By Emmanuel Joseph
After more than 20 years of would-be investors coming and going, controversies, pledges of government support, threatened lawsuits, political rancour over proposed tax concessions and ownership, and planning delays, the ambitious Pierhead Project for the heart of The City, is to finally start emerging this September.
The announcement was made on Tuesday by the head of the project’s advisory team, real estate mogul Sir Paul Altman, who revealed for the first time that the commercial and residential development will cost some $160 million.
The venture envisions an expansive marina for luxury yacht owners and an accompanying condominium, luxury branded stores, bars, entertainment facilities, and a hotel complex.
It is set to encompass about 10.8 acres comprising lands from Fort Willoughby, proceeding westward, including the Dry Dock, along the Wharf, along the Chamberlain Bridge, Cavan’s Lane, and on to Bay Street and up to Parfitt Alley.
Sir Paul told Barbados TODAY: “They are pulling down a few buildings there. As soon as they finish the group work, they have to follow some requirements of the Planning [and Development Department] which are [that] we have to do ground penetrating radar to make sure there is nothing buried under there. Once we have done that, we start putting in piles which will take about three months. You will see the building coming up by September.”
Sir Paul, representative of Irish business executive and philanthropist E. Neville Isdell, the former chair and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company who is backing the development, said construction is to be completed in phases, with the first phase due to be ready “by the end of 2025”.
Last Wednesday, C O Williams Construction Company mobilised salvage and demolition teams on the site to pave the way for the venture, which is expected to revitalise Bridgetown, create new business opportunities for small entrepreneurs, boost the economy, and attract major investment to the country.
Sir Paul, a 40-year real estate veteran, estimates that about 400 to 500 Barbadians will be employed on the development and hundreds more during construction.
He referred to the scheme as his Holetown luxury shopping and entertainment development, Limegrove Lifestyle Centre, on steroids, as he outlined some of the project’s features.
“Over 80 per cent of the perimeter of that property is waterfront, so you would assume that if you’ve got 80 per cent of the boundary being water that a lot of water comes into play. So you have boats, a beach, savannahs with a beach restaurant…. Fifty per cent of the people who will come there will come by water taxi and boat,” the businessman said.
The Pierhead area contains a range of warehouses dating back to an era when the Wharf, Careenage and Carlisle Bay made up Bridgetown’s port for centuries before the Deep Water Harbour was opened in 1961. Sir Paul said some of the original building materials are to be reused.
“We were able to salvage a lot of the old material. So far, we salvaged miles of heavy plank wood and stone, and we are compiling them for reuse. So, the main thing is that we are stockpiling and we have salvaged already more materials than we anticipated for reuse in order to build back in the character that was there before. That is a big item.
“Some of the main features are that we are putting back buildings where the buildings are, and we are removing a few buildings to create some open green spaces and connecting open courtyards. But the main buildings that are there are going to go back as they were. There will be two at four storeys and one at seven,” he said.
A seven-storey building is to be built near the Chamberlain Bridge.
“The main thing on the ground floor is all commercial…restaurants…and on the next levels are all residential,” said the managing director of Altman Real Estate. “The planning permission provides for the construction of three main buildings which will continue to be named the Steel Building, the House of Pillars and Bridge House.”
The project is designed around the themes of ‘live, work and play’ in a mixed-use development that will combine apartment living on the upper floors with a number of food and beverage offerings plus retail and a first-class visitor attraction that can incorporate the conserved Blackwoods Screw Dock.
In addition, a Beach Club located on the Pointe will operate to open up Carlisle Beach and Bay for all, Sir Paul vowed.
He said the team involved in the project is excited that personnel are finally on-site working after the long wait to get the scheme off the ground.
Sir Paul also sought to reassure members of the public who may be concerned about the project’s possible impact on the designation of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“We are paying full attention to maintaining the quality of the heritage side of it. We are making sure we don’t go beyond what the UNESCO requirements are in terms of putting back something that is meaningful,” he said.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
