The architect of an $86 million 157-apartment block proposed for George Town said he was “very optimistic” that the plans would finally be passed, two years after they were initially refused planning permission.
The 10-storey, 245,000-square-feet development, to be named ‘The Eldemire’, on Boilers Road proposed by Legoland Real Estate contains one-, two- and three-bedroom units and will have space for shops, a gym, a rooftop swimming pool and parking.
Hotel boost
Eduardo Bernal, the building’s architect, said he was looking forward to the meeting, and said that the recent opening of ONE | GT hotel nearby would have helped.
“People are able to see that the building is not a humungous monster,” he said, “and that it is exactly what the government wants for this area. It wants George Town to compete with Camana Bay, in providing a place where people can live and walk to work.”
Bernal said that George Town in the evening was “like a ghost town” now and that it would continue to be like that until “you bring young Caymanian families into the area”, which was the intention behind the project. “I wouldn’t design a project like this anywhere else,” he said.
Central Planning Authority board members cited several reasons for turning the project down last year, including the impact of traffic on Boilers Road, the lack of recreational or commercial amenities for residents and the number of residents exceeding the nearest residential zone requirements, even though the building itself would be in an area zoned general commercial.
The Eldemire was originally designed as a 162-unit building without any commercial space, but has since been redesigned to include 2,000 square feet of space for retail outlets including a convenience store, a laundry, day care or hairdressers. There are no registered objections to the plans which contain 193 bedrooms and 242 parking spaces.
“The plans meet all the bylaws and there is nothing in them which is non-compliant,” said Bernal. “The zoning for this area is in order to promote this type of project.”
He added, “I have been the guinea pig for the Cayman Islands ever since I arrived 25 years ago. When there’s a new type of project, everyone takes longer to see how beneficial it can be.”
The Central Planning Authority is scheduled to discuss the project at its 24 June meeting, specifically the zoning and density issues.
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