into Airbnb accommodation facilities.

Admitting that Housing Concepts SRL was not doing as well as had been planned before the main entrance roundabout was built, and also when Ross University School of Medicine partnered with the company to provide accommodation for 1 300 students, Maloney stressed that acquiring that contract allowed Housing Concepts SRL to have the critical mass required to open new businesses and construct more homes in the Villages At Coverley.

“The homeowners have always applauded us, especially for keeping the environment clean and safe. People had confidence in the developer when we started to build in 2010, and today homeowners get to live in an environment conducive to goodness and the social benefits derived are immeasurable.

“They feel safe and they see the many amenities available to them. We see ourselves being able to expand on our offerings,” he said.

Maloney said the vision to develop a lifestyle community in Barbados was first considered back in 2008. Initially, Housing Concepts SRL partnered with Government to make this dream a reality. However, the developer and Government came to an agreement in 2019, where Government sold the lands rather than benefiting from getting paid when a home was built and sold.