Titchfield Hill Peninsula development progressing

... the project would serve as a pilot for the development of other towns in Jamaica. He said the first stage of the physical work, which was to rehabilitate the Titchfield roadways, was put on hold to facilitate the National Water Commission's proposed sewerage and water upgrading works, which are underground along the roadway.

Claudia Gardner, Hospitality Jamaica Writer

February marked one year since monthly consultations for the redevelopment of the Titchfield Hill Peninsula as a heritage site in Port Antonio commenced, and the project is progressing steadily.

That's the claim of Mark McIntosh, who represents the Michael Lee Chin AIC which is spearheading efforts to redevelop Titchfield Hill. McIntosh is director of strategic planning and development for the project.

McIntosh said the project would serve as a pilot for the development of other towns in Jamaica. He said the first stage of the physical work, which was to rehabilitate the Titchfield roadways, was put on hold to facilitate the National Water Commission's (NWU) proposed sewerage and water upgrading works which are underground along the roadway.

AIC has committed $10 million towards repairs which would also include the creation of sidewalks, landscaping and the provision of street lights, for which the initial estimate was approximately $30 million. The Tourism Enhancement Fund and the Portland Parish Council are to provided the remaining $17 and $5 million, respectively, for the project.

many consultations

"We have been having consultations for the past year. We said we would hold a meeting every month with the intention of getting everybody to rally around the rebuilding of Titchfield. We have had a meeting every single month since February 2007 with the major stakeholders within the parish, including the utility companies, the police the parish council and others," he said.

McIntosh also said it would take about five years for the total redevelopment of the Titchfield peninsula to be realised.

"When you go to Titchfield in five years, you are going to see a district which is a great example of period architecture, some tourism-based businesses, coffee shops and art galleries ... But you can't forget that on the left side of Titchfield Hill you are going to have a brand new Titchfield Hotel. It won't be identical to the old one but it will be the same architectural style, Jamaican Georgian."

He said the point of this project is to see how Jamaicans can be trained to do some serious work and redevelopment in towns in Jamaica. "It is a pilot project and what we want out of that is not the money that we have been able to secure, but we want to see how we work together to make these things work so this can be replicated elsewhere."