| Construction starts on new Grand Turk Welcome Center |
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| Thursday, 21 July 2011 08:58 | |||
 Officials broke ground July 15 for a $3 million, 23,000-square-foot Welcome Center on Grand Turk’s historic waterfront to serve cruise ship passengers and other visitors to the capital island. “This new facility is not only a welcome addition to the island of Grand Turk that will provide a much-needed economic boost but also offers a perfect example of what can be accomplished when private and public entities work together in a spirit of cooperation,” said Giora Israel, senior vice president of port and destination development for Carnival Corporation & plc. Located at the southeast corner of Front Street and Market Street, the new Welcome Center will encompass a cluster of buildings that will include a restaurant/lounge, various shopping outlets and a tourist information office. “This new visitor centre will help attract more tourists, not just from the cruise ships, to the island and will be an important source of local employment,” said Henry Bellingham, FCO minister for the Overseas Territories who was on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony. Buildings will include design elements patterned after the island’s distinctive architectural style with large picture windows framed by cantilevered wood shutters, ornate ironwork, covered walkways and entrances, a wraparound balcony, and a courtyard that joins the two structures. A large reproduction of a cactus — a signature feature closely associated with Grand Turk — will rest atop a red triangular roof of one of the buildings. Designed by Providenciales-based Projetech Construction Management & Services Ltd., the center is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. Funded by Carnival Corporation & plc, the project is believed to be the largest single private investment in the island’s downtown area. Over a year in development, the project is designed to provide a greater variety of shopping and dining experiences in downtown Grand Turk and spur additional economic development within this area, according to Carnival officials. The Welcome Center is the second big investment by Carnival on Grand Turk. Its Cruise Center there is a $60 million facility that opened in February 2006 and serves as a cruise gateway to the island. It features a two-ship pier, a 14-acre complex offering a variety of shops and restaurants, a 800-foot-long private beach, private cabanas, and a FlowRider simulated surfing attraction. In January, the center unveiled Splashdown: Grand Turk, a 3,500-square-foot attraction commemorating the 1962 splashdown of the NASA’s Friendship 7 Mercury space capsule off the island’s coast. This year, the Cruise Center expects to host some 300 cruise ship calls from 16 different cruise brands totaling nearly 640,000 passengers, according to Carnival.
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