No Secrets
Residents oppose plans to construct another hotel in upscale community
Published:Sunday | May 15, 2022 | 12:08 AMMark Titus - Sunday Gleaner Writer
Seawind Key Investment Limited (SKIL), operator of the 700-room Secrets Resorts in Freeport, Montego Bay in St James, is facing strong objection to its plan to construct a 281-room hotel in the upscale community.
SKIL, which also operates the adults-only Breathless Resort and Spa, began operating in Jamaica in 2010 and is hoping to get approval by year end to begin the construction of its family offering, Dreams Resort and Spa.
The project is estimated to cost approximately US$70 million and should be completed within 24 months after breaking ground, the company’s management told The Sunday Gleaner.
But residential property owners in the community are opposing the development, which they say will place added pressure on an already-overburdened infrastructure and deprive them of their privacy. They are demanding that the Government addresses a number of infrastructural deficiencies before another investment is considered for the community.
“The construction of a 10-storey structure directly across the very narrow roadway – of only 20 feet – separating Secrets from Ocean Pines would lead to the dwarfing and overpowering of the latter, completely changing the character and ambience of the entire locale,” Dr Geoffrey Williams, chairman of the Ocean Pines Management Committee, wrote in a letter addressed to Peter Knight, CEO of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), a copy of which was seen by The Sunday Gleaner.
Businessman Ian Dear, who chairs the board of Emerald Cay properties, also wrote to Knight, stating that the residents will not support the construction of a multi-storey car park adjacent to their development, which he contends would result in a significant increase in noise, air and light pollution and have a negative impact on the tranquillity of their community.
“Please also note that a three-plus-storey, 370 spaces parking garage, will tower above our homes, grounds and common area, completely changing the privacy and aesthetics of our exclusive 20-year-old residential development,” Dear said in his letter.
The residents say the towering building opposite the community’s public park and other residential properties is not what they were expecting after investing millions to purchase their homes.
Residents of the Lagoons also expressed concern that, along with the noise pollution, an increase in the existing garbage and sewerage problems is a recipe for disaster. They claim that efforts to discuss the concerns with the Spanish operators have gone unheeded.
“Secrets has not been a good community citizen; therefore, it is my opinion that the development needs to be scaled back until the necessary upgrades are done by the Government. They shouldn’t be given any permit,” said a prominent Montego Bay businessman and Freeport resident, who requested anonymity.
STAND WITH RESIDENTS
Marlene Malahoo Forte, the member of parliament for St James West Central, where the Freeport Peninsula is located, told The Sunday Gleaner that she is standing in solidarity with the residents.
“The concerns are real and any tourism development in the Freeport Peninsula must balance or take into consideration the fact that it is also a residential community,” said Malahoo Forte, who is also the minister of legal and constitutional affairs in the Holness administration. “It’s residential, commercial and industrial, and a proper balance has to be struck.”
“Quite frankly, I would say that that level of high-rise that is slated should really not happen until the infrastructure is improved,” she added. “I will continue to make the representation for those [state-run] entities to take the proper decision.”
The use of the community beach is another issue that has soured the relationship between Secrets and the homeowners, who are claiming that they are deprived of using the entrance and are subjected to using the back or side of the hotel to enter, despite a guarantee of free and unperturbed access to the beach by the proprietors.
But the hotel operators are giving the assurance that the residents will have access to the beach, and that their other concerns will be addressed in the permit-approval process.
“SKIL is a socially responsible company, and we are committed to a transparent and balanced approach that will consider the community’s expectations and allow us to construct a world-class property to support Jamaica’s place as a leading travel destination,” a statement from the company said.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, who announced the expansion plans last May, is calling for an amicable settlement.
“We need development, and the community buy-in is important,” the senior Cabinet minister said. “Critical issues like carrying capacity [and] beach access are to be treated with, during appropriate discussions, resolved and not become a stumbling block to economic growth.
“The response must, therefore, be not to stop the development, but how to harmonise it with the environmental integrity of the community,” Bartlett said.
The company has also announced plans to construct a 700-room Secrets resort in Richmond, St Ann.