• Residents appeal Bahamian developer’s condo project

• Brand it ‘monstrosity’ that will ‘bulldoze’ property values

• Argue will render zoning ‘meaningless’ if go-ahead given

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Love Beach residents have united in opposition to a prominent Bahamian developer’s condominium project amid fears it will “bulldoze” the area’s property values and deter further investor interest.

Multiple homeowners, including Sir Baltron Bethel, former senior policy adviser to then-prime minister Perry Christie, are appealing the Town Planning Committee’s decision to give “preliminary approval” to the Passion Point development proposed by Jason Kinsale, the Aristo Development chief behind projects such as Balmoral on Sandford Drive; ONE Cable Beach, and his current Aqualina high-rise.

Besides allegedly violating the area’s “single family zoning” regulations, they are arguing that Passion Point’s two seven-storey condo buildings - which will feature 61 three-bedroom units in total - will completely alter Love Beach’s character for the worse by increasing traffic congestion and raising “huge environmental concerns”.

Peter Whitehead, a Love Beach resident, in a January 17, 2023, missive to the planning authorities titled: ‘How is seven storeys not illegal’, wrote: “The ares we have out here is a beautiful residential community, one of the nicest in Nassau.

“In most of the places I’ve seen around the world, where there are nice residential communities that end up having high valuations, you cannot simply come in and build a building that has nothing to do with the zoning or aesthetics of the area. Think of any area where land values go up, and have enduring value. You can’t simply walk into a single storey or two storey area of residential homes and build seven storeys. It just doesn’t happen.

“The end effect is that you scare investors away from building nice houses. If you are just going to randomly bulldoze their value by putting towers up next to them, they will see you do that once and then simply not invest because they do not trust that you will protect the integrity of the space they are trying to create.”

The Town Planning Committee, according to documents seen by Tribune Business, gave Passion Point preliminary approval to proceed subject to certain conditions. These include obtaining approval for the project’s height from the Civil Aviation Authority, given its proximity to Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) and planes taking-off and landing, plus a satisfactory traffic impact assessment and meeting the requirements of the Ministry of Works’ civil design section.

Mr Whitehead, though, contrasted Town Planning’s Passion Point stance with Ministry of Works action that once stopped a neighbour building a 10-foot retaining wall, and a further six-foot property wall on top of that, just yards from his property. “This man [was] building a skyscraper in my face,” he wrote. “But, unfortunately, that is exactly what these plans for Passion Point are...

“We have to start using sense again. They [Passion Point] should be forced to build in Cable Beach till that is built out before they change the nature of smaller communities. The Bahamas is in high demand. We can demand people build nice things and they will. But if we allow them to abuse us, and destroy our environment, they will do that, too.

“If this is somehow legal, that zoning doesn’t stop something as ridiculous as this, then zoning laws seem meaningless and we live in a free-for-all. And, long-term, that is not smart planning. People have to trust that it is worth investing in nice homes and that they will not have totally inappropriate structures built into areas. Otherwise, they won’t invest, and in the long-term the island will lose because of it.”

The Town Planning Committee’s January 31, 2023, preliminary approval is now being appealed by Love Beach residents to the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board. Sir Baltron’s name appears on the appeal, and Tribune Business sources yesterday confirmed the matter has yet to be heard, although they could not provide a date. Mr Kinsale did not respond to this newspaper’s phone calls or messages seeking comment before press time yesterday.

Passion Point is targeted at a 3.82-acre site immediately to the east of ‘Garden of Eden’ on West Bay Street. It will lie to the north of Old Fort Bay in lots six and seven of Love Estates subdivision, and is close to where the road makes a second turn major turn eastwards towards Cable Beach.

“Please note that there is a significant drop in elevation from the road to the beach of approximately 20 feet,” Mr Kinsale said in a November 23, 2022, letter to Charles Zonicle, the Department of Physical Planning’s director. “It will enable the building to appear as if it is a five-storey building from the road when driving by.”

Mr Whitehead, though, was far from alone in his concerns. Anja Allen, a Garden of Eden resident, branded Passion Point “a monstrosity” in a January 18, 2023, e-mail. “Developments of this height are rare on New Providence and, up until now, kept to high density tourist areas such as Cable Beach and Paradise Island,” she asserted to the planning authorities.

“In a nutshell, this quiet residential area will be completely ruined if two seven-storey buildings are allowed to be erected.” Ms Allen added that she has “huge environmental concerns with regards to what the construction will do”, citing the “dire” flooding that currently occurs on the site where one of the two condominium towers will be located.

Questioning where that water will go once the tower is built, she added: “The property is currently home to a vast selection of mature trees which must be respected and built around.” Susan Haslauer-Schauff, vice-president of Bahamas Motor Sports Association, and who oversees its EduKarting educational initiative, added that persons had invested in Love Beach on “the clear understanding” that it was reserved and zoned for single family residential use only.

Another Garden of Eden property owner, together with her husband, she questioned why Passion Point was even being considered for approval. Mrs Haslauer-Schauff, alleging that the design appeared to include no coastal flood protection, also challenged the “geological implications” for adjacent properties from Passion Point offering residents underground parking, which she said was “very questionable in the coastal area.

Meanwhile, Janine Carey, a Love Beach Colony resident, wrote that she had already noticed the area start to shift from one that is community-based to a neighbourhood focused only on “economical return”. “We have seen more apartment buildings going up, more trees being cut down, more natural environment being destroyed and the increase of Airbnb rentals, where you have new guests every four days, prohibiting you from creating community,” she wrote.

“With the development of Passion Point, we will lose even more of our Bahamian community living that is still present in our Out Islands but seems to be becoming more and more scarce in Nassau. The seven-storey building will turn the area into condo gated community living - who is ‘in’, and who is ‘out’. Natural environment will be negatively affected, coastal shoreline altered, more congested, less traffic, less native trees, birds and insects. The list goes on and on.”

Ms Carey then continued: “Can we not stay Bahamian and let the lifestyle of the Out Islands shine and guide us here in Nassau? We need to create communities that are environmentally, economically and socially balanced. We need to stop only focusing on economic returns. It is destructive and only short-term.

“The developers of Passion Point need to go back to the drawing board and create a plan to work with the natural environment, enrich the community and stay within the island lifestyle that we all promote to the world and cherish. It is my hope that you [Town Planning] can protect this existence for us all. If we do not act now then the entire western coastline will be turned into a condo, multi-level, concrete gated monstrosity, devoid of character, heart and warmth, uniqueness and the absolute beauty of island living.”

Both Dr Robert Ramsingh and Cathy Ramsingh-Pierre, and Robert Smith, warned that Passion Point would “disrupt a long-standing residential community” while echoing many of the concerns raised by their fellow residents.