CUA, Comerciantenan Unie Aruba, the merchants’ association called for a press conference at the Cigar Lounge on a side street in Oranjestad.
It resulted in standing room only.
The list of invitees included all major developers, bankers, architects, builders, and the monument fund.
The conference was meant to introduce the general public to the investments being made, right as we speak, in Oranjestad. Some are still in the pipeline.
I counted about 24 investments by local entrepreneurs, who buy abandoned and neglected properties, and realize their dreams by starting boutique hotels, office spaces and other commercial and residential initiatives.
CUA’s president, Frans Ponson, opened the conference; he briefly introduced the projects, then asked Geoffrey B. Wever, the Minister of Economic Affairs, Communication and Sustainability to address the audience.
We were surprised by the number of projects being built and the ones in the pipeline. That is a fantastic development. Oranjestad is reinventing itself with the help of the private sector and will hopefully give our visitors good reasons to visit, instead of parking themselves for their duration of their vacation in the Noord and Palm Beach areas.
Downtown Oranjestad was once a hopping spot, but due to short sighted decisions made by both private and public sector leaders, the town was emptied and practically dumped. The six year construction period of the ridiculous tram did not help.
It seems to me, that I attended a historical meeting, the private sector is moving and asking the minister to tell his mignons, at DOW, Elmar, DIP, KPA and Aruparking to get out of the way. All governmental agencies working at a snail’s pace should be told that the revival of Oranjestad gets priority.
Ponson reiterated it’s a partnership, in which the private sector is driving the momentum and the public sector assisting.
All antiquated laws from the beginning of the 20th century, ruling construction and permits must be revised. If a property was given a shoe shop permit in 1930, it should be allowed to develop a restaurant or a vacation rental, in 2024, without waiting 3 years for the paperwork.
In his address, the minister explained he has been busy on Wilhelminastraat, he even bought 50 new light polls, and installed them.
He explained a number of abandoned buildings are being repurposed, such as the one next to Zara, the former seat of the prosecutor, destined to become a student apartment complex.
And then the conference was disrupted by Susanita La Bella, the pretty owner of the Aruba Experience Café who has been pouring blood sweat and tears into her historic café location with zero help from the authorities. She demanded what is rightfully owed to downtown merchants, clean streets, repaired sidewalks, adequate lighting, law and order, and the management of addicts living in the street, copulating on her chic and elegant doorstep. She was outraged that ALL the attention goes to Wilhelminastraat and the big-gun investors, and no attention is paid to Emanstraat.
It was a courageous act, I hope she suffers no consequences, on a political level, but she told the truth, her eyes on the brink of tearing up. Hats off Susanita, it was a bit long, but we heard you. You feel like the little Dutch boy saving his country from the flood. But apparently, you are no longer alone in the quest of downtown’s development. I saw members of the business community in the room, they survived numerous economic downturns, and the pandemic and they are now looking at Oranjestad again, as the focal point of investment. You are not alone anymore.
Audrey Croes Lacle and Marjory Vermeer, Maggy’s Beauty Emporium, and Checkpoint Color, the Grande Dames of the main street, who have been the advocates of the main shopping artery since the beginning of time, broke it down for the minister, tree don’t get watered, bushes do not get trimmed, light bulbs stay burned. No TLC said Audrey. The main street required tender, loving care, and gets none.
