The Tribune

• Now seeking planning nod for 8-storey structure

• 50-unit condo hotel set for existing clubhouse site

• ‘Deviation’ from original site plan being requested

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Regulators responsible for preserving The Bahamas’ historic buildings have given the go-ahead for the Balmoral Club’s 50-unit condo hotel expansion at the site of the existing clubhouse.

Shavanna Dean, senior assistant preservation architect with the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation (AMMC), in a September 7, 2023, report said that even though plans for the eight-storey structure were not an ideal fit with criteria governing “additions to historic buildings” they were “acceptable” given site conditions.

Her evaluation, produced after an August 23, 2023, site visit to the Sanford Drive-based community, revealed that the Balmoral Club’s clubhouse is “currently listed on the National Register of Historic Resources, and it has been on the listing since its inception”. Hence the need to get the AMMC’s approval for the condo hotel, which will be located “at the northeast portion” of the same clubhouse.

“Additions to historic buildings are not uncommon,” Ms Dean wrote in her report. “However, existing structures and new additions should be compatible.

“Compatibility is successfully accomplished by the careful consideration of design principles such as the building’s setback, height, orientation, materials, scale, colour, proportion, roof shapes, rhythm, details and ornamentation, massing and reversibility.”

Assessing the Balmoral Club’s plans on this basis, she added that the 50-unit condo hotel’s location “is currently away from the front facade” of Balmoral’s clubhouse. “The proposed building is to the side and rear of the existing building,” Ms Dean added.

“The location of the proposed building does not obscure the character of the existing building or the front facade. Side and rear additions should be compatible with existing buildings; they are usually plain in design.”

Documents filed with the Department of Physical Planning showed that a portion of the historic clubhouse’s side facade will be lost due to the condo hotel’s construction, and Ms Dean’s report showed she and the AMMC had some difficulty with the expansion not being a standalone or “free-standing structure”.

Ultimately, these concerns were overcome, with Ms Dean writing: “Ideally it is preferred that additions be a free-standing structure. However, after reviewing the site conditions and other possible options, this decision is warranted. Thus the location is acceptable.

“The scale of the proposed building elements appears to have the relative size of the existing building elements. The elements in relation to its neighbours are fitting. The scale of the new addition features and elements should correspond to the scale of the existing building and context;

“Proposed design proportions and rhythm respects existing elements and those of neighbouring buildings.” Ms Dean’s report was sent to Charles Zonicle, director of physical planning, by Dr Christopher Curry, the AMMC’s director.

The AMMC was accompanied on their site visit to a community, which is located just to the west of the US ambassador’s residence and at the back entrance to the Prime Minister’s Office/Ministry of Finance, by Michael Diggiss, the condo hotel’s architect and project manager, and Dwayne Mortimer, as representative of the Balmoral Club owner.

The Balmoral Club is currently seeking a “deviation” to the original approval in principle, and site plan approval, that was previously granted by the Town Planning Committee for the condo hotel on February 22, 2022.

Mr Diggiss, principal of Michael Diggiss & Associates, indicated in a May 30, 2023, letter to Mr Zonicle that the deviation is being sought because of a change in the condo hotel’s location. No details were provided on the likely construction costs or investment involved, or the number of building and full-time jobs that may be created by the development.

“The proposed Balmoral condo hotel is to now be located at the north-east portion of the existing clubhouse building, with associated parking to be located at the southern portion of the existing Balmoral Club property off Sanford Drive,” he said.

“The proposed condominium hotel building is to comprise of the following: A lower level consisting of housekeeping, storage and parking for the penthouse units.” The “roof-top terrace” and penthouse units will be located on the eighth and seventh floors, respectively, with condor units on the third to sixth floors and a ground floor “hotel lobby entrance”.

Mr Diggiss added: “The total number of residential units in the proposed Balmoral condo hotel will be 50.” The earlier Town Planning Committee approval, revealing that the condo hotel application was first submitted more than two years ago on August 24, 2021, granted site plan approval subject to the project meeting several other conditions.

These included obtaining a Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) from the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) prior to work beginning. “On-site drainage and internal roadways must meet the requirements of the civil design section of the Ministry of Works,” the earlier Town Planning Committee approval stipulated.

“Provisions for site infrastructure (electricity, water supply and treatment and waste management) must be reviewed and meet the requirements of the relevant utility corporations. Any excavation on the property must adhere to the provisions of the Conservation and Protection of the Physical Landscape of The Bahamas Act.”

Balmoral’s planned eight-storey, 50-unit condo hotel is part of an increasing trend for New Providence developers to go vertical with their high-end projects given the availability of land and costs involved.

The Wynn Group, which has already completed the adjacent Residences at GoldWynn, is now seeking approval for an adjacent 14-storey penthouse complex overlooking Goodman’s Bay.

And Jason Kinsale, whose Aristo Development was the Balmoral Club’s original developer, is currently developing the high-rise Aqualina development at Cable Beach and already seeking Town Planning Committee for the seven-storey Passion Point project that is facing opposition from Love Beach residents.