PM Compliments Limegrove - The Advocate - April 24, 2010

THE multi-million dollar Limegrove Lifestyle Centre, currently under construction in Holetown, is being given the thumbs up by Prime Minister David Thompson.

He said that the project, which is being spearheaded by real estate magnate Paul Altman, is going to transform Holetown – an area which has been in need of such change for quite some time.

His comments came yesterday morning after an extensive tour of the Lifestyle Centre and one of the eight hillside villas that make up the 10-acre property, which will feature 100,000 sq. ft. of retail space, with parking for over 300 vehicles.

"When you think of the potential it has for tourism and Barbadians as well and also its location, its historic significance, and the fact that it is a beautiful town, I believe that the designs as well as what is proposed here are in keeping with how we would like to see this part of Barbados grow and develop," the Prime Minister stated.

Complimenting Altman and his team for the work they have done thus far, the Prime Minister said that he was hopeful that a similar development would take place in Speightstown. He noted that that area had a lot of potential, as do other discreet sites throughout Barbados and they should be explored.

"I know it has been difficult because projects such as this are taking place against a background of significant contraction in investment, significant contraction in numbers, significant contraction even in spending by visitors to our island," he added.

With that in mind, he took the opportunity to thank those members of the private sector who have been able to help Government in this time of recession, particularly with respect to maintaining jobs and keeping their businesses open.

"...I believe that coming out of that we will be successful. The latest global projection suggests that even though growth for this year may be about one per cent in the Caribbean, the world economic forecast suggests that next year we could have growth as high as four per cent which for our region would be good, and I hope that in their analysis they have included Barbados as part of that. But with projects like this coming on stream and I can think of others –Government support for other initiatives like the Four Seasons and so on – I believe that we can start to see new directions for our tourism projects," he said.

Meanwhile,Altman said that the commercial aspect of the Lifestyle Centre is expected to be open for the 2010 Christmas season and will be about 80 per cent complete. The centre, he said, has the potential to attract endless foreign exchange, as it boasts of facilities for retail and entertainment as well as cinemas, restaurants, a nightclub and opportunities to showcase local music and fashion.