Piccadilly hopes: East PoS harbours doubt over project

THE old Besson Street Police Station which collapsed early last month is still hovering over Besson Street, likely to fall at any time while demolition work has halted completely.

On May 6, a worker operating an excavator destroyed a beam and the middle of the building buckled under its own weight. Rubble fell onto Piccadilly and Besson Streets, leaving them impassable for a short period. The rubble was cleared with a pathway along Besson Street for residents nearby to get in and out of their homes.

In March, Housing Minister Edmund Dillon told the media at a post-cabinet briefing of the Piccadilly Street Urban Regeneration Project. A key part of the project is the demolition of the old police station and the construction of a multi-storey complex in its stead. The new building will include commercial activity on the ground floor. This, according to the Housing Ministry, is to encourage entrepreneurship within the community and be a stimulus for economic activity. There will also be a two-level parking facility. The third floor will be reserved for community facilities with multi-purpose training rooms, day-care and health centre/fitness area and a main hall. There will be a mix of two-and-three-bedroom units and a few studio apartments while the rooftop will be available for “passive recreation.”

At the post Cabinet media briefing Dillon said: “It’s part of a wider project, the Government having recognised there’s a need to do something in east Port of Spain and the city of Port of Spain, as the city also is experiencing an urban decline, unemployment and other issues that plague society. Government has decided there must be some measure to increase the east Port of Spain division, especially Piccadilly Street, which is a major egress out of the city.”

Breaking down Besson Street Station

The project is being managed by the Urban Development Corporation of TT (Udecott). The contract to demolish the building was awarded to Pical Services Limited owned by Government Senator Foster Cummings. The completion date for the demolition was supposed to be May 4 according to Udecott who responded to emailed questions in March. The cost of the demolition was $455,625 VAT inclusive. Pical Services was awarded the contract through selective tendering. Cummings directed all questions about his company's ability to complete the job to Udecott, who up to yesterday evening had not responded to the emailed questions that had first been put to Cummings.

“Selective Tender was chosen because demolition works are specific. As such, proponents were invited based on previous demolition works done for Udecott. The evaluation criteria (were) based solely on cost and Pical Services submitted the lowest bid,” Udecott stated in their March email when asked about their decision to select Pical Services Limited.

The request for proposals was issued on February 20 and five companies were invited to bid, with three accepting the offer. Seven days later the bidding was closed.

During the demolition, the road leading to the Lodge United Brothers began caving in and had to be re-enforced. The road collapsed after the back of the old police station was demolished. The back wall of the building doubled as a retaining wall for the roadway.

Funding for the construction of the Piccadilly Street Urban Regeneration Project is to be sourced by Udecott.

In an email response to Sunday Newsday earlier this month, the Housing Ministry said the project “seek to utilise sustainable urban practices and policies to provide improved living conditions, increase opportunities for employment through the provision of commercial spaces, increased amenities, social services and recreational spaces for residents."

It is envisioned that the new environment will be a catalyst for positive change within the redevelopment zone and in surrounding communities, using the crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) principles. Although the project is within the East Port of Spain and is part of a larger plan to re-engineer the area, the East Port of Spain Development Company, which was established for the development of that district will play no part in the first phase. Bidding for the first phase was opened for tender by Udecott which is also sourcing the funding.

History of developing East Port of Spain

In 2012, three communities in Port of Spain were supposed to have benefited from a US$196,496,000 (roughly $1.3 billion TT) development fund. The IDB planned to inject US$50,351,000, while the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) and the Water and Sewerage Authority were supposed to have mustered between them US$2,600,000, while a remaining US$143,545,000 was to be funded by “multiple sources”. A total of 40 people deliberated and came up with the ESCI plan after a year of meetings which included then Port of Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing and finance minister Winston Dookeran.

The project was titled the Emerging and Sustainable Cities Initiative (ESCI). The three areas to be impacted were East Port of Spain, Belmont and Gonzales as those areas were identified as part of the city's new metropolis following consultations between the Ministry of Planning and Sustainable Development, the Port-of-Spain City Corporation among others. The Planning Ministry said they are “currently reviewing the ESCI project” adding that funding from ESCI is not being used for the Piccadilly Street Urban Regeneration Project.

According to the executive summary of IDB’s Sustainable Port of Spain Action Plan, the ESCI, was aimed at providing technical expertise to Caribbean governments and assist in refining and implementing that country’s urban development plans. Using a traffic light rating with red: below minimum levels, yellow: requires improvement and green: sustainable, Port of Spain scored green and yellow. However, many areas were red which included areas of managing growth and protecting the environment, appropriate urban infrastructure (including drainage), waste management, public safety and heritage and culture.

During an interview with Sunday Newsday in March, Lee Sing said during his tenure, there were many plans drawn for the development of Port of Spain. Some he saw, others he remembered dating back to the 1990s under the leadership of Patrick Manning, then prime minister. He added the reason none of the plans came to fruition, which included the relocation of Sea Lots residents and the expansion of the Port of Port of Spain, was a lack of political will.

“Many people were concerned with how to appease these people but what should be considered is what is best for east Port of Spain. Everyone kept pushing the can down the road and as you keep doing that the cost keeps increasing. There is no need for any more plans, I think we had a plan scheme. We have to stop spinning top in mud and re-engineer Port of Spain,” Lee Sing said.

Scepticisms is all that stands

The biggest challenge to sustainable development for Port of Spain and the country by extension lay in neighbourhoods that were densely populated and vulnerable to natural disasters which was prominent in the three identified areas.

The first phase in the project is expected to begin between June and July and be completed in 15 months. The aim of the Piccadilly Street Urban Regeneration Project, the Housing Ministry said, is to reinvigorate an urban space which is located within and around depressed and crime-ridden areas in east Port of Spain.

Former senator and resident of St Paul Street, Roy Augustus told Sunday Newsday in March that he heard of plans to develop east Port of Spain since he was a child. He said then: “I hope it's different this time around. Trust me, they know how to break down, they're very good at that. Look at the St Paul Street Community Centre it took close to 15 years to build a new one. It would be nice to see something happen, but I have no big hope, we're accustomed getting left out.”

When Dillon made the announcement, residents of Piccadilly Street expressed scepticism about the project getting past the stage of inceptions, telling Sunday Newsday in March that they heard the promises of improvement before. They said they saw some semblance of it actually taking place but are yet to see anything concrete. Senior residents who lived in the area all their lives said as far back as 1972, there have been plans to improve East Port of Spain. The demolition of the old police station was supposed to signal a new hope for the residents but with the building virtually in limbo, defying gravity, the residents’ scepticism is what stands.