By Bennette Roach
Lane Pettigrew, Don Romeo and Louis Kirnon at Rendezvous beach
Mr. Louis Kirnon says he is a regeneration specialist in the UK and that his family is Montserratian. He says: We are committed to building a boutique hotel in Rendezvous. Being here just emphasizes how exceptionally beautiful Montserrat is…and we’re particularly thankful to the premier for all his support.”
School children packing after picnic on the sands at Rendezvous
Kirnon was speaking at the time on Thursday, July 9, 2015, on location on the beach sand in Rendezvous Bay, where he was the investor and part of a tour led by the Hon. Premier Donaldson Romeo, with the Montserrat media present.
The premier had invited the media along to witness on location his announcement of a project which he had privately hinted of since last December following his return from the UK Joint Ministerial Council meeting and other meetings in the UK. He had advised that the tour to Rendezvous was to cement the intentions of the Kirnon family to establish a 38-acre residential resort community and a boutique hotel in the area.
Premier Romeo who says he feels strongly about private sector led development says the residential resort community and boutique hotel is just a single cog in the thrust to have much more progress not only in Rendezvous but across the island.
Family house of many years in Rendezvous
Mr. Kirnon after introducing himself said, “My family are Montserratian and for some time, we’ve been looking to harness the potential of Rendezvous and create something spectacular that kick starts the regeneration of Montserrat itself. I’ve been coordinating the project. So we have been developing feasibility studies. We’ve spoken to a number of different consultants about the best way forward and we now feel that we’ve got a concrete way forward and that’s what the government of Montserrat is supporting us with.”
Kirnon continued that they are committed to building a boutique hotel in Rendezvous. “Being here just emphasizes how exceptionally beautiful Montserrat is. And we are particularly thankful to the premier for his support. He’s been very sympathetic to our needs. We’ve made good progress.”
He then announced and introduced Mr. Lane Pettigrew, no stranger to Montserrat as he has been the master design planner of the Charette-Little Bay/Carrs Bay master plan, now somewhat in abeyance.
Kirnon said, “We’ve made good progress. Mr. Lane Pettigrew is our architect. The master plan is nearly complete. We’re on Rendezvous today just to finalize the last details.”
All this took part following the five minute police launch boat ride around the Rendezvous bluff landing on the beach by the police launch dingy.
A seemingly excited architect planner Lane Pettigrew in his own words, gave an overview what was being designed for the area. “I think the main thing is to understand the site. It’s a big bowl if we look at it that way and it’s flanked on to the north and the south with dramatic cliffs, absolutely beautiful; pristine sea in front of you, facing west. So you just imagine in the valley or the bowl of the site.
“We’re going to develop in the center a public area which will have bars and a restaurant and a swimming pool. There’ll be public parking and access through the lobby down on to the beach itself which I think we can all say is one of Montserrat’s nicest destinations and most beautiful beaches. And flanking on either side with a medium density development which means leaving a lot of space for trees and gardens, we have thirteen (13) residential units – two and three bedroom mix and behind that, what we call the ridge residences, we have a further ten (10). That’s over three phases of the project. All the funds are in place to complete the first two residences and a part of the public area so that’s a very real prospect. We hope to break ground in 2016, early in the year.?
Premier Romeo also sounding excited, then extended his own thoughts and how the GoM had been supporting the venture, saying in the meantime that he had been taking a bashing because he had not been forthcoming, adding, there was need for confidentiality in his plans. “One thing that’s important to note is that this is a private-sector led development. All the government had to do was provide the incentives necessary to get them going and that—thanks to the EU—they provided $2.7 million in funding to provide a road, and that is basically what we did to generate the interest beyond the point where they were.”
He also revealed, “At this point, the other thing I want to mention is that the other land owners surrounding this development are also anxious to get involved in one way or another which proves that the people of the north are more than willing to share their land and be involved in the development of Montserrat. And that means we are prepared to go further by providing assistance with infrastructure just as we did for this development so that others around can develop their lands as well.”
He emphasised, “…these developers are Montserratian. The lead to this development is Mr. Kirnon who you just spoke – who is himself a development expert in London.
“The premier was proud to reveal, “This project is not a willy-nilly thing. It’s well-designed, well-planned and our government is fortunate that we have developers who love Montserrat, who care about Montserrat and have the resources, the land and have found the finances and the expertise in design to put this project together.?
Speaking further about plans to develop the island, Romeo said, “We are still planning to develop the southern part of Montserrat. We are confident the volcano is in decline but at the same time, we must admit that this is the safest area on Montserrat and all the more reason for investors to put their money in. I promised God that I’ll give him the credit for great things like this happening. We knew that it had to be private-sector led. We promised that we’ll have a private-sector led economy.”
The premier said that they GoM did what was necessary to encourage the investors to go forward, hinting that the EU provided the funds, “thanks to them for the flexibility,” for putting roads to the area.
