The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Downtown Nassau Partnership’s (DNP) co-chair says the city has “turned the tide” on its revival despite the Central Bank’s decision to terminate development of its new headquarters at Royal Victoria Gardens.

Charles Klonaris told Tribune Business that while the multi-million dollar project would have provided a confidence boost for downtown Nassau’s prospects, and enhanced the area’s overall appearance, there was sufficient “momentum” behind Bay Street and the city to prevent any “disruption” to their continued progress.

With the Nassau Cruise Port’s $322.5m overhaul already attracting a record 28,000-plus passengers in a single day, he added that this presents “for the first time in a very long time” significant economic opportunity for Bay Street merchants, restaurants, tour and excursion operators, straw vendors, taxi drivers and all other sectors reliant on the cruise industry.

And, while acknowledging that downtown Nassau had generally been locked in a 20-year “downward spiral” prior to COVID-19, Mr Klonaris told this newspaper that fresh investment via the new US embassy as well as at The Pointe and Margaritaville are just some of the projects laying the foundation for the area’s rebound.

John Rolle, the Central Bank’s governor, did not reply to Tribune Business questions on why the Central Bank has chosen to terminate the Royal Victoria Gardens headquarters - a project that has been worked on for the past six years since 2017 - and transfer the land back to the Government’s ownership.

While conceding that the building would have been a major addition to downtown Nassau, and raised the city’s appearance, Mr Klonaris said its employees and their purchasing power will remain at the Central Bank’s existing offices to benefit the area’s merchants, restaurants and other businesses.

“This beautiful, magnificent building that would have been erected would have added a nice appearance to the city of Nassau,” the Downtown Nassau Partnership (DNP) co-chair told this newspaper. “It would have shown confidence in the development of the city, so from that aspect we will be missing that.

“Bear in mind we have the cruise port that is now being completed, plus the US embassy, so having this new Central Bank with that design which was really beautiful would have added so much to the city of Nassau. We’d have this new, iconic building downtown which would be a nice appeal for the city of Nassau.

“It would have been a useful addition to see this magnificent building on top of the city but, all of a sudden, it’s postponed. It is a slight negative effect, but overall I think there’s enough momentum going on so that it won’t disrupt the progress of the city. I’m hopeful that in the short-term they will reconsider the new Central Bank building.”

The new Central Bank was designed to be an “iconic structure” and a “one-of-a-kind building” that was to play a central role in the overall revival of downtown Nassau. But the Central Bank, in a Thursday night statement, said: “The Central Bank of The Bahamas wishes to advise the public that it has terminated its project to construct a new headquarters building on the Royal Victoria Gardens site in downtown Nassau.

“Accordingly, the Central Bank has started the process to transfer ownership of the property back to the Government so that alternative use can be made of the site. In 2017, the Government agreed to transfer the Royal Victoria Gardens to the Central Bank for development of its new headquarters building.

“The transfer was approved by Parliament in 2019 and executed in 2022. In 2018, the Central Bank hosted a competition and selected a conceptual building design from Architecton Design Studios. The firm was subsequently contracted to provide the architectural services for the project. The Central Bank will explore alternative arrangements to meet its long-term accommodations needs.”

Setting aside the Central Bank’s move, Mr Klonaris said downtown Nassau and the wider city are now positioned to benefit through the extra visitors facilitated by the cruise port’s expansion. He again urged entrepreneurs and landlords to invest in upgrading their properties and businesses so they can exploit a much larger customer base.

“I feel so confident about the city of Nassau,” he told Tribune Business. “We see for the first time here, on one day, over 20,000 tourists across the city. We’ve come a long way. I’m really proud of the contribution and progress we’ve made for the city. We’ve built the foundations, so it’s up to the individual store owners and property owners.

“We have over 20,000 tourists downtown. It’s up to the store owners to look at that in a positive way and see how they can exploit it and take advantage of the consumer. The opportunity is there for the first time in a very long time. I’ve been at it for 20 years, 20-plus years, let’s put it that way. It’s been a downward spiral regrettably, but we saw just after COVID we started to see things turn around.”

Mr Klonaris said it had taken The Bahamas almost a decade to recover from the 2008-2009 recession, and the country had just started to emerge when the pandemic struck. “I’m happy to see the progress and that there’s more stability in the island right now,” he added.

“The way I look at it, the DNP, over many years, yes, we’ve struggled. There were a lot of bumps in the road, but eventually put forth a programme and have seen the progress that has taken place. It’s up to the stakeholders now. They’ll look at what we’ve done, the amount of tourists downtown, and decide if they want to take part in not just enhancing their business but the economic activity presented to them.

“We’ll see a lot of stakeholders upgrading their property. These things don’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of time but, fortunately, we’re there. I’m very confident that we’ve turned the tide for the redevelopment of the city in a positive way.” Jr Klonaris, though, acknowledged that solutions are still needed for downtown Nassau’s lack of parking especially on the eastern side.