Boost for Holetown – The Barbados Advocate - December 20, 2009
THE multi-million dollar investment in the development of the Limegrove Lifestyle Centre in Holetown has had a positive impact on the issue of flooding in the area.

According to Paul Altman, Managing Director of Altman Real Estate, the company responsible for the development of the Limegrove site, a significant amount of work has been done over the past two years in an effort to solve this issue for the commercial and residential tenants of the Holetown area, who have been continually frustrated by flooding over the years.

“The first thing we did is that we widened the waterway, the stream that was here,” he said. “We built a canal, and we spent over a million dollars just on that one canal, which is now eight times the capacity that it was before, and that has been tested. We’re also putting in drainage to the south side of the property, and all of those drains connect back into the main waterway in Holetown.”

Speaking to the media following a tour of the commercial side of the $200 million Limegrove site on Thursday, Altman argued that these efforts have proven to be successful thus far, and that this is as a result of collaboration the private and public sector.

“We’ve had two years that have tested what we’ve done so far and in those two years the people of Holetown have all come around and said thank you,” the developer said. “We’ve worked with Government, we worked with the Government drainage unit; we worked with two sets of engineers that are well versed and have carried out studies on the gully systems in this area,” the developer added.

Altman also pointed to the fact that other developments in areas that are linked to the waterways that run through Holetown have also helped in addressing this problem.

He stated that the gully systems mentioned above go right up to Apes Hill, where they have built new catchment areas that have diverted a lot of the water that normally came into Holetown.

Noting that there is still some work and some testing to be done, Altman said that he was happy with the progress that they have made thus far.

“We don’t like to boast too early, but two years of testing has shown us that we have conquered the issue of flooding in Holetown, and we’re delighted to be able to say that because part of our negotiation in order to be able to afford to several million dollars on controlling and dealing with the flooding issue has been offset by achieving incentives from Government to help us to do that, so we feel that we’ve not only done it but worked with Government and all of the proper authorities to achieve what we’ve done here,” he said.

Another issue that was raised regarding the development of the Limegrove Lifestyle Centre, which will be the first mixed-use facility in Barbados, providing retail services, entertainment, and residential opportunities, is the impact that it could have on traffic congestion in the area, given that it will result in a significant increase in activity.

In response to this, Altman stated that it is hoped that the new centre would help rather than worsen the problem.

“We have 350 car park spaces here at Limegrove, and our traffic advisers tell us that to have a sponge, so to speak, that can absorb 350 cars, will remove some of that congestion because the cars that are circling in this area now looking for somewhere to park, or just roaming in this area will drive into Limegrove hopefully and find space in here that they can park,” he said.

 

By Randy Howard