The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

Homeowners in a high-end western New Providence gated community have 14 days in which to accept a “settlement” offer over plans to develop a $25m condo hotel within its grounds.

The Balmoral Club’s principals made the offer to residents in a bid to end two planning appeals related to their proposed eight-storey condo hotel expansion. The first is an appeal by the Club itself against the Town Planning Committee’s 2023 rejection of the 50-unit project on the grounds it was “incompatible” with land use development trends in the western New Providence community.

However, the Club’s principals did in February 2022 obtain preliminary approval for a condo hotel that was half the height of the rejected application. That was restricted to four storeys and targeted at a different location, but was obtained without a full public hearing on the application.

As a result, Balmoral homeowners are separately appealing the February 2022 approval. The Balmoral Club subsequently sought a “deviation” from the early 2022 decision in its bid to gain approval for the larger condo hotel version.

Dawson Malone, the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board’s chairman, told yesterday’s appeals hearing that the matter was previously adjourned as the parties had undertaken to engage in settlement discussions.

Owen Wells, attorney for Balmoral Club, confirmed that a settlement offer was presented to the residents who have yet to indicate whether it has been accepted. Khalil Parker KC, attorney for the homeowner’s association, indicated residents will vote to decide on the offer within 14 days.

Balmoral residents, in a petition opposing the 119-feet high condo hotel in their gated community, located on Sanford Drive just to the west of the US ambassador’s residence and at the back entrance to the Prime Minister’s Office/Ministry of Finance, argued that its development would undermine their quality of life, security and hit property values.

“The presence of a hotel will undoubtedly decrease property values in the area due to persons not wishing to live in a commercial-zoned area with excess noise, traffic and increased security risks,” the petition argued.

It also referred to fears over the “potential difficulty of selling or renting residential properties in a commercialised neighbourhood originally sold/marketed as a gated private resident neighbourhood. The community in its current state is very desirable, and this desire will decrease with the addition of a hotel”, it added.

“Residents who purchased or invested in Balmoral because of the privately-gated nature of the development will now want to sell their homes rather than be a part of a commercialised community,” the petition said.

“More than 200 families call Balmoral home. They trust that their children are safe playing out of doors. They feel secure walking their dog in the evening or arriving home and entering their doors after dark knowing that the security at the gate and roaming in golf carts provides the sought-after protection for which they pay monthly in their HOA (homeowners association) fees.

“A hotel within the confines of a solely residential neighbourhood opens the doors to those who come and go on a transient basis. They have no ties to the community and there is no way to track who enters the property as hotel guests, their guests, vendors, staff, taxi and livery services, housekeeping, laundry services and more.”

The petition also argued that a condo hotel would over-burden Balmoral’s already-strained infrastructure. “The single condo, townhouse, 2.5 storey and private residences of the gated community of Balmoral were constructed on the site of what was a single-family estate,” it added. “The infrastructure is strained to the limit at present. Sewerage back-ups are far too common.”