Destination Downtown: McKenzie leads restoration project

The Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) is leading the drive to resurrect downtown Kingston and the pointman on that project is a proud son of the soil.

Mayor of Kingston Desmond McKenzie grew up in downtown Kingston and wears that badge with honour.

He knows every street, lane and corner in downtown Kingston, and while he no longer lives there, he has many friends and family members who remain.

For years, McKenzie has represented the Tivoli Gardens division in west Kingston and he fully understands the importance of having a market and commercial district to be proud of.

McKenzie has a vision for downtown Kingston and that dream is getting substantial support from public- and private-sector entities.

"I want to turn back the hands of time to probably 40 years ago when downtown Kingston was what it really meant. Then, the leading stores in the world, some you only now hear situated overseas, were open there," McKenzie told The Gleaner.

"The vision is for us to have a downtown Kingston which can stand shoulder to shoulder with the market or commercial district in any leading city in the world.

"We want to have a downtown Kingston where nightlife is a part of its activities, where people can feel comfortable coming back to have a good meal on the waterfront," added McKenzie.

He argued that the redevelopment and improvement is possible because the physical area already exists and there is the "political will" to make the change.

"One of the things that has affected the development of downtown has been the absence of political will and I'm only hoping that even if there is a change in administration, this will not be put on hold," McKenzie said.

He admitted that the absence of law and order and the indiscipline of some residents contributed to the decay in downtown Kingston over the years.

McKenzie said this will have to be addressed even as the structural developments are being done.

Change mindset

According to the mayor, the mindset of some people will have to be changed to understand how important downtown Kingston is to the country.

"The powers that be surrendered downtown Kingston to the lawless element, and once you surrender an area, something else is going to come in its place," McKenzie noted, as he pointed to the number of government agencies which abandoned the market district over the last 20 years.

But McKenzie argued that this is changing with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headed back to downtown Kingston, while entities such as Digicel and Guardsman are joining other major entities, including GraceKennedy and Scotiabank, which have always called downtown home.

"People who had businesses locked up on Harbour Street and other areas of downtown Kingston are now saying they are ready to reopen."

According to McKenzie, the KSAC is approaching the redevelopment of downtown Kingston in a non-partisan mode and councillors on both sides of the isle are committed to the change.

"The interest that I have in downtown Kingston does not mean that the next person who sits in that chair will have that interest, so we are ensuring that the private sector leads the redevelopment, so even if there is a change of government, this will continue," McKenzie said.