Dart’s ‘iconic’ tower finds no favour with Chamber
(CNS): The proposal by Dart, Cayman’s largest landowner and developer, does not appear to have found favour with the Chamber of Commerce. Justin Howe, Executive Vice President of Real Estate Development and Operations at one of Dart’s network of companies, was pushing the idea of the tower during the recent Chamber of Commerce Economic Forum, but a vertical resort that would be the tallest building in the Caribbean does not appear to be very popular, even in the business community.
The proposal was first raised by the premier earlier this year at the Cayman Economic Outlook conference, where he said that government and Dart were discussing the idea and he wanted to start the conversation about changing the law to pave the way for a tower project.
But at the Economic Forum Chris Kirkconnell, the current Chamber president, issued a note of caution, pointing out that it would take proper planning in Cayman to allow development that benefits everyone and remains sustainable, as he warned against it becoming a high-rise jungle.
Kirkconnell said he had spoken to many people from all industries about the proposed tower and people agreed that “a 50-, 80- or 100-storey skyscraper in the middle of Seven Mile Beach was not needed nor wanted by the larger community”.
But when Howe addressed the audience later in the day, he said that with land now at a premium, especially in the Seven Mile Beach area, and a finite resource, regardless of the price the only answer for that areas is to “grow up and not out”.
He said that Dart recognised “the benefits of taller buildings”, as he urged the country to have the conversation about building heights now when the government was reviewing the national zoning plan.
The senior executive from Dart argued that tall buildings have a smaller footprint and a lower environmental impact, and infrastructure demands are reduced. He urged people to be bold and instead of increasing heights incrementally, to change the heights now to pave way for the company’s proposed iconic tower.
He also suggested that an iconic tower could “become a symbol of Cayman’s standing on the world stage” and attract more rich people to the country. Hinting at Dart’s vision, he said the proposal for a tower would be a 5-star hotel with shops. Howe said that since the premier announced the proposed idea and opened the conversation, Dart had been considering what would move this from an idea to a plan.
He spoke about a tower that could be instantly recognisable the world over and said Dart’s long-term goal was to connect Seven Mile Beach to the North Sound to allow people to walk between the two without crossing a road. He said that the two tunnels that the developer has created were the foundation of that, so the obvious place for the tower was at Camana Bay to the east of the West Bay Road.
Despite the public perception that Cayman’s population and development is already out of control and, more importantly, not benefiting the majority of people, the Dart executive was undeterred and said that Cayman’s density was nowhere near some islands and that the population would continue to grow. He also spoke about attracting billionaires, claiming they disproportionately put much into the economy but “take virtually nothing out”.
He said that Dart and government were engaged in “very positive dialogue” over the proposals but the decision was up to government and the people.
Category: Business, Construction, development, Local News
I wonder what they’re really trying to ram thru whilst we all focus on a 100 floor tower that will never happen
maybe the relocation of the dump
Dart next move is to buy out all chamber business. Only 54% to go.
I don’t want this tower. I don’t care how iconic it would be. It would be grossly out of proportion to the rest of the island. How would it impact us? I’d also like to know who has completed the geotechnical analysis on how all that weight would affect our limestone bedrock. Stick to ten stories.
The last thing we need on this Island is another tall building. Why do we need to be like every other place full of hi-rises? This and the new proposed port should not be allowed to happen.
Tourism to Dominican Republic has dropped 74% media says. Chances that something like that happening in the Cayman Islands? Just think The Dump. Medical waste, dead animal carcasses, unfiltered incinerator emissions. Everything has a breaking point.
BUT CIG IS TALKING ABOUT ICONIC TOWER!!! Icon to the island of incompetence?
P.S. they are figuring out what is going on over there, never the less, people are not taking chances.
Headlines
MIAMI — Two cranes atop high-rise buildings under construction collapsed Sunday in downtown Miami amid strong winds from Hurricane Irma.
Florida’s construction cranes were designed to withstand Irma. Some did not.
Miami’s Tower Construction Cranes Pose ‘Potential Danger’ During Hurricane
Miami’s Tower Cranes Can’t Handle a Cat 5 Hurricane; Officials Send Warning to High-Rise Residents
Construction cranes in hurricane’s path cause unique concerns for Miami
High-Rise Construction Cranes Collapse on Buildings in South Florida Due to Hurricane Irma.. officials urged anyone living near one to evacuate.
As the wise and visionary decision makers reflect on this proposal, please add to your evaluation process consideration on the economic value of those like myself, having spent more than $1,500,000 in this lovely country over the past 20 years, will be spending here no more. If I wanted to live at the foot of a 50 story shadow, I could have bought and lived in many other city choices. Yes, do what is best for Cayman, just be aware that you will be gambling on a promise against a reality.
I have postponed a planned renovation project valued at well over $100,000 as I await confirmation on the direction that Dart is going to take at Britannia (the issue is before the court now). There’s much hype around what economic value Dart has brought to the island but not much value estimated on what he has destroyed. No one is tracking the loss in potential real estate sales or the cancelled or postponed capital spending initiatives related to Dart domination. I like some of what Dart has done, not a fan of a few things too, but I am not blind to concessions the people of Cayman have paid.
I have a high level of respect for the Dart Group of Companies and its leaders. However in the case of a “iconic” tower, I must admit I wonder if they have fully considered the ability to sell/rent all of the space in such a building when there is so much other (less expensive) commercial and residential space available on the island. Is the plan to move all of Georgetown commercial business to the new tower and then totally demolish the Georgetown (downtown) area to rebuild that in the future? – THAT might be a plan, but would take considerable government intervention. (think urban renewal planning & development where entire neighborhoods are demolished by government and then resold to developers)
In addition, after approximately 5 years of marketing, using several different approaches, there still are many apartments available in Darts’s iconic condominius SeaFire. On a comparative scale, it seems that without a major international client taking multiple floors, the proposed tower would be partially empty for years and years. That is, unless my ealrier comment about urban renewal comes into play.
I can cite Dubai and Panama as two examples of cities were there is overwhelming growth and accompanying high vacancy rates in both residential and commercial buildings. I realize in business one needs to plan for the future, and create markets, but here on this tiny bit of rock in the middle of the ocean, I do have to question that. Even President Donald J. Trump’s Trump Organization has had many failures relating to projects that looked good on paper, but just couldn’t attract buyers or tenants.
Perhaps the CIG should focus on improving the quality of life for those already here. The roads a horrible, the dump is an embarassment (another Dart project, by the way) traffic is unbearable,andas demonstrated the flooding is getting out of control.
Didn’t the Dart bloke say it’d be a hotel?
A hotel for billionaires they say. This is not Dubai. Billionaires want to be barefooted and grounded to the bare earth.
The Eiffel Tower was built to showcase the possibilities of using steel in building construction.
If Dart wants to build something iconic using recycled Styrofoam and recycled Solo cups from the dump then I fully support it.
Can you imagine what an ariel photograph of the island would look like with a huge phallus protruding out of SMB? We’d be the laughing stock of the Caribbean!
Yes, at least we don’t have a mountain of trash protruding the sky instead!
Wrong. The mount trashmore appears as a landmark on google map.
The aerial images circulating of the dump ensure that is already the case.
I’d say he’s got you guys by the balls, but I don’t really think you have any. I picture him stuffing styrofoam down your throats, with a rum soaked wad of one dollar bills.
10:07am – TOP CCOMMENT!!!!!!
Don’t forget 9/11 type risks high-rise “iconic” buildings carry.
In a country where newly built airport gets flooded and postal notifications picked up by people who weren’t suppose to pick them up, what kind of building safety codes compliance would you expect? What Cayman Fire Marshal has to says about this project?
Possible? Probable? Or remote?
We live in weird times.
It would only take one crazy person who is angry with the entire world. Someone who would have lost lots of money by misfortune, or divorce, or whatever. He is a pilot of a small or mid-size plane. Your iconic tower may become handy. The news would spread instantaneously making him famous. And the Cayman Islands would become known to every person on planet Earth.
So make sure your iconic tower is erected to meet the changed (after 9/11) standards of building and safety as recommended by National Institute of Standards and Technology (USA).
This is a scenario for the “Firm” part 2.
Now we know why those two tunnels were built. I believe Dart did not disclose exactly what size building would be erected just a hotel. I believe we envisioned another 10 story building but it is clear now what was planned. If they had declared a 50 story building, Govt would have had a much more difficult time approving the tunnels because of public pressure that would have come down on them. Govt and Dart knew what would be built there. SAD!
I predicttnat if the Unity Government aloes the building kf this tower, it will be seen as a sure sign of what obtains. Further, it will be the demise of the Unity Government at the. Ext election Skgned Sealed and Delivered.
He’s a real daisy, your mr. Dart. And I gotta say that for the most part, you’all just keep eating and a eating and eating it up. He is 2 or 3 steps ahead on everything. The bridge is probably his foresight to deal with rising water levels…..That he is complicit in.
Dart is responsible for global warming as well?
Absolutely
How many floors is the dump?
I could see Russia from the top it’s so high.
😂
Sarah Palin, please go home….
The Chamber of Commerce does not care about the people of the Cayman Islands. As a special interest group their only concern has always been the short and long term interests of its members.
I couldn’t agree more! That’s one reason i quit the C of C this year!
So true. They only care about business. That’s their special interest. It just so happens that business offers employment and helps keep the treasury of the Islands with revenue, which also helps for the Government and its employees and the islands in general.
Without a strong business sector, there aren’t many jobs or services… You can argue about the right balance, but I would say the interests are indisputably intertwined.
yawn…cave folks complaining for something they know nothing about.
cave= caymanians against virtually everything
1:44, And you know a lot about building 50 storey skyscrapers?
yep…they are built all over the world…
Yep, but not in a hurricane zone on a tiny island that is also on the edge of an earthquake fault.
Do some research 9:23.
You obviously don’t understand what research is. Ever heard of Japan? they get both typhoons and earthquakes. All of California gets earthquakes , Miami gets hurricanes.
Do some more research and discover what the geological base of Grand Cayman is composed of. It is not the same as Japan or California.
You obviously also spend no time in Miami. If you did you would know about the continuing flooding of all the ground floors of the big buildings as well as the parking garages along the low lying Coast. Rising seas are beginning to take a toll on Miami coastal property prices.
Be warned Grand Cayman. Miami is the canary in the coal mine for us.
don’t bother with facts or reasoning…..cave mentality
do you know where the next earthquake will be?
Yes
Yes. The Mariana Islands.
we need one more Dart and there will no room for complaints.
They have to stop hating on DART and let him let cayman progress the way it should
I’m no Dart-hater, but I do find startling its deliberate misuse of words. There’s a fine line between PR and fibbing. The thought of Dart turning its mind to an “iconic” (lazy English) building only AFTER the premier had raised the subject (“hmm, now that’s an interesting idea..”) is preposterous. Do they take us for complete idiots? This whole project is self-evidently Dart-driven. They dropped it in the premier’s ear, having earlier primed the Speaker to float it. To say that the premier kicked off the conversation, thus implying that somehow he came up with an idea which Dart finds so attractive that it has decided to adopt it, is at best disingenuous and at worst an outright lie.
Same with the tunnel which was promoted as simply a landscaped overpass for access to the beach. Why lie ?
When Dart was denied to build an 8ft wall in front of the iconic entrance of the West Indian Club, he showed us what he was capable of. Just make up a reason to build a tunnel…
Had I known it would disappear (first with the large hump in the drive) I would have taken a photo of the amazing Royal Palm lined drive leading to the West Indian Club. You all remember that? So beautiful.
You people didn’t even notice that was when it all began. When he started with the reno for his ‘home’ there. I can still see it in my minds eye.
Anyone have a photo of that????
6:36 Dart tunnels was not promoted as no simple landscape.
get educated with the World Wide Web and you will know what will take place at Camana Bay in the next 30 years!
The Premier made clear it was Dart that put this in his ear from the outset.
https://www.journal.ky/2019/03/06/beyond-towers-ceo-speakers-provide-glimpse-into-the-future/?fbclid=IwAR0rtPOZhNUbqilXsT37m7ivNyrdRBO8vD7DlM88etM3BfmBIE4LghJgTTQ
Shane, Sustainable progress on Grand Cayman is not building 50 storey skyscrapers. It is not a case of hating Dart but putting common sense first.
Of course, if you are feeding at the Dart gravy train then common sense does not matter.
7:35 or watching his movies!
Shane, I am not “they”, but why can’t I hate someone I don’t want destroying my way of life? Soon Dart will control everything here!
OK, so there are no room to build out on Dart’s property, therefore they should be allowed to build up 50 floors. Now, will that be 50 floors from the ground up or 50 from the manufacture ground level, which could be 55, 60 or 70 floors? Who go’es up must come down, so who will build the infrastructure for all those investors, schools, medical facilities, roads, water, etc, etc. Are they going to live as maroons in the tower, only entering and exiting on there way from and to the airport? Madness, pure madness attached to pure greed and not a care for anything but $$$$$, and guess what, an absolute “Fact” when he leaves this earth he will leave with the same thing he arrived with, Nothing. What will the legacy be.? The individual who modernized Cayman or destroyed it. Lets be sensible folks, bigger is not better. Remember what our ancestors taught us, one (1) nutritious meal a day is better for our health than a full belly of garbage. Wake up Caymanians and our guests that truly love these Islands.
Unless Dart would run its own fire department qualified(certified) and equipped to service high rise buildings, International fire safety standards would prohibit building 50 story high buildings. Unless there is an adequate volume of water available at anytime to put out a major fire, such building can’t be built. Unless there are helicopters equipped and pilots trained to handle high rise fires such buildings can’t be built. Unless there are certified building safety inspectors who regularly and thorough inspect such buildings, such buildings can’t be built. International fire safety standards exist for a reason.
No such thing as international fire safety standards.
Only Cayman fire safety standards: let it burn!
If you are in the industry, you clearly need to keep on top of recent developments concerning fire safety. Whilst there might not be an ISO the industry is moving towards this goal: https://www.ifsecglobal.com/fire-news/new-global-fire-safety-coalition-backed-sherwin-williams/
“International fire safety standards” do not exist. I mean look at tha London fire. That building was”ok” in the UK which apparently has no standards at all.
5:47 it seems I have to remind you.
You are speaking of K. DART!
Mr. Howe you are gravely mistaken when you say the millionaires will put in a lot and take nothing out. They will certainly take away our natural environment, our Caribbean identity and culture. I know you are mainly concerned about your big bonuses but some of us still care about our ” Beloved Isles Cayman.
Be careful, your income could depend on Dart.
He also cares about his colorful socks
*colourful
Mr. Dart is American so his socks are colorful. You obviously are not a graduate of his CIS.
8:02 all facilities you have mention are already started and you don’t even know!
A tower for Cayman to be known for like Dubai??!! We are a small Caribbean Island known for our natural beauty!!! This is total madness and it has to stop!!! Let’s all march or do whatever we need to do to stop this now!!! And Mr. Dart, time for you to show your face – why are you afraid for us to know who you are!!!
Has been known.
unfortunately, that is what is happening with this country now-because we are a small island we must think small
4:20 start marching but don’t look back!
Cayman was a beautiful place to “Live, work, play” long before Dart showed up. He should respect our laws and traditions and stop throwing his money around just to feed his ego.
McKeeva let him in.
Dart has made it more beautiful!
I for one am just glad we finally stopped pretending these developments are for or meant to benefit Caymanians in any way
The Speaker admitted it, Dart has admitted it and anyone with sense can see it
The government has given up any illusions about sustainable development or supporting Cayman for Caymanians
What the rich want comes first and what the people want is of no relevance
They have these plans set up to lure more of the ultra-rich to these islands to turn us into the Caribbean Monaco, they are only interested in getting the exorbitantly wealthy to come here and live large while the rest of us pass around the scraps
That is who the PPM and CDP have always served
Since the original mass status grants they have always had their eyes on finding more sugar daddies to prop up their political machines and foot the bill for their lack of vision
The only vision for Caymanians included in these proposed projects are as the servants and waitstaff to the mega-rich
Start passing around the uniforms and learning the servant’s back corridors and passageways because that will be all that is left for us soon
Hope you skipped traditional college or university and went to domestic and hospitality schools
When will the majority of Caymanians realise that Dart is not our friend, but our exploiter? Will my and your descendants be ultimately unable to afford their own homeland? You might think that view is dramatic extreme, but it is coming.
Dart, Cayman’s largest landowner and developer, building a playground for his ilk on the bones of our ancestors.
A suggestion for Dart and his team, buy out all the Caymanians homes, businesses and land, keep the politicians and you will have your island fit for Kings and Queens. Then the Caymanians can live elsewhere, maybe somewhere like Argentina or Belize. Certainly they would never allow this foolishness in their country. Why would we want to be known for iconic towers when we are known for sun, the beach, stingray city and most of all the people?
He has actively been working on your suggestions for decades, and is really ramping it up now. I agree with your sentiments though, and would add that our coral reefs and marine environment are (soon to be were) also a major stayover factor.
I know 2 extremely rich couples and they travel all over the world. They stay in villas that have exclusive staff and it would never cross their minds to stay in a “tower” no matter how tall or “iconic “.
Dartbots, engage!!!!!
Dart Tower, Trump Tower, Blah Blah Blah…like expensive sports cars, they are phallic substitutes for those challenged in the trouser department.
How does building up reduce the environmental impact of a building? The square footage of a building is the same if it is tall or squat. It would take the same amount of power/water/parking, generate the same amount of garbage, etc.
Yes………. sewage and waste collections. How about safety systems and fire suppression? Nobody should be allowed to blot out the sun for the personal pleasures of the rich and lawless.
That’s why they are trying to convince you by saying they’re building up, rather than across what little view we have left now.
2:51 simple you cant fill the sky.
Another DART-Decco tactic to draw attention elsewhere from what they have on the chess board. That might be just what they consider Cayman now, a board game where they can move all the little toys about on . .
DART, and their nominee companies, should not have been given approval from PLA for two tunnels without associated development plans, and nothing further should be approved for their account until they can clearly outline their mutli-pronged development plans and demonstrate some competency at handling their expanding derelicted eyesore landholding portfolio. PLA Board needs to explain themselves, or be replaced.
whilst I agree…..they (the politicians and thier minions at the Civil Service) have already opened the stable door and the horse has long since bolted, I am afraid….
You know those guys that drive around in hummer’s…? This iconic tower is Dart’s hummer
A hummer tried to overtake my lil civic the other day.
I sped up and they couldn’t pass.. with a licensing bill like that, pathetic.
I do like a good hummer.
Trust me, when Dart is ready to proceed with its skyscraper, no Chamber, nor referendum nor majority sentiments will stop it! Dart will submit and Government will approve it!! Done deal!
All this is really irrelevant because what ever Dart Group wants the Dart Group will get as the government will bend over backwards to accommodate there instructions.
What is Dart and his people’s obsession with billionaires? No one ever became a billionaire being nice. The quality of life for the average Caymanian has reduced significantly in the last 20 years and will continue to do so unless the relentless pursuit of $ at all cost is reevaluated.
It’s the same ailment afflicting most politicians and people of influence here. Greed and selfishness.
Build the dock
Build the tower
NO BRAKES ON THIS HYPE TRAIN
The ‘iconic’ tower is the equivalent of putting a cocktail stick through a cooked burger. Stamping ownership of the island. Here’s our massive tower on our island which we own. It would be an absolute travesty if this went ahead. I’m sure Alden has probably given it the green light to keep his master happy.
1:17 what do it matter what color light Alden give?
#leashkendart
If someone needs to be kept on a tight leash it’s Ken Dart. Our politrickians are all in his pocket and lack the back bone to reject any of his hair-brain schemes such as a 50 storey tower is evident for all to see.
It’s time the UK stepped in and sorted this mess out – when one man becomes more powerful than the entire government the empire should strike back!
I believe it is true that every bit of the Islands that Dart owns was at one time or another sold by a Caymanian.
$$$$$$$$$$$………is what it’s all about. End of.
Can someone give a sensible reason why the buyer and not the seller is under fire !
Port, skyscraper, education, infrastructure, neglect, SIPL, etc. Lord Ahmed is coming. We should welcome and seek debate with him.
as long as Dart don’t mess with the sky every thing will fine.
10 stories is too high. enough of this “iconic Tower” bulls#!t.
surprisingly lame populist guff from the chamber….
let dart make firm planning proposals and then people can start complaining for the sake of it….
Who wants to destroy the barely noticeable skyline of Cayman? I like that Cayman completely disappears from sight 15 miles offshore. Who in the right mind would ever want to change that? Why go up, when we can easily eat up more limited land with shittier buildings?
Of course Dart has the resources and proved that they can build State of the Art high rises, but why do that, when we can build more much lower quality building across Cayman? Why should our enterprise zonings look like leading first world technology architectures?
Especially if DAAAAART is going to benefit from it! I mean what has he ever done for Cayman in comparison to what I contribute for example.
And who’s going to fund the government to provide equipment i.e. fire trucks? Have you all seen the movie Tower Inferno?
Not as good as Snakes On A Plane.
I could not agree more. No need for such a structure any where in the Caribbean much less on Grand Cayman. What are they building this for, the Great Flood? Global warming? if so it will make a good reef in time . Keep the current status quo on building height, what is it now 10 floors? this is high enough . Everything should have remained at the tree line in the first place . That would have solved many issues now including traffic. We must live within our means that includes government.
Check us back in 50 years.
I’ll bet my left peanut there’s skyscrapers here. Prob be long gone by then tho so who cares? Quite the mentality of climate change deniers.
12:11 had you been the first to cancel your vehicle others would had follow!
by the way what do tree line have to do with it.
Why should we allow this type of economic growth and allow others to prosper to this extent unless “we”/I get a cut? Screw the next generation and their opportunities, this is about ME and what I can get!! ….. I mean, this is all about the saving the mangroves!! Stop them now!
Times are changing fast and sentiments towards mega developments in Cayman are too, I doubt any Dart spokesperson’s spin will change that trend. We’ll soon see if this one is likely to hit the bricks.
Cayman needs this like a hole in the head, the justification is weak as it is for the Cruise Port. Why do we really need to plant a copy of high rise architecture on this island, it’s not in keeping with our heritage, and only serves a select elitist few and the ego of the owner? I hope the Chamber stands their ground and champions the fight on this and all other new infrastructure that does nothing for our society.
Cayman already has an iconic tower-the Dump. What kind of billionaire would want to breathe that air?
fix the dump
U wanna come fix my hump?
The damn dump!
“… Howe addressed the audience later in the day, he said that with land now at a premium, especially in the Seven Mile Beach area, and a finite resource, regardless of the price the only answer for that areas is to “grow up and not out”….
The beach is a finite resource. Only so many people can fit on the beach at one time. No point housing people “up”, if there is no room for them on the beach.
Finally someone with some cajones and standing up for the small Caymanians. Dart doesn’t care about the average Caymanian. Everything he has built is for millionaires and expats. Dart is not “for Cayman”.
I always wonder how Caymanians work for him…. but I realize their options are growing thin. I hope the locals organize themselves and start to fight back for their island. Greedy politicians and entitled expats are to blame.
11:17 blame your daddy for your problems Dart is not your daddy!
Oh boy, here comes AlDart. Alden and Dart partnering up to destroy the island and fill pockets.
They’re working on it!
Caymanians would vote out any government foolish enough to approve anything like this.
Maybe so, but they keep electing more of the same!
Yeah, but they keep electing more just like them!
One tower that big is too much for this island, but no one is talking about the others that will follow suit if this gets approved. The whole of SMB will be skyscrapers. I think people are forgetting this isn’t New York, this is a tiny beautiful island.
Manhattan was once a tiny beautiful island as well.
Have you ever seen how deep they have to dig in Manhattan to lay the foundations for a 50 storey skyscraper? I have serious doubts they could dig that deep for a foundation in Camana Bay without creating a mini lake.
Aren’t we also on the edge of an earthquake fault running through Jamaica?
….WAS…a tiny beautiful island…..
Still, there is still something to save…….and however small that is, we should always fight the good fight and try and keep the barbarian hordes at bay…..
11:12 since you and many others don’t seem to know the Island of Manhattan is 13 miles long, and 2.2 miles wide which means it can sit on top of Grand Cayman with
land left over!
By the way Manhattan has a population of 1.63 million people!
We don’t want no tower! Go back to Belize! Or Michigan or anywhere else!
The north remembers.
It seems that every time DART buys a hotel or a property he kicks out any Caymanian businesses and places his own in it’s place. It’s not a surprise to me that Caymanians are waking up and smelling the coffee (Starbucks, not Cafe Del Sol). This tower will be to feed DART’s ego and coffers, no one else.
Yes, and now the virus has spread to the Sisters Islands as well.
Remember that Caymanians sold their businesses to Dart. I didn’t hear any objections as they were cashing their checks.
Cafe del Sol didn’t sell, they got pushed out
No. Their lease ended.
Yes, conveniently.
That’s how leases work. They end at some point. Nothing convenient about it?
Everyone else is afraid of the big DART boogie man, maybe the people have found a new champion to push the fight!
Not afraid. Just helpless to resist. I own my home and a small bit of property. My wife and me have good jobs. There is no amount of money that Dart could offer for our humble home that we would take. How many people feel that way? That is what the super rich do. They raise the stakes until ultimately they get what they want, and all the while our politicians console us and tell us that we are all benefitting via the trickle down.
Well, I don’t feel it and I don’t want it. I want the equality that was evident when I was growing up, and the notion that hard work and vision eventually paid off.
Afraid? There is nothing I can do to stop the flow of Dart and the Dartlings, and nothing I can do to keep my people from being pushed down further and further, and it breaks my heart, because my children’s future is dismal, unless they want to be servants or housekeepers.
I know someone like you. Been offered a small fortune to move out but refuses to budge. Otherwise, there would be a high rise office block right there. Family means more than $ to him.
4:51 not really you even have an option to send them to Dart schools !
Kimpton residences still only 40% sold and the building has been finished for nearly two years, The Watermark not even started and 60% sold, why would anyone within the Dart organzation think this is a good idea when they can’t even sell their current stock?,
They don’t care and don’t need to make money. This is a monument to one man, not a strategic investment.
Philip who should that give sleepless nights?
Government has made their money, that will not stop!
Kimpton still is an eyesore of cement at the end of a beautiful beach, imo. And, I will always miss the old road to WB( fresh air and sea view… maybe not the traffic). 😉
I miss my quiet spot on the beach for years, now occupied by the Kimpton.
Should have made your offer when Mr. Thomas put it on the market.
Kimpton apartments are overpriced undersized and ugly. That is the reason they haven’t sold.
So the Chamber members have not been officially polled then? Time for Chris to step down voluntarily it seems. Speaking on behalf of the Chamber without first asking the Chamber. Will?
Here come the Dartbots
I don’t think Dart/Decco or any of his entities cares enough to engage the “Dartbots”. They have won the game. We sold it to them, and it is our own fault.
Dart struck when Mac was in power; strategic, like all of his works. Mr. Bush sold us out, and invited the dragon into our midst. I keep hoping to see evidence of karma.
I would like to know of any other Company or Government that has created so many jobs and brought quality roads, buildings, and infrastructure to this Island. Of coarse Dart expects to make money from the investment why else would Dart bother. If Dart owes Caymanians anything he has paid for it at the price ask. The Island should say a resounding THANK YOU.
when Dart money finish and he becomes poor like them they will love him!
Resounding NO thank you.