The Tribune

By Denise Maycock

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

In keeping with its vision to clean-up the City of Freeport, the Grand Bahama Port Authority Ltd has embarked on demolition projects to tear down derelict and dilapidated buildings throughout the Port Area.

One of the buildings under demolition is the old iconic Silver Sands Hotel off Royal Palm Way. The hotel closed many years ago and had fallen in a worsened state following the hurricanes of 2004.

Following a lengthy legal process, the Port Authority was finally able to execute demolition of the building which was an eyesore to residents in the area.

Grand Bahama Port Authority officials and several residents of the area were on hand to witness the start of the demolition carried out by A&C Heavy Equipment.

Chuck Frederic, a long-time resident of the area since 1970, and Lana Bodie were pleased to see the day finally come when the hotel is torn down.

“It has been a long time coming and now, finally…” said Frederic. “I live a block from this horrible thing that is coming down, and to so many of us in this area it is a delighted sight.”

Joe Kohlar, chairman of the Coalition of Concerned Citizen Limited of Royal Palm Way, believes it is a demonstration of the Port Authority’s commitment to honouring the terms of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement of 1955.

“It is about tourism, real estate, and quality of life, and I think that the late Sir Jack Hayward, Sir Albert Miller, Mr Edward St George and Wallace Grooves (the founders and pioneers of Freeport) are more than smiling (today),” he said.

Renardo Karageorgiou, assistant maintenance manager at GBPA, said the cost to demolish the structure is about $350,000, excluding administrative and legal expenses.

“One thing that must be pointed out is that we did not just get to this point of demolition; this has been a longstanding issue for the past 10 years. The Building Department and Environment Units (of the GBPA) have worked diligently with the residents of Lucayan Beach and Bahamas Reef to ensure this unsafe building is demolished,” he explained.

According to Karageorgiou, the demolition is expected to be fully completed in two months. Taking down structure will take two weeks, and afterward the site will undergo cleanup and removal of debris to the Pineridge Landfill.

Other buildings identified for demolition are the old North Star Building in the upscale Discovery Bay Subdivision, the former Hawksbill Primary School, and two fire-damaged buildings - one in the downtown and another in the International Bazaar. The Pioneer’s Professional Plaza was also recently demolished.

Mr Karageorgiou stated in addition to ridding the city of dilapidated buildings, they are also committed to ensuring the safety of residents in the area.

“Silver Sands is an area that highly-populated; it is a tourist commercial and residential area, and for the safety of the residents we felt it necessary to demolish the building,” he said.

He also noted checks are conducted inside the structure by the Royal Bahamas Police Force before the demolition to ensure no one is inside.

Following two checks, Mr Karagregioiu said that a homeless person was discovered in the building and was removed from the site.

Rupert Hayward, executive director of the GBPA, noted while they are pleased to get to this point in the process where they can actually take some action, it has taken very long.

They are now looking at changing their bylaws to give it more teeth to expedite such matters more expeditiously, he said.

“We would like to expedite them as quickly as possible. We take our responsibility seriously with regards to making sure the city is presentable not only for residents but for tourists and those who come here to invest,” he said.

“We recognise that even knocking down this significant building isn’t going to cure the ills of the city-scape in Freeport. We have some buildings we are working on. We are frustrated by the time the legal process takes… to realise our vision of cleaning up our city.”

Nakera Wilchcombe, director of Building and Development Services Department, said for the past three years they have been looking at buildings throughout the city.

“We have about 18 more buildings that are identified for demolition throughout the city. It is a long process because legal, structural assessments have to be done.

She said the first step is to encourage owners to fix up and repair their buildings.

“We never want to move to the process of demolition because we realise it is an investment, and so that is the first thing we do. We want them to take pride in their buildings and ensure they maintain it, and once that I not done we move to demo,” she said.

Mr Hayward said to realise their vision they are also seeking the assistance of stakeholders and residents to refrain from indiscriminate dumping, which is an issue as well. He encouraged persons to download their Freeport Report App so they can report problems and send photos so they can address the issues promptly.