Indeco Limited and Luke Espat, those names have featured prominently in the first month of DFC's public hearings. Whether it's for Toledo Free Zone loans written down on an executive directive, or absent infrastructure at Cohune Walk in Belmopan. But despite the deathless swirl of controversy surrounding his name, Luke Espat soldiers on undeterred, relentlessly embarking on new projects. Now one new project idea he's floating hopes to capitalize on possibly the most prime piece of commercial real estate in the country. We've been looking at the plans ourselves and here's what they propose.
Jules Vasquez Reporting,
Right now they call it Ground Zero, this undeveloped area of prime real estate that's been left flattened since 2002 when it burnt down in a spectacular blaze. Since that fiery day, the once proud and imperious Paslow Building has become best known as Ground Zero, a for pay parking lot and a place to score
morning tacos.
But developer Luke Espat now wants to erect a new fifteen storey structure as seen here in this drawing. While that's the façade, another drawing shows that the building as proposed would fill the entire lot, extending to the gate of the Eastern Division Police compound and across to the Thurton Library.
The proposal sent to the Prime Minister in may explains that the first two floors would be a shopping plaza, the third and fourth floors would feature movie theatres, floors five through ten would be parking, and floors ten through fifteen would feature offices, a convention center, and a fifty room hotel.
And all that Espat asks is that government would give him the land that the
building would sit on. In exchange for this contribution, government would receive equity in the investment. His proposal doesn't say how much equity that might be but Espat proposes that government could make a return in exchange for its equity contribution or sublet office space. But above all this, it's clear that Espat's company would have controlling for the property and the land it sits on.
So far government hasn't given the project approval but with Espat's track record of attracting controversy wherever he goes, at a critical political juncture it'll be interesting to see how government weighs this decision.
Well, word came from Espat late this evening that the decision weighed against him. He says he today received a letter dated August 18 which says that the government cannot consider such a proposal at this time. But, again, he is undeterred; Espat says he believes in the project and will continue to pursue it with any administration that's in Belmopan. He says initial estimated are that it is an US$18 million project and the government's property he estimates is worth about $3 million.
