Work begins on new US embassy

WORK has commenced on the US$400 million project to plan, design and build the new US embassy at the Trinidad Country Club site.

The 11-acre property is located at 137 Long Circular Road, Maraval.

The project is expected to be completed in 2029.

In a media release, Chargé d’Affaires Neidhart de Ortiz said the project, which will showcase state-of-the-art designs and materials, will provide jobs for hundreds of Trinidad and Tobago nationals.

“It is not just a physical expansion but a powerful reflection of the robust and longstanding relationship between the people and government of the US and TT. It will improve the experience for visa applicants and those conducting business with the US government.”

While apologising to residents and motorists for the imminent traffic and noise disruptions, Ortiz said the two historic samaan trees on the property would be preserved.

She also said the nest of protected blue and yellow macaws in a tree on the site will be preserved until the chicks have fledged the nest.

Former US ambassador to TT Candace Bond signed an agreement to acquire the property in 2023.

The embassy bought the property from the last owner Champs Elysees Ltd.

Information provided by the National Trust state that the property was referred to in Spanish colonial times as St Xavier. It was owned by Dons Miguel and Francesco Lezama before being purchased by Philippe Rose Roume de Saint-Laurent, for his mother, Rosa, in 1782 to build an estate there.

The main house of the estate (the country club) was rebuilt three times, with the last time being around 1870.

In that time, it was used as "a retreat for visiting royalty as well as for the crème de la crème of local society to fraternise, play sports, and enjoy tea parties."

These activities continued into the 20th century.

The property was bought in 1932 by Huggins and Company, owners of the then Queen's Park Hotel in Port of Spain. The main house was converted into a club for use by the hotel's guests.

A large dance hall, tennis courts and a swimming pool were built at the property, for their convenience.

The hotel and club were acquired in 1953 by JB Fernandes.

Around this period, PNM founder Dr Eric Williams and other people criticised the exclusivity of the club's membership as they sought to expose inequities in TT before it gained independence in 1962.