DAILY GRAPHIC, Wednesday, August 15, 2012, Back Page. Land, Space starts estate project at Danfra

Some of the samples of the estate houses to be constructed.

Story: Mary Ankrah
Land Space Properties, a real estate developing company, has cut the sod to commence a housing project at Danfa near Aryee Mensah on the Accra-Aburi road to provide affordable houses to Ghanaians.

The project, known as, “Holy Cross Apartment,” is expected to help reduce the housing deficit of 1.2 million in the country, as well as offer employment to hundreds of artisans in the construction industry.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the sod-cutting ceremony in Accra on Monday, the Project Manager of the company, Mr Vadis Norman, said the apartment concept was to promote communal values and coexistence among people.

The move, he observed, would help maximise space utilisation and ensure a healthy environment, adding that “a large inside compound would provide security and playground for children”.

Mr Norman indicated that each block would comprise two to four-bedroom self-contained units and 100 apartment buildings would be constructed.

He gave an assurance that the facilities at the site would include schools, a police post, and a mini-shopping mall, among others, to make life comfortable to occupants and residents.

“Apartment living is less cumbersome and so the company would offer about 100 per cent guarantee security and provide recreational areas,” he added.

As to the prices, he said “a two-bedroom  apartment and outhouse self-contained would cost about $39,000 and that when completed the affordable houses would be delivered to institutional buyers, mortgage companies and the general public.

 Mr Norman disclosed that Land and Space Properties was raising long-term capital from internal and external sources to support the project.

He, therefore, appealed to the government to use various instruments, including the issuance of bonds, to support the development of the housing sector.

The project manager also noted that the country needed a housing policy to be acceptable by all stakeholders and added that housing should be embodied in poverty alleviation programmes and be a bench mark for social equality.

Cutting the sod, the Executive Secretary of Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA), Mr Emmanuel Asamoah commended Land and Space for the initiative, adding that it would help provide the needed affordable accommodation for many low income Ghanaians.