The Premier gave Loughlands the thumbs-up yesterday on a tour of the affordable housing project with Cabinet colleagues.

Dr. Ewart Brown said: "I'm very impressed. I think Minister Burch and the team have done a fabulous job. I was last here six months ago and the progress has been overwhelming.

"This is what we meant when we said we would provide housing for a wide spectrum of Bermudians."

Loughlands, in Paget, will provide 96 homes for families on lower incomes registered with the Bermuda Housing Corporation. Scheduled to be completed in 2009, it offers two-bedroom apartments for $485,000 and three-bedroom units for $515,000. Government has said it will not make a profit on the project but aims to sell the accommodation at prices lower than market value.

A public/private partnership between Government and developer Gilbert Lopes began in March 2006 and required the re-zoning of the land from tourism to residential, plus a Special Development Order.

Mr. Lopes is to sell the completed units back to Government in blocks of four to six as they are completed, and Government will then act as an 'agent', re-selling the units to first-time buyers at less than the market price.

Commenting on the Island's housing crisis, Dr. Brown said: "First of all, I think it has moved from crisis to serious, I think the patient is out of accident and emergency. I think it's fair to say the acute crisis is being effectively treated, and I think that as you see additional developments in St. David's and in the West End come into play, I think we will have more than enough housing for our people."

Construction at Loughlands began in the New Year and is scheduled to take seven phases. Project manager Blake Lambert said: "Due to change based on how production progresses, I would say we will be completed by the middle of 2009."

The units feature individual balconies and parking areas, while a large communal area will be set around a daycare or preschool at the former Loughlands Hotel — a Grade One-listed building. A Condominium Association is to be set up to manage and own the site.

Some neighbouring residents have complained that Loughlands could bring increased congestion to the area but Government says traffic flow studies have not flagged up any major problems.

Housing Minister Senator David Burch said yesterday that the first families were almost ready to move in. He said the condominiums had been allocated on a "first come, first served" basis, but the response had been "overwhelming", with more than 500 families applying for accommodation.

"We are very close now to the families occupying Loughlands," said Housing Minister Sen. Burch. "We've almost identified the 21 families coming here (for Phase One).

It hasn't gone in the order of putting down the names but it has been on a first come, first served basis, so we are getting close to the stage that all the work that we do will really become of value and give us some validation of what this can do for housing and families in Bermuda."

He said Cabinet colleagues had been invited to Loughlands for an update on progress ahead of the general election — "as they are on the campaign trail", said Sen. Burch.

The Minister said he also wanted to reassure the 404 families who had missed out on the 96 units at Loughlands that two other affordable housing projects were already underway.

"We've already started working through that list," he said.

"These people will remain on that list roughly in order, and the next project offered to those families will be Westcott (54 units) in St. David's."

Sen. Burch added: "This will become the permanent list and we will work through it until we solve it.

"We recognise some people on the list are not able, at the moment, to afford a house and that they will be living in rental accommodation, but people will get to the stage where they will be able to participate.

"We will get to the stage where they can ultimately own a piece of the Rock."