Families have today been given the keys to the homes they never thought they would be able to afford with the official opening of the Harbour View Village in St David's.

Deputy Premier Derrick Burgess and Environment Minister Walter Roban cut the ribbon at the first phase of the low-cost housing development on Southside.

Mr Burgess welcomed the new homeowners into 58 of the 86 units saying they would be “the envy of most in the east end” as they “would now be enjoying some of the best pristine water views Bermuda has to offer”.

Mr Burgess said without being successful in the lottery draw, they may not have been able to afford home ownership in Bermuda.

The four buildings on the former military base feature two- three- and four-bedroom units. Each building is named after prominent St David's Islanders; businessman Arthur Pitcher, deputy pilot warden Harold Millett, School principal Hilton C. Richardson and Minister of Evangelism Constance Mello.

It's a Bermuda Housing Development Corporation development which specifically wanted to make affordable housing available to those in a specific income bracket via a lottery process.

Mr Roban said the first phase had been completed on budget even though the unexpected discovery of a 540,000-gallon underground storage tank containing oil and sludge had delayed building work.

He said: “More than housing, this project represents genuine economic empowerment – another demonstration of this Government's unwavering commitment to making homes available to first time homeowners at prices that are simply unavailable in the ordinary marketplace.”

Scores of Harbour View Village residents came out for the celebrations, which included entertainment by the H&H Gombey Troupe and refreshments.