BELVEDERE:--- The St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation is moving into the holiday season with good tidings as the organization announced that phase one of repairs to its properties have been progressing according to schedule.
“At present, the roof capping and flashing has been fixed for 44 duplex units,” Technical Manager Telston Bell shared, “as well as for 20 multi-unit properties.”
SMHDF duplex units consist of two units per property, while the multi-unit homes boast five to seven units each. Repairs to the Duplex units are being financed by the SMHDF and required the input of residents. Most of the roofing has been repaired, and the organization now requires access to the interior to have damages repaired.
The Row Houses have had their roofing repaired and the SMHDF is proud to announce that with the excellent collaboration of respective tenants’, Phase 2, which is related to the interior of the homes progressing well with the valuable input of our valuable tenants. In so doing they are assisting the SMHDF to succeed swiftly in strengthening our housing communities.
The Apartment Towers Repairs in Phase 1 to properties damaged by Hurricane Irma were executed utilizing financing obtained from the World Bank trust fund established by the Netherlands. Housing Foundation has submitted plans for their remaining projects in accordance with the World Bank’s compliance rules, with repairs at the top of the priority list.
“Phase two is currently in its planning stages,” Bell commented. “It is reliant on the World Bank’s procurement process and once this has been completed, we will move forward. We aim for the first quarter of 2019.”
Repairs in the second phase of the project will focus on restructuring the roofs and facilities of the five towers (comprising eight units per tower), as well as the row houses, which number 21 in total. Once these repairs are completed, it will mark the end of SMHDF’s post-Hurricane Irma recovery phase. Director Helen Salomons stated that this will allow the organization to shift focus to other pending projects that have had their start dates delayed by the impact of Irma.
“We continue to work with our clients to facilitate their repairs in an efficient and effective manner,” Salomons says. “There have been challenges along the way but SMHDF has remained committed to executing these projects in an efficient and safe manner. For 2019 we deem it of pivotal importance that tenants collaborate with us to have this vision materialized in a swift manner. We can celebrate this holiday season with what has been accomplished so far, while we have maintained the same low rent rates for the past 22 years. Some as low as ANG 155,-. Together let’s focus on the whole process of creating opportunities reimaged.”
The foundation celebrated their progress on Friday, 7 December 2018 with a grand customer appreciation party, which was attended by a cross-section of over 300 tenants of SMHDF’s communities. During the event, SMHDF raffled over 100 prizes to exuberant tenants. Food and beverages were also provided compliments of the SMHDF. The main prize of a 55” flat-screen TV was won by Sandra Hassell.