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Ground broken for construction of a $50-million teachers' apartment block at Jamaica College

Ground has been broken for the construction of a two-storey building on the Jamaica College campus to house 12 self-contained studio apartments. The Drax Apartments project is estimated to cost $50 million and will be sited on the part of the campus known as Drax Lodge. The apartments are expected to be completed by September 2012 and are to be occupied exclusively by teachers who are contracted to the college.

Over the years, the cost of housing has been rising faster than the incomes of teachers, and this has caused them to seek more affordable accommodations far away from the campus. In 2009, the boards of both the Jamaica College Foundation and the Jamaica College Trust approached the National Housing Trust to partner with them to provide affordable housing on the school campus for the Jamaica College teaching staff.

"The provision of affordable housing for teachers on the Jamaica College campus will break down the barriers that have traditionally slowed the development and delivery of quality education in our country. Altogether, this project marks a significant step forward for the improvement in the educational system, and we are proud that Jamaica College continues to build on its foundation to develop and deliver quality education to our students," said R. Danny Williams, chairman of the foundation which has spearheaded a number of major projects at the school.

The plans for Drax Apartments were prepared by Mark Taylor of the Jamaica School of Architecture, with professional support from John Bloomfield, quantity surveyor; Raymond Richardson, electrical engineer; Clem Tomlinson, structural engineer; Paul Burke, project manager, and Bruce English, contractor.