By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The developer of a major western New Providence community says rezoning all its 464 phase two lots to multi-family will help ease the housing shortage and make middle class home ownership more affordable.

Matthew Mitchell, a realtor with Treasure Real Estate, said his developer client believes changing the outstanding 73.5 percent of lots not previously rezoned will enable Serenity’s second phase to offer 1,007 units and enhance the project’s “speed to market”.

He added in a May 13, 2024, letter to Charles Zonicle, director at the Department of Physical Planning, that the switch to multi-family will make home ownership more accessible for the Bahamian middle class as duplexes and triplexes will enable the owner to lease units and earn rental income to help service mortgage payments.

Confirming that he was writing on behalf of Cantor Holdings, the developer, Mr Mitchell said the 464 lots are divided into 26 blocks spread across 93 acres, including 5.5 and six-acre sites designated for green space. He referred to an “initial approval” granted by the planning authorities on April 4, 2014, which some ten years ago permitted 123 lots to be approved for duplexes.

That covered just 26.5 percent of Serenity’s phase two lots, and Mr Mitchell added: “We now request that all lots be zoned or rezoned as multi-family. In some cases, lots previously and approximately 10,000 square feet or in excess of same were zoned as duplex lots - much too large to be designated duplex lots...

“Minimally, the vast majority of, if not all, lots should be zoned or rezoned multi-family. We do not want single family to be mixed with multi-family.” Mr Mitchell said that, if the rezoning was approved as requested, Serenity’s phase two will feature 423 duplex lots containing 846 units when fully build-out.

A further 11 and 27, respectively, are intended to feature triplexes and four-plexes with a total 33 and 108 units at full build-out. Serenity’s plans also include two five-plexes and a ten-plex, making for a total of 1,007 units and six acres of green space.

The rezoning push was said to be based on multiple factors, including New Providence’s housing shortage and the present market circumstances of “high demand and very short supply”. Mr Mitchell said the plans will also ensure “affordability and availability of multi-family units for principally a middle income market of a millennial demographic, for whom home ownership is for many beyond reach”.

He added that the move will also “make it easier for the said demographic to qualify for financing given that rental income will be available to subsidise monthly mortgage payments”, while “speed to market” will be enhanced for those not wanting to buy in flood-prone areas as “they can purchase in a reasonable period of time by comparison with gated competitor developments”.

Mr Mitchell said Serenity, whose principal developer is Martin Solomon, will have separate entrances for phase one and two. The former is accessed from Nelson Road, while the latter’s entrance will be on West Bay Street.