In the coming weeks, passers-by on The Quarter main road will see – just east of Saint James School of Medicine – what the structural image of a new unique rental building will look like as work progresses there at a steady pace. Right now, the stylish concrete first floor is in place and the steel-frame second and third floors are in course of erection.
“As our sign says, we are building space for rent and that’s all we can say at the moment – we can’t say much more,” Wilmoth Richardson, owner of the project carefully explained. “We know it is a unique building, different from those around here, so everybody is excited to see what it is.”
“Will”, as he is affectionately called, was asked what led him to construct such an elaborate and costly building. “Well, I got a calling, and I see the need for this kind of building, so I decided to take the lead and go ahead and build,” he told The Anguillian. “I don’t know if I have too much confidence in the economy at the moment, but I have confidence that the building I am building will be needed.” Pressed further, about whether he thought the future development of the economy would sustain the rental building, he replied: “Sure. I would say so.”
He went on: “It is a three-storey building and that’s why I said it is unique in terms of how people are building here. If you realise it, the first floor is all of concrete, constructed by Elkin Lloyd’s Construction with Neil Maronie as the Architectural Technologist. Now we are doing the other two floors with steel frames. The building is 91 feet long 45 feet wide. Multiply that by three and you will work out how much space will be available.”
The custom-made steel frames were purchased from Structural Systems Inc. in Barbados which has sent its Supervisor, Curtis Brathwaite (who travels throughout the Caribbean), and a younger employee, Michael Maynard, to Anguilla to erect the frames. With much agility and admiration for their daredevil climbing, they easily scale the lofty steel columns and beams without trepidation, drawing from their years of skill and experience.
The Anguilla construction crew comprises eight workers led by Elkin Lloyd who has forty years experience in the construction industry in St Thomas (US Virgin Islands) and Anguilla, his homeland, to which he returned several years ago. The first classy two-storey building, now being occupied by Saint James School of Medicine, is one of Lloyd’s proudly constructed buildings.
Asked about the completion date of his three – storey building, Will, who avoided giving direct answers during the course of the newspaper interview, replied: “A couple months down the road.”
Will, who resides at Sachasses, is considered to be one of Anguilla’s insightful and multifaceted businessmen. “I started out as a businessman when I was 19 years old doing vehicle repairs,” he recalled. “My brother Kenrick bought me two welding bottles and I began doing body work and spraying cars; then I moved on to heavy equipment when I was 29 years old; then to building when I was 33; later, I went into the rock-crushing business; and at 43, I became a distributor of Harris Paints.” He is the owner of the first building to be occupied by Saint James School of Medicine for classrooms and administrative offices.
What is Will’s message for upcoming young men? “It is not an easy road, but stick with the basics and do what you have to do,” he advised them. “Don’t spend money lavishly and you should be successful.”
