A GUY'S VIEW

Hyatt too high, or our vision too low?

 

A Barbadian businessman has been the driving force behind the building of a Hyatt hotel in Bridgetown. On objective examination, it seemed like a good development for the country’s tourism industry and the wider economy. Apparently, not everyone is of this view.
 
The Hyatt project is proposed to be a 20-storey construction. When this was first announced, some people thought that it would present a lovely view of the entire city and further afield. A building this high would be much taller than anything we now have in Bridgetown. One thought that it would be a forerunner of things to come.
 
It has now been reported that rather than being a good thing, some see this distinguished height as the basis for objecting to the project. They point out that this would be out of step, not only with what we have, but with what is expected in our national heritage site that is Bridgetown. The project’s opponents declare that Barbados touted Bridgetown as a heritage site and this formed part of our tourism marketing. To build a 20-storey building in that area now would be contrary to our heritage, it is argued. If Bridgetown would lose its heritage status because of progressive development, we should not hesitate to dump it.  Different language, but similar arguments were made when the Tom Adams Financial Centre was built to house the Central Bank of Barbados. No one now remembers that the building was supposed to stick out like a sore thumb in its location. 
 
And when the ABC Highway was conceptualised, it was thought that a three lane highway was too wide for Barbados. Now we know that two lanes are not wide enough. 
 
Our conservative vision has probably left us a little short of the development which this country needs. It would be strange and unfortunate if Barbados were expected to remain underdeveloped and retain the features of its slave past in order to keep those with that mindset happy.
 
Barbadians should take no pride in the fact that in 2016, there are no twenty-storey buildings in this country. That this is the case says a lot about those to whom we have handed over the responsibility of developing our economy. Business persons invest as best serves their interests and not to develop a country. If an economy is left to them, the country will always look like their vision of their business interests.  By the same token, the personal business interest of the project’s proponent should not outweigh the reasonableness of the project. He has the right to promote his interest like any other business person, but what is best for Barbados should determine whether or not we proceed with the project. 
 
There will always be different views on any subject, so the expression of different points of view on this project is not unusual or wrong. There may well be legitimate concerns that some persons may have, but whatever factors inform one’s position on the construction of the Hyatt hotel, its height, without more, should not be the determining factor.
 
One concern which I regard as legitimate is its closing of one of our few remaining windows to the sea. This would hardly be a concern for business persons because natural aesthetics which cannot be privatised are financially unprofitable. However, it may be important for the mental health of a people. This country should not be encircled by concrete. Barbados is renowned for its beauty. That is not limited to what a visitor sees from a hotel room. We should never have allowed coastline development in the first place, but that bird has flown. Someone should consider, however, that if Barbadians cannot breathe and enjoy their country, they may become a very different people. Instead of declining to proceed with high rise projects, the Government should be looking for other progressive business persons who would be prepared to match what the Hyatt is expected to bring. Our history suggests that they are not likely to be from among us, but we have never been shy of foreign investment.
 
It is difficult to see why patriotic Barbadians would wish to limit the greatest possible expansion of this country. Having said this, it is true that there are quite a few persons who would claim patriotism, but are happy with the limited Barbados we now have.
 
Slavery and colonialism were a part of this country’s history. Together, they were a brief period in the long history of the people who form the majority of this country’s population. The reality is that the victor writes the history and the history of the black people of this country and the wider Caribbean has been badly distorted. We have been taught that our history began with slavery and colonialism was the height of our existence. Nothing could be further from the truth, but no one is about to correct that perception any time soon.  The brief subjugation of the majority of the people in this country was a good period for some among us. They see that Barbados as good for us, because it is good for them. There is no widespread support for their agenda, but they have the microphone and have a higher profile than their support suggests. The majority of Barbadians believe that their voices will not be heard on these issues and direct their attention to the survival matters of their daily lives.
 
Not pursuing projects like the Hyatt is stifling this country’s national development. Projects of that nature are likely to spark further development in Bridgetown and elsewhere, and this would be beneficial to all of us. That the project should not proceed because Bridgetown is a heritage site is code speech for a deeper issue. Whose heritage would we be seeking to protect by not developing our city and our country to their full potential?
 
Bridgetown needs a 20-storey Hyatt and about five other ten or 20-storey buildings. We cannot be serious when we talk about making Barbados the smallest developed country in the world and stand in the way of major high rise development. It is impossible to speed major physical development of a land-scarce country without significant high rise buildings. There is no other way to break the barriers to our development. 
Taking into account modern realities, it is akin to an oxymoron to talk about major physical development in Barbados in the absence of high rise building. This kind of double speech is unfortunate and unhelpful.

Barbados Advocate

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Advocate Publishers (2000) Inc
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