The Tribune

• DNP co-chair: City optimism at 30-year high

• Gov’t no longer adopting ‘White Knight’ view

• Days of cruise lines ‘calling the shots’ over

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Downtown Nassau Partnership’s (DNP) co-chair yesterday said optimism about the city’s future has hit a 30-year high with “White Knight” politics eliminated and the cruise lines no longer “calling the shots”.

Charles Klonaris told Tribune Business that successive administrations now have “a different look” at Bay Street and the surrounding area where they recognise its “economic value” and no longer treat it as “a separate entity” from the rest of The Bahamas.

Asserting that almost three decades’ worth of work to “lay the foundations” for the city’s revival is now starting to pay off, he added that the improving product coupled with Nassau Cruise Port’s $322.5m transformation and The Bahamas’ US proximity means this country can now offer “the total package” and better “bargain” with the cruise industry for improved economic terms.

Mr Klonaris told this newspaper it was now vital to lock-in these gains, and develop the basis for further progress, by working out a viable management structure for downtown Nassau to ensure the city functions properly. The Government has said it is drafting the Downtown City Management Bill to do precisely that, but the DNP co-chair said it will be critical that whatever authority emerges has the necessary legal power to raise revenues necessary to finance its operations.

“The atmosphere has changed dramatically from even 10 years ago, 20 years ago,” Mr Klonaris said of downtown Nassau today. “The focus is on the city, which I think is very important not just for the merchants downtown but the entire Bahamian economy. It’s like an engine in and of itself. 

“Today, one of the big differences is that the Government is not looking at it totally in a political view. They are now past that stage where they realise and understand the importance of the city, its economic value in creating jobs and that it’s part of the total Bahamas. It’s not a separate entity.

“One time it was looked at as the ‘White Knights’ controlled the city. It’s now a different look and a different feel. The politics that were there 20-30 years ago are not there now. Whatever government is in now is looking out for the future of the city,” the DNP co-chair added.

“The politics that once deterred the progress of the city and how it moved forward is not there. They’re looking at it in its proper perspective. It’s part of the whole country, part of the whole economy of the island. We have up to 30,000 passengers coming off the cruise ships in one day. It can create significant revenues for the country.”

With downtown Nassau having shed the ‘Bay Street Boys’ stigma, Mr Klonaris said upgrading Prince George Wharf and its cruise port facilities had long been viewed as the “number one” priority for rescuing the city because its crumbling infrastructure - coupled with a then-deteriorating visitor product - had given the cruise lines sufficient ammunition to wring ever-greater tax breaks from the Government.

“The port was falling apart completely. The cruise ships were demanding and getting whatever they wanted in terms of tax breaks from the Government,” he recalled of conditions prior to Nassau Cruise Port’s redevelopment. “We have now created a city where the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Finance can sit down and bargain with the cruise ships.

“Before that, that was not possible. They called the shots. We now have a product that is close to the US, and a destination close to the US which is perfect for the three and four-night cruises increasingly favoured by the cruise lines. We have the full package they are looking for. We’ve come a long way. It’s taken more time than we had hoped, but we have finally arrived.”

Mr Klonaris said past conversations, when he and other downtown Nassau stakeholders were asked “what decade are you guys looking to for change to take place”, were now in the past. He added that he had received unconfirmed reports that some property owners are exploring the conversion of their real estate into condominiums, which would align with his personal vision for a living ‘city’ where locals are attracted to reside.

“That is where the actual real progress and real impact will happen in the city,” the DNP co-chair said, “where it becomes a living downtown Nassau. That will have a much greater impact that anything else right now.” Backing the Government’s clean-up efforts, and drive to demolish abandoned and unsafe buildings where owners failed to remediate the problems, he added that the US embassy’s construction completion and opening will also provide a further boost.

“There’s a huge, huge improvement from a couple of years ago; even pre-COVID,” Mr Klonaris asserted. “I give credit to the Government. They’re focused on the right things for the revitalisation of the city of Nassau. It’s up to the merchants, the property owners whether they want to convert their properties to condos or retail relevant to the tourist trade. They have to focus on what works now.

“What worked in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, it’s different now. They have to sharpen their pencil, analyse what’s taking place in the tourist trade and move forward. It’s really on the plate for them, the store owners, the property owners, to look at what works best for their developments to be successful.”

Mr Klonaris said the next step in downtown Nassau’s progress is to agree and implement a proper management structure and authority for the city, with the latter possessing the necessary powers to raise revenue that will cover its operating costs and finance development activity.

“I feel the management of the city will be the next phase in the development of the city,” he told this newspaper. “I think that will be an important part of ensuring the city functions. I’m sure the Government will be looking at it and determining how the management functions.

“I think that’s going to be part of the negotiations with the Government. What the Government is willing to give up and the type of revenue it will take to run and manage the city itself.” Senator Randy Rolle, the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation’s global relations consultant, recently said the Davis administration is working on just this legislation through the Downtown City Management Bill although no details have yet been made public.

The DNP has, over the past decade, presented draft legislation to transform downtown Nassau into a Business Improvement District (BID) but the initiative was not acted upon by successive administrations. “We’ve still got a long way to go,” Mr Klonaris conceded.

“It’s a long marathon and will keep evolving. This is not something that’s static. I cannot tell you what will be the most important thing five years from now because the technology is moving so fast. It’s been 30 years in progress, and what we are witnessing right now is a combination of all of our efforts. Many decisions have brought us to this point. This is not just something that took place now.”