PM: Pierhead project is about people, not just profits

The long-awaited $200 million Pierhead Project was officially launched Thursday evening, with Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley hailing the waterfront development as essential to the revitalisation of Bridgetown.

Speaking on the active construction site, in the presence of sole investor and founder Neville Isdell, Mottley said the project — along with neighbouring developments like the Hyatt Hotel — is key to Bridgetown’s future.

“The journey of the Pierhead and the journey of the Hyatt Hotel has been tortuous at times, controversial at times, but necessary for the vitality of this capital city,” she said.

“There are things that are still in the process of being addressed, that would determine the level of success that we will have. The issue of traffic and pedestrianisation of our capital city, has fully to be addressed.”

The prime minister also made it clear that Bridgetown’s development must include the people who live there. She said the redevelopment provides the government with the ability to show the residents of Nelson Street, Vine Street, Spruce Street, and the Orleans “that Bridgetown’s development is not simply about bringing people in to make money and commerce or to bring people in as tourists, but it is about the total development of this capital city.”

Calling attention to living conditions in some parts of The City, she said no one in Cat’s Castle should be sleeping or walking on a dirt floor, and no pit toilet should be the place where anyone, in wet or dry conditions, is forced to perform the most basic human functions.

“It is for this reason that we introduced planning gains on all developments in Bridgetown, since coming to office, for the contribution to the Urban Development Fund—whether it’s the Pierhead or Hyatt or the Afrexim Bank or the others that will come [such as] Carlisle House, which is under development and discussion, and the Treasury Building.”

Mottley said the regeneration of Bridgetown also includes the Granville Williams Bus Terminal on Fairchild Street and the soon-to-be redeveloped River Bus Terminal, aimed at ensuring that “everyone who lives or works in Bridgetown can do so in a dignified way.

She said the launch of the Pierhead Project, which allows for the restoration and operation of the historic Screw Dock on the Inner Basin of the Careenage, signals strong investor confidence in Barbados.

“The investment has gone beyond the planning and storytelling of The City’s history,” the prime minister said. “The investment is real and it is substantive and it is at a point where we expect to see things expedited such that anyone visiting Bridgetown would want to know and ask, ‘What is that, can I be a part of that, can I visit that, can I have a store in there, can I buy an apartment in there, can I have a museum in there, can I practise my artistic craft in there? But above all else, can I swim also on the beautiful beaches which this allows us to do.’”

The first phase of the three-part development will run from this year until 2027 and includes construction of The Steel Building, featuring 39 apartments across three levels, along with retail and food and beverage outlets, landscaping, a heritage trail, a beach club, and a pointe viewing area. This phase will also provide beach access and make provisions for both a water taxi station and a chain ferry.

The second phase, known as the House of Pillars, is scheduled for 2027 to 2028 and will include another 39 apartments over three levels, additional retail and food and beverage spaces, enhanced landscaping, and a berthing area.

The final phase, Bridge House, is set to run from 2029 to mid-2031 and will feature 100 apartments on levels two to seven, along with expanded retail and food and beverage options, advanced landscaping, and a second berthing area.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb