ﾓIn fact you can expect some work on the site in as little as four weeks,ﾔ he said. ﾓThey found cavities under the site. The old building was not in danger of collapsing but the land is reclaimed. The cavities could be the result of several factors. The conch shell, which was used, could have deteriorated; the tides, drainage pipes. In fact a fish was found in one of the cavities suggesting there would have to be access to the sea.ﾔ
Mr. Foster said that this initial work had been invaluable because the architects and engineers now knew the state of the land and what needed to be done to construct a solid foundation for the new structure.
Mr. Fosterﾴs comments come in the midst of speculation and apparent blame-casting about the delay in the start of the straw market. Recently, Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller said that work on the long awaited straw market will begin in March 2004. He also said that the delays were due in part to the difference in positions taken by the government and the comprehensive Advisory Committee as to optimum use of the site.
Executive chair of the Nassau Tourism Development Board, Frank Comito served as de facto chairman of the Advisory Committee. Mr. Comito said it was commendable that the government caused such a comprehensive group of persons representing various interests in the community, retailers, straw vendors, artisans, architects, realtors and historic sites preservations, to be involved.
ﾓWe met three or four times over the last year,ﾔ said Mr. Comito, ﾓand many suggestions were made. But ultimately the decision-making process was with the government. The Committee just gave what it saw as the best solution for the use of the space if it was going to be self sufficient.ﾔ
According to Mr. Miller, the Advisory Committee favoured a multi-level building capable of paying its way. They suggested a three-level building with the straw vendors and artisans on the first two levels and the top level devoted to high-end retail outlets.
Mr. Comito said that the advisory committeeﾴs position was that the building should be able to recoup the construction costs over time and pay its way.
ﾓIf the building was going to accommodate 600 vendors and artisans you would have to place them on two levels. The space cannot accommodate 600 vendors on the ground floor,ﾔ Mr. Comito said.
In fact the advisory committee recommended a reduction in the number of vendors and artisans.
The architect for the project, Mr. Foster said that the process was much more demanding and time consuming than anyone had expected.
ﾓWinning the competition was one thing but now you are in the real world and you have to consider social and economic factors,ﾔ Mr. Foster said. ﾓWe received the final go ahead last year, just before Christmas and that is because there were discussions and various views been presented and all of that had to be translated into a workable structure. We are shooting for a March deadline for the final completion of the drawings.ﾔ
Some straw vendors are vehemently opposed to having straw vendors on the second level saying that after spending 20 years upstairs in the old building, they were not prepared to go through that again.
ﾓIﾴd rather stay here in the heat and the smell than go up there,ﾔ said Johanna Jolly a twenty-year veteran. ﾓI have dreams but going back up on the second floor is a nightmare.ﾔ
Ms. Jolly and like minded straw vendors may be in a minority. The architect said that the old structure must be seen not just as a place where the vendors came to make money but also its contribution to the Bahamian tourism product.
ﾓThe market itself contributed to the Bahamian tourism product and the building was the governmentﾴs way of supporting the industry,ﾔ Mr. Foster said.
Minister Miller said that the vendors had to remember that the old building was not designed to house straw vendors. He said that this was in fact the first time a building was being built specifically for straw vendors.
Mr. Comito said that the idea was to have a second level with attractions that would draw the traffic so that vendors on the second level would be able to make some money. When told of some straw vendorsﾴ resistance to being placed on the second level, Minister Miller said that he thought, that those on the second level would have just as good a chance as those on the lower level.
Mr. Foster, who has the overall responsibility as the architect to create a space that meets all these conflicting demands, said that one suggestion is to have different zones within the market.
ﾓThere will have to be some zoning,ﾔ said Mr. Foster. ﾓIt would not be fair to the vendors on the second level for a visitor to come in and find everything all on one level. So there will be some zoning. The other way we intend to ensure that the vendors get the maximum from the flow of people is to put in irregular pathways that allow visitors to wander through the market, instead of linear corridors where people just walk through the market and miss a lot of what is in the market.ﾔ
ﾓOur suggestion was for a food court upstairs with a mix of Bahamian fast food ﾖ conch fritters, conch salad and grouper fingers ﾖ along with a marquee name fast food like Starbucks that would draw traffic,ﾔ explained Mr. Comito.
The issue of the number of floors or levels at the site grew out of concern for the past history of the straw market. The Minister admitted that most of the vendors had not paid the $1 per day rent. The new rent will be $3 per day or $100 per month.
Mr. Miller said the straw market ﾓcosts the Bahamian people a quarter million dollars a year and that is why we are putting in the shops and restaurants and the night club so the building can help pay for itself.ﾔ
Both the government and the advisory committee are agreed that the Bahamian people should not have to pay for the maintenance and upkeep of the straw market. Itﾴs enough that the government provides the facility, as a contribution to the development of the tourism product but those benefiting should be prepared to pay the nominal fee.
Mr. Miller said he was proposing that the government appoint a quasi government corporation to run the facility with responsibility for maintaining the facility and seeing that rents are paid.
ﾓVendors will not be able to stay there and not expect to pay,ﾔ he said. ﾓIt will be professionally managed and people will who want to be there will have live with the rules.ﾔ
Funding for the $12 million structure is yet to be finalized. Minister Miller told the Bahama Journal that his ministry has a budget of $3 million to get the project started.
ﾓGetting the money is not a problem,ﾔ he told the Bahama Journal. ﾓThe Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has offered to fund it; there is National Insurance and also the local banks. It is not a lot of money for the local banks.ﾔ
He said he had not yet met with the Minister of State for Finance, Senator James Smith to discuss funding but that he was inclined to recommend that the funding be done locally because CDB procedural requirements could further delay the project.
The Bahama Journal
