BEST: Time to cut ties with Bazarian
With the year over and no movement apparent to build the Park Hyatt in St George’s, the new One Bermuda Alliance government should scrap its deal with developer Carl Bazarian.So said Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Task Force head Stuart Hayward, who said Mr Bazarian had “failed once again” to live up to the agreement.“BEST is appealing to the new Government to terminate the agreement and so put us on the right footing as regards this lost opportunity,” he continued.“Regaining control of one of our scarce and precious assets will mean that we won’t just let the fates lead us where they will.“We will begin a new year and a new era in our history by truly stepping up to the responsibility of charting our own course in securing a development partnership that is more suitable to our small island home.”The resort on the former Club Med site has been approved by Planning, and in October Mr Bazarian said that once permits were in place, the project could break ground in six weeks.The developer was unavailable to respond to BEST’s comments last night.Mr Hayward accused him of failing to show the level of commitment to Bermuda that the environmental group expected to see.“It is wholly unacceptable for such a treasure to be tied up once again in this type of gridlock,” he said.“What can happen right now is for the golf course to be reopened, with a new clubhouse if possible, so that St. Georgians can once again derive the benefit from an amenity that has been denied to them and other Bermudians over the past five years.”