The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

DERELICT structures in Grand Bahama will continue to be removed, it was pledged yesterday, as bulldozers moved in to tear down fire-hit structures at the International Bazaar.

Nakera Wilchcombe, president of building and development services, said the Grand Bahama Port Authority will continue to rid the city of such buildings.

She said they are appealing to owners of derelict buildings to give them the necessary permission to demolish them to improve the city’s image.

Yesterday, the GBPA started demolition of fire-damaged buildings in the Asian and African sections of the bazaar.

Darren Woods, president of the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union, and Chris Paine, president of the International Bazaar Owners Association, have given their consent for the buildings to be demolished.

Ms Wilchcombe said they are continuing to reach out to business owners there to seek permission to demolish the remaining derelict buildings.

“There are 50 owners at the bazaar, and we are making contact with all those owners who have derelict structures or fire-damaged buildings to give us the consent,” she said.

Ms Wilchcombe said the GBPA never retains the properties once they are demolished.

“They remain in the hands of the owners, and we want to make that clear. The only benefit we seek is to... make sure we keep the city looking beautiful.”

“We are also agitating for greater legislation that allows us to do so even in the absence of owners, where we see these buildings as structurally unsound and hazardous to people.”

Renardo Karageorgiou, assistant city manager at GBPA, indicated they have been involved in ongoing communication over the past 18 months with Mr Woods and Mr Paine concerning demolition of the present buildings.

“We continue to appeal to owners to take necessary action to work with us to take down fire-damaged structures,” he said.

Mr Wilchcombe said the historic landmark has fallen into a state of disrepair.

“We had a fire a few months ago (there) which had made it even more important to begin the process to demolish the buildings.

“We hear the concerns of residents, but they must understand that without the legislation we need, we do not have power to just knock down structures at will,” he explained.

“We hope this starts a momentum going forward for all the building structures remaining at the bazaar,” he said.

“We want them to come speak with us to see how we could assist them in the process,” Mr Wilchcombe said.

Mr Karagregiou said the GBPA is working with the police to ensure that there are no more fires or vagrants in the bazaar area, and that people are not permitted on the demolition site.