The pride of Port Maria Inside the refurbished Port Maria Civic Centre.
Lavern D. Clarke, Builders Forum Co-ordinator
FROM AN unused shell to a modern day edifice meant both to capture and expose the artistic talent of St. Mary, the Port Maria Civic Centre (PMCC) stands transformed, as a replica of its Georgian beginnings. The new development represents a $51 million investment in the parish by the Urban Development Corporation, covering construction, administration, and consultancy costs. The main portion, $46.1 million, financed the redevelopment of 7,130 square feet of space under contract to CFC Construction Company Limited. The entire structure is actually 19,778 sq. ft. The UDC is in the design phase of the second leg of the project to redo the remaining portion. It completed the first phase over a two and a half year period, from May 1998 to December 2000. The development team comprised Burrowes and Wallace, quantity surveyors, SMADA Consultants, structural engineers, Basil Nelson and Associates, electrical and mechanical engineers, and Patricia Green, architect. The new Civic Centre, located opposite the Claude Stuart Park and the Anglican Parish Church, was the parish's old courthouse. Its history is similar to that of the $125 million Montego Bay Civic Centre, which too stood as a courthouse before it was destroyed by arsonists in the 1960s. The PMCC has protected status, but only a portion of the MoBay Centre is similarly declared. The latter development which now stands as the centrepiece of Sam Sharpe Square, was constructed as two buildings connected by an annex, and has protected status on the Old Albert Market site only, the Jamaica National Housing Trust (JNHT) told Builders Forum Friday. The civic centres are to be administered by locally constituted committees, but any plans for them have to get JNHT sanction, as mandated by law. The UDC, using funds generated under the San Jose Accord, the facility through which Jamaica purchases oil from Venezuela and Mexico, is in the process of redeveloping several historic structures across the island. Another such project, involving the Rodney Memorial building, is underway in Spanish Town, St. Catherine. Speaking of the challenges encountered in transforming the Port Maria courthouse, the UDC said it had to tread carefully in order to retain the architectural integrity of the Georgian building. "This involved the consolidation of the brickwork, which at times required the expertise of an overseas technician and a process known as shotcreting," the agency said in written response to queries about the development. "This presented a challenge to the scheduled completion of the project. Shotcreting is a specialised process in which concrete is sprayed unto a pre-constructed frame, using specialised equipment. For Port Maria, its new civic centre is an addition to its core of heritage structures from which it has preliminary plans to develop a new economic base from cultural heritage tourism. It is listed among 21 heritage structures named in a profile on the parish, a list that includes Noel Coward's Firefly, the Rio Nuevo Battle Site, Tacky Falls, Castleton Gardens, the Retreat Swing Bridge and a number of churches.
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