When one peruses the Business columns in the newspapers, one sees very few Albuoystown properties are offered for sale. This is because one or two property developers are quietly buying up any properties which may happen to come on the market. Still, more importantly, property owners are realizing that real estate prices are now increasing and there is no need to sell in a hurry. This trend has been confirmed recently by Vice President Dr Jagdeo, when at the opening of Independence Boulevard in Albuoystown, he advised that property owners along the street should not precipitately sell off their properties since their values would be increasing, one important reason being that the Boulevard would soon be developing into a business centre like Regent Street.

Albuoystown today has the reputation of being the slum area of the city. This has not always been so. Until the 1960’s it was regarded as a clean suburban village with owners living on their properties and it had the largest Indian, Portuguese and Chinese settlements in the city. In the 1960s, there were racio-political riots and the Portuguese and Chinese populations emigrated to North America while Indians moved to other parts of the city with smaller numbers also emigrating. “Creoles”, mainly from the East Coast, then moved into the ward, and the absentee owners collected little rent and neglected their properties , which deteriorated into slummy conditions.

Albuoystown has embarked upon a revolutionary renaissance in the last two or three years. The State has invested $2 billion in infrastructural developments: The streets have all been renewed, including the centrepiece Independence Boulevard; the drainage has been fully rectified, and there is no more flooding; the lighting of the ward has greatly improved; garbage collection is regular; violent crime has almost disappeared and several owners and stable tenants are gradually beginning to move back into the ward. Houses are being repaired and repainted and the older shops appear to be doing more business. Indeed, a few imaginative young businessmen and women have even opened new shops.

The main attractiveness of the ward is its centrality. It is within walking distance of the Law Courts, the markets and the main shopping areas, and within easy reach of the main Government administrative Ministries and offices. It is on its way to the Cheddi Jagan Airport and the Ogle Airport. Further, it is quite close to the on-shore developments which are being created to service the Oil Industry, in particular those on the East Bank Demerara and West Coast Demerara, and this closeness is attracting workers to contemplate moving into the area once new flats are built or the older houses are refurbished and made more comfortable in Albuoystown. One great attraction would be the cheaper rents.
Albuoystown is on the threshold of the most fundamental developments of the wards of the city and the imaginative investor who manages to purchase real estate there would certainly profit from the increased property values which the oil economy brings.