The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Downtown Nassau Partnership’s (DNP) co-chair yesterday renewed calls for Bay Street and surrounding areas to be designated as a Business Improvement District (BID) to escape the “piecemeal” approach to redevelopment.

Charles Klonaris, backing many of the conclusions contained in the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Sustainable Nassau Action Plan, told Tribune Business that downtown’s revival hinges on the creation of such a self-governing body with powers to impose levies on businesses/landlords within the BID to finance improvements to the area.

Stakeholders have been calling for a downtown Nassau BID to be established for almost two decades, and Mr Klonaris said its Board - comprised of both public and private sector representatives - would bring the focus the city’s revival needs where the Government cannot.

He agreed that, with so many issues competing for the Government’s agenda, successive administrations have been “behind the 8-ball” when it comes to charting downtown Nassau’s restoration due to a “reactive” approach that has left them constantly running behind problems and trying to catch up.

“The most important thing is really creating a Business Improvement District within the city and having a public-private partnership (PPP) to manage the city,” Mr Klonaris said in response to Tribune Business disclosures on the Sustainable Nassau Action Plan. “That is so critical, and is something we have been asking for for a long time, which the IDB has endorsed. To me, that’s the critical point.

“Once we have that, we have a PPP organisation that will identify issues and projects that the Government should be involved with, and the private sector. Unless that happens, we’re always going piecemeal as the article said.

“The Government is always behind, trying to deal with things identified as problems. They’ve never been proactive. They’re behind the 8-ball because it’s not really their main focus. To me, that’s the fundamental issue if we are going to resolve and transform the city. Hopefully shortly we will see the creation of a BID downtown, managed by the public and private sectors.”

Senator Ryan Pinder, the attorney general, recently hinted at a meeting with downtown Nassau stakeholders that the Davis administration was open to legislating the creation of a BID or similar body to manage downtown Nassau. Mr Klonaris, explaining that the BID would be structured so it does not change with the Government at general elections, added that relevant agencies such as tourism, works and Town Planning would all be represented.

The Sustainable Nassau Action Plan, acknowledging what it termed the “competitive advantages” bestowed upon the city by its existing infrastructure and US proximity, nevertheless warned: “New Providence faces several financial, social and environmental challenges that severely threaten the island’s future growth potential.....”

Pointing to income inequality, in particular, it said: “The latter results in visible levels of urban poverty throughout New Providence, particularly in the Over-the-Hill neighbourhoods of Grants Town and Bain Town. Managing urban density in a sustainable way and successfully attracting residents back to the downtown Nassau core area, where the concentration of people can yield significant fiscal and environmental savings, are vexing challenges the island must confront.”

Mr Klonaris, who has long championed making downtown Nassau “a living city” once again by attracting young, professional Bahamians to live in the area and make it a 24/7 attraction yet again, said: “That is so important. We can do all the foundation, all the ground work, the management of the city, but we have to manage people as well as property. That is critical. How we do that is very challenging.

“Number one, properties are expensive, especially on the waterfront. But there are zones going south into the city that could be developed for medium-priced residences that Bahamians can afford.” Mr Klonaris said the Sustainable Nassau Action Plan remained as relevant today as when it was conceived and crafted “because we haven’t seen that amount of progress”.

“I think it’s an eye opener,” he added of the report. “Hopefully it will kind of be a catalyst to move the important issues forward.”

The plan is likely to be presented as part of a package set to be submitted to the Government shortly, and Mr Klonaris added: “The other challenge, which is really not our responsibility, is population growth. That’s a critical item. How do we resolve that?’

The Sustainable Nassau Action Plan said New Providence’s population is set to grow by another 100,000 persons come 2045. Pointing to ever-increasing population challenges, as more Bahamians migrate to New Providence in search of work, it added: “In just 15 years (2000-2015), the New Providence population increased by nearly 27 percent.

“ESC (emerging and sustainable cities) population growth models project that New Providence will continue growing, increasing 19 percent in the 2015-2030 period and increasing another 15 percent from 2030 to 2045.....

“As compared to other Bahamian islands, New Providence is quite small despite being the most populous with an estimated 270,000 inhabitants - more than 70 percent of the national population. The population of New Providence is predicted to further increase by another 100,000 inhabitants over the next 28 years with its share of the total population increasing from 70 percent to almost 80 percent.”

“We have problems as it is now with traffic, space for living conditions,” Mr Klonaris added. “It’s an issue that is very difficult, and a challenge that really has to be a focal point for the Government. It’s hard to imagine another 100,000 people. It would be really difficult accommodating them, and what would be the job opportunities?

“We have 700 islands, so hopefully Freeport, Abaco, Exuma, Andros especially, can pick up the slack and create a city to move some of the population to those islands.”