NAf. 2.4M facelift
for Belvedere
~ Road works start in two weeks ~
BELVEDERE--Elevating Belvedere from the ghetto status some have given it and bringing the area to a level where tenants are proud to say they live there are two of the main reasons for a NAf. 2.4 million upgrading and beautification project for which Public Works Commissioner Theo Heyliger signed on Monday.
The first phase of the works, paid for in part by the Island Government and in part from the Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities shares buyback funds, starts in two weeks and entails the hard-surfacing of all roads in the area, laying of brick sidewalks and installation of streetlights where necessary. Parking areas will also be designated.
This phase will span a five-month period during which time the Belvedere Community Centre, another project made possible by the buyback funds, will be completed.
The base layer of asphalt was placed on the area’s roads when the housing project started in 1997. The shortage of funds and lack of options until now left residents with pothole-riddled streets. One thing done in the past that will enable this phase to go faster was the placement of all utility cables and sewage lines underground when the housing project first started.
Heyliger said the upgrade was meant to make Belvedere an area in which the residents, primarily tenants of St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation, feel more at home. Signing the NAf. 1.8 million works contract with MNO Vervat (formerly Koop St. Maarten) in the foundation office, he said it was a very proud day for the people of Belvedere who had waited a long time to see a project like this happen.
The preparatory works for the project were commissioned and paid for from the Island Council budget to the tune of NAf. 524,000. Supervision will be carried out by Independent Consulting Engineers (ICE). The project was awarded to the contractor after a public tender.
As with the St. Peters Road Upgrading project and the community centre, the contractor has been mandated to hired youngsters and subcontractors from the neighbourhood to work on the project as a means of instilling a sense of ownership and pride in residents.
Once this phase is completed, there are already plans on the drawing board to hard-surface all ditches and drainage pits to improve the movement of runoff water in the valley from the roads and around the neighbourhood, Head of New Works Development and Planning Kurt Ruan said.
Albert Splinter of the Netherlands Antilles Implementing Foundation USONA, through which the shares buyback funds are administrated, said the project was a good one for the neighbourhood and it was also noteworthy that government could also pour funds into the venture.
Residents will be informed about the schedule of works via newsletters from the housing foundation, to minimise inconvenience and frustration.
Reginald Willemsberg of Belvedere Residents Association, who was at the signing, said the project was a start and the association, which is seeking a meeting with Heyliger, had a wish list that it would like to see accomplished.
Many people believe that Belvedere is a ghetto, he said. “I am a witness and proof that it is not a ghetto. I chose to live here. My family is here,” Willemsberg added, with a commitment to work to make the neighbourhood one of the best on the island.
