Minister of Public Works Lt. Col. David Burch responded to Craig Cannonier’s comments on the matter Bermudiana Beach ResortHe stated that “the loss of memory displayed by the Shadow Minister in his comments was as likely as he might have been”. Carrying out this issue while he was the Minister of Public Works “Under OBA management.”

This comes later OBA MP Craig Cannonier said this “The inexcusable waste of taxpayer dollars is squarely the responsibility of Premier Burt and his colleagues,” and “The Government’s latest announcement regarding plans for the Bermudiana Beach Resort is a last-ditch attempt to salvage a massive mess created by the Burt Administration.”

Originally called Grand Atlantic, the property was built as a residential project more than a decade ago. but only one unit was soldplans were then We set it up to become a hotel project, and plans are now adjusted accordingly converting property into rental housing units.

Minister Burch said: “Bermudiana Beach Resort is by no means a failed project, details of its history were laid out last Thursday, but I note the amnesia displayed by the Shadow Minister in his comments because of how he would have managed this issue when he served as Minister of Works under the OBA administration.” did.

“Under the OBA administration, one in three Public Works Ministers would secure the agreement to convert the units into hotels in 2016.

“We are faced with a situation that does not yet generate revenue for the government, and a comprehensive review has been carried out to guide us in this regard. More income is guaranteed and less risk is experienced compared to a hotel rather than a rental accommodation.

“We have stated that those on the Bermuda Housing Corporation list will be reviewed to ensure that some are eligible to take advantage of this opportunity and that some guest workers receive sufficient income to pay off the outstanding debt.

“This government has done and continues to do more to help Bermudians obtain affordable housing than the OBA has ever done. It is unfortunate that the Opposition has chosen to politicize this issue, given the difficulties faced by both the PLP and OBA governments in trying to make this project any form of success.

“We had a choice. We sought expert advice, which led to two recommendations. We believe any of these suggestions – the hotel route or conversion of the site to rental housing units – would work.

“As I mentioned before, we decided to choose the rental accommodation option because it will provide more returns in the long term and pose less financial risk than the hotel option.

“When it comes to allegations that the development of the property into a rental housing complex ignores Bermudians and is biased against guest workers, I say nothing could be further from the truth.

“As I said last week, we needed to look at the need to ensure that no more public funds were spent on the project and that the project needed to generate enough revenue to cover its debt so that we could go through the BHC waiting list and identify those families. who are entitled to such accommodation, including the normal support we provide to families (rent to income etc.).

“While Bermudians and Bermudian families are eligible to rent these units, I do not see it as a negative that guest workers also have the right to rent.

“Everyone agrees that part of the challenge we face is that we need more people on the island. And you can’t have more people here if they don’t have a place to live.”

“I have been asked elsewhere to disclose the full cost of breaking our development agreement with Hilton Hotels. Although I don’t know the exact amount, I don’t want to make it public at this time.

“Last week I said it was under half a million dollars. “It’s well below this price, but I don’t want to announce it without cooperating with Hilton.”

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