Falmouth’s artisan village to be operational by July

Western Bureau:

The new $700-million artisan village in Falmouth, Trelawny, is expected to become fully operational in the first quarter of the 2021-2022 fiscal year, based on the projections of Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, who recently toured the new facility.

“I am advised that the theming exercise will be done through the end of June so that it will allow for the tenants to now come in as of July,” said Bartlett, in providing the clearest indication about the state of readiness of the new facility.

“I am very anxious about that, because the plan I have and the programme that we are working on for cruise is to enable a completion time for any eventuality ... but we are working with our partners to bring back tourism activities in these areas as quickly as possible during and post the COVID-19 arrangement,” he said

The tourism minister said the project is a collaborative effort between the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) and the Urban Development Corporation, and that the construction phase has reached its completion point.

“The construction is substantially completed. I am advised by the contractors that it is in an actual handover position and the partners, who have overseen that contract work, the Port Authority of Jamaica, are stating that yes, they are in a position to receive the substantially completed project,” said Bartlett. “There are some finishes that are to be completed by the 23rd of March by the contractor.”

RETURN OF CRUISES

Dr Carey Wallace, executive director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, which funded the investment, recently told The Gleaner that the hope is that the artisan village will open to coincide with the return of cruise shipping, which was halted in March 2020 when Jamaica began detecting cases of the coronavirus.

“We are keeping our fingers crossed with the hope that cruises will return in July. The intention is that the completion of the village will coincide with the return of cruise shipping. A contractor has been identified and given guidelines for the theming of the village. It will include the history of Falmouth, rum and sugar,” said Wallace.

The artisan village, which is built on four acres of land at the old Hampden Wharf, which is owned by the PAJ, will offer opportunities for entrepreneurship. There will be 47 shops, five restaurants and bars, 12 mini stalls, and 18 artisan shops. In addition, 12 shops will be built for athletes, as well as facilities for rum tasting,cigar sampling, clothing, and a children’s play area.

In describing the experience that will be on offer to visitors to the location, Bartlett said it will showcase the culture and history of Falmouth, which is a Georgian village with a rich history.

“We are pulling on our culture and the history of the Falmouth area. We have facilities to enable food and work, so that when the visitors come they can take a design, give it to the artisan to make, and return to collect their finished product when the ship is ready to sail. That is truly authentic and truly Jamaican and makes a statement with their visit and location,’’ explained Bartlett.

“It is going to enable us to give a space for not just production, but for visitor experience. We are driven by the need for good management, and I want to establish very clearly that we are going to go to the market for a manager to manage the project overall,” he added.

When it becomes operational, the new artisan village will be the first of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean.