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‘Urban revitalization’ eyed for Plumeria housing
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Posted on Oct 15 2005
Commonwealth Development Authority board chair Tom Glen Quitugua said it is “a worthwhile idea” to consider an urban revitalization approach when pursuing the government’s Plumeria Estate project.
Quitugua said urban revitalization means modernizing or improving on existing facilities.
As proposed by the Babauta administration, Plumeria Estate will rise on a 13-hectare lot in Koblerville, which currently does not have electricity, water, sewer, and road systems.
Quitugua said the Plumeria project can make use of existing sites, such as the rundown MIHA housing at the back of Garapan Elementary School and the Northern Marianas Housing Corp.
“If it can be done legally, by all means let’s do it,” he said.
Quitugua said CDA would sit down with the Housing Task Force and other concerned agencies to discuss the matter.
The CDA board chairman earlier expressed reservations on the proposed use of capital improvement monies as repayment tool for the proposed $5.7 million infrastructure loan for Plumeria.
He said that CIP projects are ongoing and it could not be determined yet if there would be fund lapses.
Right now, he said, there is no available funding source to use as repayment for the proposed loan.
Earlier, Housing Task Force chair and Public Works Secretary John S. Reyes said that 702 capital improvement funding is eyed as a repayment tool for a loan with the Marianas Public Lands Trust.
Reyes said that the government could tap the CIP funds for years 2007 and 2008 for the utility and roadways infrastructure of Plumeria Estates.
The project entails the construction of up to seven different styles of residential homes.
Under the plan, a total of 128 houses with two-, three-, and four-bedroom units will be available to first-time homeowners at a low price.
