GUYANESE from all walks of life are turning up in their numbers at the Perseverance Housing Scheme to participate in the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) first ever Open House Event.
The ‘Open House Event’ which was launched on Friday, provides an opportunity for potential homeowners to view the finish product and how effective utilisation of space can result in a beautiful and well-furnished home.
And to create the perfect impression, the CH&PA has partnered with Oriental General Store, Jonas’ Bridal and Comfort Sleep to stage the Open House Event at Perseverance on the East Bank of Demerara from March 9 to 21.
On display are Government’s single flat two-bedroom duplexes.
During the opening ceremony on Friday, CH&PA Public Relations Officer (PRO) Iva Wharton said the Open House Event forms part of the authority’s Housing Solutions 2017 and Beyond Initiative and is in response to a number of concerns raised by potential homeowners.
“When we launched the Housing Solutions 2017 and Beyond Initiative, it was nothing new to the Guyanese public. However, we found that persons were a bit sceptical because of their experiences and of course what was by right reported in the media about the “turnkey” housing concept.
“We felt the need to regain the confidence of the Guyanese public; hence, this is our chance to show you what we have to offer. We want to assure the public at large that our new units, which include move-in ready duplexes and single elevated two and three bedrooms, are of the highest quality,” Wharton explained.
She added that in an effort to ensure that homeowners get a high-quality house, engineers from the inception of the project have been on the ground doing continuous assessment to ensure contractors are building the units to specification.
“Already we have persons who have been visiting our construction sites and admiring our work,” Wharton posited. She also used the opportunity to thank their partners – Oriental General Stores, Comfort Sleep and Jonas’ Bridal.
One of the project engineers involved in the construction of the 33 flat duplexes at Perseverance, Randolph Hunte, in offering brief remarks, said the Open House allows persons to experience the comfort of living in one of the housing units.
“The actual reason for this house-opening basically is to give the intended owner an idea of the level of comfort that we are providing them with, along with the space whereby they can feel comfortable, and give them some amount of security in terms of the finishes that we have presented them with,” the engineer explained.
He noted that persons had expressed concerns about the space that was allocated within a single unit and the Open House allows them to see how spacious it can be even when furnished.
Oriental General Store Assistant Manager, Christina Parshan told Guyana Chronicle that this is the second time the furniture store has partnered with CH&PA.
“We were part of last year’s main housing exhibition and we thought it was an excellent idea to partner again with CH&PA, based on the fact that we manufacture furniture locally at great prices. So it’s a good way to showcase locally made furniture in low income homes,” she explained.
Parshan said the experience from Housing Solutions 2017 and Beyond was great last year, and as such Oriental General Store did not hesitate when CH&PA extended an invitation to partner again this year.
Over the two-week period, interested persons can visit the housing scheme from 09:00hrs to 14:00hrs on weekdays, and 9:00hrs to 13:00hrs on Saturdays.