A real solution to the challenge of building affordable housing quickly on the Island has been found by the Bermuda Biological Station for Research.

In the space of only a few months a housing block of 21 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments has been built to benefit scientists and staff at the BBSR.

The building has arrived on the Island in the form of pre-fabricated packs that have been erected and bolted together by local workers with help from specialists from Canada.

Ground work was laid out in the summer and since then the three-storey building has been taking shape, bit by bit, and now is nearing completion. It is hoped residents will be able to move into the new accommodation this coming January or February.

The sea science station searched around for a solution to its own housing problem, common to many employers on the Island who are finding it increasingly difficult to secure affordable rented apartments for their staff.

That?s when it came across a company in Canada making pre-fabricated, steel frame buildings that have proved a hurricane-proof answer for communities in the Caribbean and Florida.

And at a cost of around $150 per square foot to construct, the new building is everything BBSR was looking for.

Bermuda Container Line has been shipping weekly crates to the Island containing the framework and pre-fabricated sections. It has been put together by Bermudian construction workers with some supervision from the Canadian building material supplier.

Dr. Tony Knap, BBSR director, said the station needed to find a way of providing subsidised housing for its faculty and staff, as that was the biggest single concern suggested by the staff themselves.

?For me it is a responsibility to our staff to provide fair and equitable housing ? to put up a building and charge reasonable rates.? The building will have Internet access, be insulated and have metered water by the beginning of January, according to Dr. Knap.

Jay Saadian, BBSR chief financial officer, said: ?They have put up a lot of these buildings in the Caribbean and they have withstood hurricanes, so we thought it was a good solution.

?The units are being made available to all our employees, both local staff and expats. There is a desperate need for reasonably priced rented accommodation.?

He added: ?Apart from being low cost it should be pretty much maintenance free for the first three or four years and it will eventually pay for itself through the rental income.?