Most in Cayman are excited about the new ‘Dart project’ that was announced by the Cayman Islands Government a few months back. Word in the news today is that the ground-breaking will be next week. There is no doubt that this new project will be a boon to the economy for several reasons. Firstly it will create work for builders, contractors…
…and their brethren in the construction trades. Secondly it will create new commercial space for doing business in Cayman. Thirdly, part of the massive project is to rebuild the abandoned hotel property along the beach and develop it into a top resort, which will be good for Cayman’s tourism industry.
The project also involves moving a section of West Bay Road which runs along Seven Mile Beach between George Town and West Bay. The road would be re-routed inland and expanded to more lanes. Detractors say this is going too far, that they don’t want development that will make radical changes in their neighbourhood, that residents will lose the view of the water they enjoy along this stretch while commuting, and other such objections. Developers, in return, point out that the road movement will create more beach, a park, walking and bicycling paths – all things that communities benefit from.
Property values in the already upscale Seven Mile Beach corridor will no doubt increase. For the real estate industry this project will be a positive and welcome change to the existing state of business. We anticipate that the multi-faceted project will result in the same high-concept, high-quality space that Dart achieved with its Camana Bay project. Camana Bay has worked itself into our lives quite nicely. Surely there is no one in Cayman who would wish it gone. We have adjusted to the newness of Camana Bay and now flock there in great numbers, especially on weekends. Grand new construction takes some adjustment for locals who may be startled by the change of view and traffic flow. But eventually, especially when the development is as well engineered as Dart projects usually are, we are glad for the change.