Senator Ince: Hyatt Hotel will revive City

A Government Senator is of the view that the construction of the multi-million Hyatt Hotel on Lower Bay Street can bring life to Bridgetown.

 

“We need to revive the City,” Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Senator Jepter Ince expressed, as he delivered the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) weekly lunchtime lecture on Friday.

 

“Let us face reality, when five pm comes, Bridgetown shuts down. It is like a ghost town around that time except for the traffic leaving. Every major city around the world has hotels and residences. There was a time when lower Manhattan in New York was a like a ghost town, except for Fifth Avenue where there were condominiums. Donald Trump decided that he would develop the waterfront and build condominiums and hotels, and now Manhattan is bustling for the simple reason that people are now living there, you have restaurants and hotels.”

 

Hyatt Carlisle Bay is expected to open in 2019, and will mark the first Hyatt-branded hotel on the island of Barbados.

 

The property will be ideally located adjacent to the city of Bridgetown, allowing guests to easily explore and discover all that Barbados has to offer. The 237-room resort will be situated on almost three acres of waterfront along Carlisle Bay’s scenic Brownes Beach.

 

“In Bridgetown we need brand. Therefore, Hyatt Hotel is going to add to The City; it is needed,” he stressed.

 

“In fact, I believe the Hyatt should have that entire waterfront. Build out quality townhouses for our young professionals and those who are not professionals but who can afford to live at the waterfront. That development should go all the way to the old abattoir on Princess Alice Highway and then that will complement Pelican… Have some nice restaurants and a boardwalk where you can walk from Pelican to the Hilton.”

 

Looking at the wider Bridgetown community, Senator Ince told those gathered that he also believes the old Globe Cinema on Upper Roebuck Street should be transformed into a downtown hotel.

 

“Where the Globe is, we can construct a nice ten story hotel and have all of Roebuck Street embraced in the redevelopment of the city. It will add life… We have the areas to develop, then let us develop those areas.”

 

“Additionally, we need to develop places like Mason Hall Street with quality housing, just as we did at Country Park Towers… But then we must have the hotels and restaurants to complement to bring people in; people should want to live in The City,” he said. (TL)