Barbados most northerly parish is now set for a massive transformation residentially and commercially to the tune of $1.1 billion.
This was announced by Prime Minister David Thompson in Parliament on May 18th, 2010. The project which has been on the cards for three decades and is set for Nestfield in St. Lucy and will bring a new town centre for entrperneurs,vendors and retail shops.
During construction the massive undertaking will create 600 construction jobs, 300 more when complete, and boost government revenues,the venture will also mean the “significant loss” of 180 acres of land to agriculture.
While Cabinet had approved the proposed development, it will take the an estimated nine years to complete, and include a Heritage Civic Centre to in recognition of National Heroes Errol Barrow and his uncle Dr. Charles Duncan O’Neal, who lived at the Pickering estate.
According to the PM “The intention of the developers is to offer housing solutions in the vicinity of 1,161 wide-ranging residential units, a 200 unit hotel, a private day-care facility, a 350 student primary school, recreational amenities, heritage parks with supporting educational facilities, several parks and open spaces, greens, lakes, tree line boulevards, pedestrian walks and an open air amphi-theatre, a bus terminal, and a sewerage treatment plant.”
“Some of the services and amenities will include doctors offices, a health clinic, a pharmacist, professional offices, beauty and barber shop, supermarket, outdoor market, various convenience stores and a cinema,” he stated. 
The Prime Minister said there would also be a light industrial facility occupying 75,000 square feet of land and that the proposal included an agricultural component where 20 acres “will be utilised for intensive agriculture”.
“Central to the development are the green themed ambience, aesthetics and the creation of a holistic community, which will provide a safe comfortable and neighbourly environment where people can live, play, shop, commute and educate their children. The community design will allow easy access to the facilities and amenities as these will be located within a five minute walking distance from the residences, thus integrating the town centre and pickering development,” he stated.
Thompson said too that the development “runs parallel to the PDP (Physical Development Plan) since envisaged within the project is the development of a town centre on 200,000 square feet of commercial space”.
“Local centres are part of our hierarchy of settlements aimed at rationalising and ordering population growth across the island and comprise the basic commercial and institutional amenities such as a church, post office, police station, and gas station. Provision will be made for affordable housing for low and middle income earners and the size for these residential units will compare favourably with other comparable residential units,” he said.
Barbados property is benefitting from prime property bargains.
This is the assertion made by one of the leading UK-based property and real estate blogs, in one of its latest examinations of the Barbados market.
According to Property-abroad.com, “The reports of increasing demand for Barbados property continues, as buyers pick up properties at prices not seen since 2006.
Highlighting the historical tie Barbados has with the UK of being a former colony, the article also notes that the island has a stable government a favourable tax regime, a friendly and laid-back environment, and of course it is also one of the world’s true paradise locations.
As noted by property-abroad, the reasons which they have identified for the current property bargains that exist in Barbados are rooted in two main elements; highlighting the high-net worth visitors which Barbados has attracted, the article states, “The wealthy have been least affected by the crunch, and now that fears over whether or not they will be have subsided they are treating themselves to luxury properties in paradise destinations.”
Additionally it is stated, “Cash is currently very unstable, with fears over whether or not major countries like the UK and Ireland can repay their debts. Among the wealthy there is a real desire to put cash savings in tangible assets as a hedge against financial instability. This was responsible for the gold rush, and now that gold prices are off the charts, people are turning their attention to prime property, which holds its value better than other property classes.
But irrespective of the reasons for Barbados’ continued relevance in the global property market, it is stated that prime property sales are accelerating, with a focus on getting the real top properties at bargain prices. Thus, Barbados property, which has long been some of the primest property in the world, is obviously doing very well at the moment.
Grenada’s capital now stands on the precipice of a multi-million dollar development project. Fuelled by one of the island’s most well-known development firms; Zublin Grenada which is now in discussions with the Grenada Government on how best to improve the social and economic conditions existing in the Town of St. George.
The Zublin team in consultation with Government and has conceptualized the St. George’s Renaissance Project. The Renaissance Project has been described as one of the most ambitious single projects ever undertaken in Grenada and one of the most unique in the region.
The project is aimed at fuelling economic growth while preserving and protecting important historic buildings, landmarks and symbols. The project is considered as ideal for establishing a public/private sector partnership and well over 450 million EC dollars will be invested. The Government and the Developer are convinced that a proactive approach is needed in order to stem the current global economic crisis. The improvement of facilities; the creation of new tourism related entertainment options; and an extremely focused marketing plan are some of the important steps needed to give an immediate boost to cruise and stay over tourists.
This capital expenditure will stimulate the economy in many sectors including but not limited to construction, tourism, agriculture, commerce and other related services. The all important construction industry will be given a huge boost by providing 350 jobs over a period of three years
The St. George’s Renaissance will include the creation of a second cruise ship jetty; the building of a ring road from the Carenage to Melville Street; improvement of the Carenage infrastructure; and the creation of a pedestrian only Sendall Tunnel. The project will also see the reclamation of land at the cruise ship terminal area to create a state of the art, conference centre and casino and the construction of a theatre for the arts. The hotel, casino and convention complex will generate substantial and sustainable revenue in the consolidated fund and will create more than 350 work places.
