The Central Planning Authority is this week expected to hear an application for planning permission for a 10-storey hotel called One GT in downtown George Town.
HPW Investments Ltd. is seeking permission to build a 177-room hotel on 1.16 acres of land on Goring Avenue, which is currently zoned as general commercial.
In its analysis of the project, the Planning Department noted that there is precedent for allowing a hotel in a general commercial zone, as the CPA previously had granted permission for a hotel to be built on a similarly zoned site on North Church Street.
The Planning Department also stated that the proposed development “will contribute to the Government initiated George Town Revitalization Plan to enhance the capital area of the Cayman Islands”.
Potential traffic congestion
However, the department pointed out some problems with the application, including that the building plans appear to show that the hotel is 11 storeys high – which exceeds the maximum allowable height of 10 storeys – as the proposed structure includes an 11th floor rooftop area with a restaurant, bar, gym and restrooms.
It also noted the application includes 85 parking spaces, but a minimum of 162 parking spaces would be required, based on the current planning regulations.
In a submission responding to the application, the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism stated that it did not object to the project, as long as it met certain criteria, such as supplying an adequate number of parking spaces and using sustainable and hurricane-resistant materials.
Noting that the proposed development is located in the busy Central Business District of George Town, the tourism department stated that if enough parking spots are not allocated to the site, “there may be potentially negative impacts on the commute in that part of George Town (traffic congestion) and surrounding residential developments”.
Economic stimulus
The department said One GT would provide stayover visitors with an alternative to the densely built and populated areas of Seven Mile Beach, and could act as an economic stimulus to George Town “given the pause in cruise tourism due to the threat of COVID-19 and the impact this has had on businesses reliant on cruise passenger clientele”.
The tourism department also noted the proposed hotel would help diversify the hotel accommodation offered to travellers, stating, “The CIDOT is committed to supporting such opportunities to increase stayover visitor arrivals within the destination’s capacity and this new development will assist with supplying the type of differentiated product mix needed to achieve this.”
A neighbour of the proposed development objected to the application, stating that a 10-storey hotel would be “out of character” in the area and would lead to overcrowding. The objector added, “George Town is a historic district, especially in this area, and to build something of this magnitude would ruin its nature and character.”
The Central Planning Authority is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, 23 June.
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How is this supposed to work with no tourists? Cayman lost all it’s customers..
Only one word; SERIOUSLY????
George Town is rich in cultural heritage. The application for this +10-story Hotel considers sustainability build and redevelopment goals. However, we’d question the need for a business district hotel of this size given that there are currently two large hotels in construction side by side in the capital creating +420 rooms delivered for 2022. The application has prior approval for 4-storeys.
For Cayman, an increasingly top priority is to ‘preserve our heritage’ and the application does not “celebrate our cultural heritage” [NTP] by placing a modern hotel so close to some of our most protected heritage sites, on and around Goring Ave, including our Old Courts Building (Museum). It is not in keeping with the character of the neighbourhood and will visually change its appearance entirely.
Many cities celebrate and restore their old districts (residential and commercial) as a walking tour with the new district separated to recognise modern advancement. A main finding of the NTP is an overall lack of attractions. We have not seen the full GT Revitalisation Plan but would hope that these important aspects of preserving our cultural heritage and creating preserved heritage attractions are considered in the overall plan.
Climate change and environmental degradation are among the biggest challenges of our times, threatening the world. The European Union (EU) is striving to become the first climate-neutral continent. This also applies to cultural heritage.
Three clusters of actions are included in the Framework for Action on Cultural Heritage to:
>regenerate cities and regions through cultural heritage
>promote adaptive re-use of heritage buildings
>balance access to cultural heritage with sustainable cultural tourism and natural heritage
Potentially, the massing and scale of the hotel could be reduced in this location and the presentation adapted to be more traditional to fit with its surrounding environment.
Here is a list of the registered heritage houses in George Town and part of Goring Ave: https://caymanislandsnationaltrust.pastperfectonline.com/…
TOO TALL. Give me a break. When is the Cayman government going to learn that bigger is not better and more may be too much