By Avia Ustanny, Outlook Writer 
New boy on the block, developer Michael Millwood, tries to keep a low profile, but his homes do not. - - Photo by Andrew Smith
JAMAICANS DREAM of luxury homes, even if most can't afford one.
Those who saw Millard Development's most recent construction site in Norbrook, St. Andrew, had the pleasure of viewing town houses which featured more bathrooms than bedrooms (in one case, seven to four), spacious living areas and jacuzzis in a master bathroom so spacious, one could easily 'putt and play' a game of golf.
Some came away drooling and declaring that the $25 million price tag was worth it. Others plunked down their cash. Still others just sighed.
Work
The man behind the new cluster, taciturn and private, is Michael Millwood of Millard Developments. He prefers his work to speak for itself.
The developer has created several new housing estates in upper St. Andrew, the latest of which on Norbrook Crescent is nearing completion and already 90 per cent sold. A cluster of two-bedroom apartments, tagged at $10 million each, were all sold before they were completed.
Outlook met Mr. Millwood in late October.
We first met Debra DeWar, who has known Millwood for the last 10 years and now works as his executive assistant; "He (Millwood) is hardworking. He is not showy. He is a very calm person, very quiet," she explained.
One the bedrooms of the one of the unsold units doubles for his on-site office. Millwood was indeed the picture of calm. He reminisced on the last 10 years an uphill climb to success, he said.
In 1990 when he started, he recalls, potential buyers were reluctant to plunk down their cash for his first project, then just six luxury three-bedroom homes in lower Norbrook.
Considering that he had borrowed the cash to build them from friends and family, this was a great disappointment. The homes are currently rented to embassies.
Disappeared
Ten years later, the handicap of being a newcomer has disappeared. Word has spread about the silent but driven developer who, apparently knows his business and has earned a reputation for keeping deadlines.
Millwood is on site as early as eight o'clock and rarely leaves before the sinking sun makes work impossible.
"Michael is here seven days a week" states Dwight Anderson, who has known him since his return to Jamaica.
Millwood is the only one of six children for his mother who lives in Jamaica. "It is not so easy to leave the States," he comments. To come back home, one has to be a very strong person."
Born in Kingston, he emigrated to the United States in 1983 and started his construction career working alongside his father, Arthur Millwood.
They laboured side by side on various projects in New York for seven years. When his father died, Millwood came home to do construction work on his own.
The 17-unit townhouse complex is the latest wonder produced by sheer determination.
Jamaicans, he says, still prefer to buy from name-brand developers. In the old days, it was difficult to operate if you were depending on deposits to complete construction. However, now things have changed.
Deposits
On the strength of a reputation developed in the last decade, the deposits have come in on time. More projects are in the pipeline. He works only in upscale areas, he said, as these areas tend to be free from extortionists.
Working along with architects, Millwood says he always asks for designs based on what he would want.
"I think of having a basement where I would spend most of my time," (the basements at the Norbrook development have their own bathrooms and enough features to be a self-contained apartment). Having several bathrooms make it unnecessary to sprint from one floor of the multi-level house to another.
The use of the most upscale features in bathrooms and kitchen are included on the same principle of "what I would want for myself in my home."
He is driven by his own standards of integrity and expects everyone else to be the same.
"So, what makes him angry?" we asked Ms. Dewar.
"Not keeping your word" she said.
"He (Millwood) is the type of person who if you say you are going to do something, do it. Do not try to 'con' him. If you made him a promise 10 years ago, he will remember it."
Luxury homes
Millwood's next projects include more luxury homes on Seaview Avenue and in Beverley Hills in St. Andrew.
And, for the next five years, there will still be a lot of hard work, the developer says. But, "in the next 10, I imagine I will be able to have a lot more time for myself."
Millwood relaxes when he can by playing football. "I like football. I like to go to the sea." The owner of a jet ski spends most Sundays at Lime Cay.
Married to Charlene, he is the father of Greg, 19, Christopher, 17, and Latoya, who is aged 14.
He remembers the hard work of his mother, Lorraine Henry, who struggled to raise six of them in Kingston where he attended Seaward Primary School and Trench Town Comprehensive high schools.
His childhood, he said, was not so beautiful, but neither was it so bad. He is working to ensure that his children will not have mixed feelings about theirs.
