The Southlands saga takes another step as the Southlands team makes its presentation to Cabinet today. I don’t buy the official explanation that there was “too much concrete” in the proposal to explain Government’s foot dragging. I do think we need to plan Morgan’s Point carefully – but I don’t think that’s what’s going on [...]
Entries Tagged as 'SDO'
Rescuing Reputations, not the Economy
May 2nd, 2009 · Comments Off · Tourism
This editorial from the Royal Gazette bears repeating. I agree with it wholeheartedly. Questioning the validity of an affordable housing plan is always going to be unpopular, but there is something not quite right about this week’s announcement of plans to build 125 affordable homes on the South Shore in Warwick. The Grand Atlantic/Golden Hind [...]
Tags:Grand Atlantic·SDO
Grand Atlantic Questions
April 21st, 2009 · Comments Off · Development, Tourism
So far we’ve heard that: Government has provided an SDO for the development of the Grand Atlantic Resort to develop a 220-room hotel with nearly 70 residential units for international buyers as well as a two story retail centre. That Government will amend that to build a scaled down 100-room hotel with 125 low-cost homes [...]
Tags:Grand Atlantic·SDO
Government to Invest in Hotel
April 15th, 2009 · Comments Off · Development, Tourism
Embarrassed by the years of promised new hotel developments that cannot find external funding, Dr. Brown has announced that Government will invest in at least one project using our tax dollars. “I was telling a colleague this morning that such is the challenge of our times that a capitalist problem may require a socialist solution…” [...]
Tags:Grand Atlantic·SDO
In Blissful Union
April 4th, 2008 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics
At face value, it’s difficult to see where average Bermudians gain from the megaresorts on the table. Our economy may become very strained during the period of mass construction. Many of the jobs will be filled by new expatriates. Most of the resorts will have onsite restaurants and shopping instead of directing business to Hamilton. [...]
Incentive
April 3rd, 2008 · Comments Off · Development
Buried under the hoopla of the big resort announcements was a little gift to the developers from the Bermuda Government. In last week’s Official Gazette was a notice of a change in the tax that non-Bermudians must pay when they acquire land in Bermuda. The acquisition tax on “normal” houses goes up from 22% to [...]
Tags:Bermuda·Ewart Brown·SDO