Officials at the Ministry of Tourism along with investors met recently with U.S. Embassy spokesperson Brian Bachman to discuss the possibility of transforming the old Customs warehouse at the Prince George Wharf into a Miramax theatre.
Like film production agencies such as Paramount Pictures and Columbia Films, Miramax is a major agency and creator of Oscar winning musical Chicago and Shakespeare in Love.
The old Customs building has been the object of comment for years between the U.S. Embassy and the government.
In 2001, under the direction of the former government, renovations began to relocate straw vendors to the old warehouse that is, until U.S. Ambassador J. Richard Blankenship deemed it unsafe for that many people to be in a building close to where cruise ships berth.
As a result, the present Government has been exploring several options to having the building recycled. Transforming the building into a Miramax theatre would allow persons to a premiere viewing of movies.
Unwilling to state what transpired in the meeting, U.S. Embassy spokesperson Brian Bachman did confirm that Deputy Director of Tourism General Vernice Walkine and the investors were in the meeting on Tuesday.
Several attempts to reach Ms Walkine were unsuccessful, while Director of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace remained tight-lipped on the matter and referred The Guardian to Trade and Industry Minister Leslie Miller.
“I don’t know what the big secret is all about,” said an irate Leslie Miller, who reportedly was uninvited or informed of the meeting.
He said: “They had a meeting with the people (U.S. Embassy) and then he referred you to me. He was in the meeting, I was not.”
Mr. Miller said he found out about the meeting through the U.S. Embassy, which also did not reveal any details to him.
After plans to turn the warehouse into a straw market discontinued, Mr. Miller said other proposals for a Junkanoo centre and restaurant were also dismissed. “Then this Miramax thing came up,” he said.
Though his Ministry did not discuss the idea with the U.S. Embassy, Mr. Miller said the embassy’s opinion about the theatre is the same towards the straw market.
“If they saw any other venture which would have accumulated or entice a lot of people to be in that building as would the straw market, they didn’t think it was the best interest of the cruise ships to have that done. That was the last meeting I had with them,” said Mr. Miller.
After Ambassador Blankenship turn down the straw market proposal, Mr. Miller intended to house his Ministry in the building. The Embassy approved that proposal.
Last month, Prime Minister Perry Christie announced that the Bay Street and Prince George Wharf area would be converted into a ‘ole Nassau type of atmosphere.
With this in mind, Mr. Miller suggested that the theatre be placed at Arawak Cay, which the Government is also planning to redevelop.
By Khashan Poitier, The Nassau Guardian
