Developer On Fairmont Southampton SDO
“Recent statements from those who are opposed to the SDO application for the Fairmont Southampton property have contained some inaccuracies,” Westend Properties said, adding that “it’s important to clear up any misconceptions.”
A spokesperson said, “Recent statements from those who are opposed to the SDO application for the Fairmont Southampton property have contained some inaccuracies.
“Left uncorrected, these inaccuracies may lead to the public having an incomplete picture of the proposed development. That’s why it’s important to clear up any misconceptions that are circulating.
“Acres of green space: Opposition groups have stated that 34 acres of green space will be developed through the SDO. This is incorrect and has been exaggerated by 42%.
“Golf course: The golf course will be reconfigured, but will remain an 18-hole course. Groups opposed to the SDO have stated that 25% of the course will be lost to development. In truth, that number is much lower at just over 10%.
“Proposed units: Close to half of the proposed units will be designated tourism units, while the remaining will be residential. No fractional units are planned.
“Fairmont Southampton renovation: One of the most concerning comments has been from those that question the integrity of the hotel building. We can assure you that Fairmont Southampton is structurally sound on all levels.
“If you would like to confirm the numbers for yourself, the SDO application is available for public review until May 3rd.”
Wow, snarky response.
I trust them even less now.
Thank you friend for stopping naysayers spreading mistruths hyping crowds.
A stirring self-serving rebuttal of the concerns raised by Bermudians
It is unfair to claim that confusion is being created by those who oppose the extensive overdevelopment proposed for the Fairmont Southampton site. Such confusion undoubtedly has come from both overt public coverage (and spin) and also from covert references, like the issues/questions/concerns surrounding the alleged financial guarantees and concessions that have been promised to Gencom by some in the Bermuda Government. Those concerns became so great, our former Finance Minister resigned his post because of them.
Acres of Green Space: Are you suggesting that only 14.28 acres of green space will be lost to this extensive development? I will go back to the various versions of the ‘facts’ and come back on this point.
Golf Course: This from the ‘Grounds in Support’ document that accompanies the SDO application:
“The proposed development on Recreation zoned land will affect 10.1 acres of the 40.95 acres of golf course at the resort.”
Okay, this does make a 24.6642246% loss of golf course and not the 25% we reported!
Proposed units: The 2009 SDO which is the only SDO that has been approved, describes those units as ‘fractional tourism and fractional tourism golf units’. That any additional SDO is asking for straight ‘tourism’ units will require a different consideration and assessment, yes.
Integrity of the integrity of the hotel building: There are reports circulating that call the structural integrity of the hotel into question and we are simply following that old saying “where there’s smoke, there’s fire”… where there are rumours or signs that something is true, it’s commonly felt that at least something about it must be true. Please share with us the independent engineer’s report and we stand to be corrected.
A final note to the Bermuda public: good luck if you want to ‘confirm the numbers for yourself’ by the deadline date of May 3rd. There are 709 pages of documents that accompany the application, plus numerous other documents you will need to refer to to get a sense of the legislation and permissions that will need to be ‘gotten’. Be warned though, the application is so woefully short of detail that, at best, you will be guessing at what you even need to be looking for in that legislation and permission documents.
Several things jump out here looking at the comments from Gencom and the link.
1) The SDO was applied for on April 12 2023, but this contradicts many of the “start” dates promised by the Premier in 2022. Curtis has been shown to be correct, Burt is a liar.
2) Do the 42% of 34 acres include all the roads, drives, parking etc. or are the units standing in the grass and trees?
3) According to the SDO of the 261 proposed units, 114 are for tourism and 147 are residential. Tourism units are hardly close to half as stated above.
4) Why should Bermuda taxpayers subsidize multi million dollar residential units to be sold primarily to foreign buyers, when Bermudians have to pay duty, land tax etc.? At a minimum, that part of the SDO needs to be deleted, or not included in the tax breaks. No wonder Gencom is laughing having got Burt to agree with 20 years of this, and Burt is proud of his negotiating skills?
Bermuda is losing out large.
“Bermuda is losing out large” – co-sign 110%
I get that Bermuda suffers without foreign investment but this is overkill, it’s just too much. We know NOTHING about Gencom (it even sounds like an evil corporation in a Disney movie) and who Gencom is. Gencom knows nothing about Bermuda and Bermudians. They probably don’t care to know. This is a money grab, plain and simple.
Another question is….will Zane DeSilva recuse Island Construction from any of this? He has a lot to answer for.
I DO NOT want my hard-earned money going toward anything to do with this! Taking my tax money and giving it to these people is WRONG!
How can we make sure we don’t financially support any of this mess?
30 to 6. Join the PLP or shut up.
Time to move forward with this project. Let’s get the shovels in the ground!