Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced that families displaced by the Booby Alley redevelopment could receive more than one condominium unit, depending on household size, as the government moves to expand the housing initiative across the country.
According to Antigua News Room, Browne confirmed that the allocation of 150 climate-resilient condominium units will factor in the size and structure of households that previously occupied the area.
"In some instances, some families may get as many as two condos because, based on the size of the family, they may have had a four-bedroom wooden property," Browne said.
The Prime Minister said the approach is designed to ensure that families are not disadvantaged as they transition from older housing stock into the newly developed units.
The project will also incorporate a mix of property exchanges and rent-to-own arrangements, catering in particular to individuals who were previously renting or who choose not to return to the redeveloped site. Browne noted that a number of former residents have since settled in other communities and are content with their current living situations.
"There are some who are quite comfortable where they are… what they have now requested is that we do the exchange," he said.
That shift is expected to free up additional units, which will be offered through rent-to-own arrangements, broadening access to home ownership for more residents.
Browne also raised the possibility of retiring the Booby Alley name entirely, saying discussions are underway about rebranding the area to reflect its transformation. "There are some who say we should call it Pelican Condos, Pelican Court," he noted.
Looking beyond the immediate project, the Prime Minister described the Booby Alley redevelopment as a blueprint for a wider national housing strategy. He identified Parliament Street in Grace Farm as the next community targeted for similar intervention, where older, low-income homes are expected to be replaced with modern, climate-resilient units.
"We're going to rip out all of those low-income homes… and replace them with climate-resilient condominium homes," Browne said.
The Prime Minister framed the broader initiative as part of an effort to improve living conditions, address concentrated poverty, and promote greater equity in housing access across the nation.
"A society is known by the way in which it treats its most vulnerable," he said.