By ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

A new car park near Atlantis' planned school will accommodate nearby future developments with its planned 142 spaces open for expansion into a multi-storey facility.

The car park, which is part of the new Paradise Island development consisting of a nature preserve and day school, will be constructed in a way that allows for expansion. Vaughn Roberts, Atlantis' senior vice-president for government affairs and special projects, said the idea was to plan for the future with many developments upcoming.

He added that the car park isn’t necessarily part of the day school or nature preserve, noting the school will have its own parking site. "So there are three components to the development, really,” Mr Roberts said. “So we're taking a 29.2 acre site, and we're carving out 16.7 acres as a nature preserve that will have trails, educational signage and other enhancements to support use and access by the public.

"And then we're carving out a four-acre site for a private day school, which is really for early learners. And that's early learning all the way through grade eight for the Paradise Island community, and then also the wider New Providence community as well.

"And then the there's a two-acre site that we're carving out as a car park. And Atlantis, in our role here on Paradise Island, we get to see ahead of development, we get to see what's being planned by private developers on Paradise Island," Mr Roberts added.

“So we already know that there are land owners on Paradise Island that are already planning to expand and develop new, multi-family and mixed-use properties on Paradise Island. The most immediate example that's already broken ground is the Four Seasons Residences that's happening on the northern shoreline, right adjacent to the RIU.

"And then there are other projects planned by other landowners on PI that we already have conceptual plans from them, and some sort of understanding of how they see those projects being developed over the next 10 years. So part of what we're trying to do with the car park is really to make way to provide for parking that would help to serve the needs today and into the future,"the Atlantis executive added.

"And you will see with the car park, it's a two-acre site, initially planned for 142 spaces, but longer term could be developed into a multi storey car park. And I'll show you the location, and you'll see why it makes sense for that use, given the possibilities for development around that that site.

"So, just to be clear, the car park isn't to support the nature preserve or the school. The school will have its parking within the site. It's really just serving the needs of the community. So we really see these three projects collectively as enhancing the community and what's offered in the community amenities for the community.”

The two-acre car park will be on the Flamingo Lake’s west side at the intersection of Paradise Island Drive and Lakeview Drive. Mr Roberts added: “So on Flamingo Lake West, this two-acre site, really, we've made certain to keep it far enough away from the water body that's there.

"And you can see how the entrance to the site, to the parking area, kind of aligns with Harbour Ridge Road cutting across Paradise Island Drive, and just having the parking contained through one entrance and one exit.

"And, ultimately, we can expand. We can put a multi-storey structure here. Across the street from this site, on the south-western section, is a large parcel of land that the owner is proposing to develop condominiums with related amenities so significant multi-family development happening here and on the harbour side is plans for significant multi-family residential development on the Harbour side.”

Referencing the four-acre site for the school, Mr Roberts said it will have a modular build leaving it eligible for expansion. With an expectancy for the student population to grow to 150, Mr Roberts added that Atlantis and other large hotels sometimes struggle to recruit young executives with young families due to a lack of nearby schools.

He said it will enhance the community, noting that a survey was conducted to get feed back from Paradise Island residents. “The key takeaway from the responses to that survey is that a school for young children would attract more young affluent families to Paradise Island and accommodate children of young professionals with school aged children working here,” Mr Roberts said.

“The other takeaway was that the school doesn't necessarily need a whole lot of facilities. You can leverage the facilities that already exist on Paradise Island, like tennis courts and golf and all of that sort of activity, and the marine water park programme at Atlantis to deliver a lot of the facilities of the school.

"We also held meetings with a bunch of large landowners and developers on PI, and the Paradise Island Tourism Development Board, to discuss these three projects as community enhancing projects.” The nature preserve will have lakes on the west and east sides of the site with a proposed trail system equipped with with an educational signage. It can be used for recreation and exercise with availability from dusk to dawn.