Cannonier: scale-back of hotel plans just a publicity stunt
The Premier has “misled“ the public over the proposed redevelopment of the Fairmont Southampton, according to the One Bermuda Alliance.
Craig Cannonier, the Opposition’s tourism spokesman, spoke out after Westend Properties Limited — the company overseeing the $470 million rebuild — submitted fresh plans for the project.
Mr Cannonier claimed that the so-called “scale-back” of the plans was nothing more than a publicity stunt to garner public support.
Westend unveiled an ambitious scheme to redevelop the flagship hotel in April. The plans included the construction of 147 residential units in buildings as high as six storeys.
The company was forced to go back to the drawing board after those plans sparked a wave of protest from residents and environmental groups.
Revisions, submitted last Wednesday, proposed dropping the total units from 261 to 250. Tourism units were increased from 114 to 159, and the residential units proposed have dropped to 91, meaning the number of tourism bedrooms will increase from 311 to 441.
Questioning those numbers, Mr Cannonier said: “The No 1 problem with the Fairmont Southampton is that the hotel is still closed while the Premier misled Bermuda by saying the deal is done.”
Previously the Premier said that media reports of a single contract between the Government and Gencom were “significantly misleading”.
At the time he added: “The continued reference to a single ‘contract’ in this complex $400 million transaction is significantly misleading. There are numerous agreements covering every aspect of this development, and this is a normal process in deals of this size and complexity.”
The Royal Gazette sent questions to Westend Properties Limited last Thursday after its submission of a revised special development order application to the Government’s Department of Planning.
Questions were also sent to David Burt through the Department of Information.
This newspaper asked:
• What has prompted Westend to revise its plans?
• Is the project still financially viable?
• Can Karim Alibhai explain what he meant by “everything that could go wrong has been going wrong”? What exactly has gone wrong?
• Does the increase in tourism units mean that the Government will have to grant the developer more concessions?
Questions to Mr Burt included:
• Was Mr Burt aware that these changes [to the SDO] were in the pipeline?
• What is Mr Burt’s response to claims that Westend never intended or needed to build the number of units it submitted in its original SDO?
• Is Mr Burt concerned that the revised SDO application will further delay the start date and completion date of the project? When does he now think that construction will start?
• Does Mr Burt agree with Mr Alibhai’s claim that “everything that could go wrong has been going wrong”? Can Mr Burt provide details of anything that has gone wrong during negotiations and also explain why things have gone wrong?
• Mr Alibhai also stated that the existing building is going to have to be totally gutted. Does this mean that construction work is far more extensive than a simple refurbishment, and that an opening date of the final quarter of next year is unrealistic?
• Does the increase in tourism units mean that the Government will have to grant the developer more concessions?
Mr Cannonier added: “Whether they adjust the total number of units built from 261 to 250 and claim they are listening — increasing the number of units that can be used as a part of the tourism inventory does not transfer into a lesser landmass needed to facilitate the number of units requested. What it does mean is more units will be expected to benefit from the concessions provided.
“As I recall, one of the major issues was the scale of the project and the total amount of land required.
“What it appears to mean is the six-storey units will now potentially be four storeys high. This could be considered as progress by some. However, I would encourage the public and those who live in the area to consider looking at Grand Atlantic, which are three storeys high for reference. Maybe then you can gain a feel for what the area might look like.”
Mr Cannonier also highlighted comments made by Westend’s founder, Karim Alibhai, who said that the project had been mired in difficulties from the outset.
In an interview, Mr Alibhai said that “everything that could go wrong has been going wrong. But we’re going to get it done’.
Mr Cannonier described that revelation as “alarming”.
He said: “So this project is not happening any time soon and clearly the statement ‘everything that could go wrong, has been going wrong’ should be alarming to all.
“Answers to this are of utmost importance. Bermuda deserves to know exactly why it's not getting what it was promised.
“The Government must answer why this hotel is not getting built.”
Mr Cannonier pointed out that he was sceptical of Westend’s original plans, and had speculated that the company had submitted them so that revised plans would win favour with the public.
He said: “It was I who said they would overreach and come back with something more realistic, but I'm not sure many will consider this as more realistic.”
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