An application for a three-storey commercial and residential block in Grand Harbour has been submitted to the Central Planning Authority for approval.
The proposed $16 million development will include a restaurant and parking on the ground floor, offices and shops on the second floor, and 28 apartments on the third floor.
On the roof of ‘Square One’ there will be a raised pool deck and pool, private residential rooftop terraces, landscaping, and services, according to the developer GH Group.
If the development is authorised, it will be built on a vacant 0.9-acre parcel to the west of Black Pearl Skate Park and south of Periwinkle housing complex on a road off Edgewater Way.
According to the agenda for the 3 Jan. meeting of the planning authority, there have been no public objections to the plans.
However, the Department of Planning in its analysis suggested members look at three specific issues in making their decision – parking, site coverage and the sidewalk.
It said the regulated requirement for parking spaces for a building of that size and use is 152 – which is 33 more than the 119 parking spaces the plans describe.
Of those, 108 are double-stacked mechanical spaces, the planning department said, adding that the authority needs to determine if this type of parking is suitable.
The plan also shows that the building covers 77.7% of the land parcel, while regulations only allow 75% coverage, and that the sidewalk is in a non-conventional location.
Principal planner Jess Peacey argued that the developer should be granted a variance because the characteristics of the building are in keeping with the surrounding area.
He added, in a letter with the application, that it will not be detrimental to anyone living or working in the area, to adjacent property, to the neighbourhood, or to public welfare.
“The proposed mixed-use commercial and residential development brings value to the Grand Harbour area,” Peacey wrote.
It will also allow for an “iconic building and new landmark on the island which serves as a novel hub of living, shopping, working and playing for the community at large”, he said.
New townhouses
Among other planning applications presented to the authority on 3 Jan., was a $2.6 million proposal for 12 townhouses with 16 bedrooms on a vacant parcel on Imperial Way in Newlands.
Developer Circlesquare requested variances for the project as zoning regulations only allow for nine units with 15 bedrooms, and the front and rear setbacks are too small.
In the application, they argued that the area is not “densely clustered or fully developed” and the proposed development will not lead to overcrowding.
They added: “Furthermore, we recognise a pressing need for housing in the Cayman Islands.
“As responsible developers, we aim to contribute towards fulfilling this need by maximising the land available to us.”
Meanwhile, James Miller applied for permission to build four townhouses with five bedrooms on a vacant plot on Firefly Close in Bodden Town at a cost of about $764,000.
And Allyson Whittaker has submitted a planning application for two buildings, each with four two-bedroom apartments and a pool on North Side Road in North Side.
The authority’s decisions on each application will be published in meeting minutes on its website in about three weeks.
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