A Canadian company, Sociedad Canadiense Santo Domingo Re-Development, Ltd. has been awarded the concession contract authorizing it to start building an artificial island off the shore along Ave. George Washington (the Malecon) in Santo Domingo, a project with an estimated cost of US$450 million. The contract establishes that the government will receive 5% of the real estate sales. Novo Mundo XXI will contain approximately two million square meters of land for development, 10,000 individual housing units, apartments, office buildings, malls, arts and cultural centers and a marina with docking space for 300 boats and yachts.
The construction will generate 30,000 jobs and will begin immediately, according to Spanish architect and project designer Ricardo Bofill. The artificial island will run off the shore of Santo Domingo, from Abraham Lincoln Avenue to Cambronal Street in Ciudad Nueva, adjacent to the Colonial City.
Engineer Eulogio Santaella, Ricardo Boffil, Jaime Moreto and Augusto Menendez signed for the concession holder, while Public Works Minister Freddy Perez signed for the Dominican government during a ceremony attended by Vice President Rafael Alburquerque and ambassadors Andy Ashcroft of the UK and Adam Blackwell of Canada, the Dominican ambassador in Spain Alejandro Gonzalez Pons, and architect Eduardo Selman, project coordinator.
The artificial island project had met with strong opposition locally. City experts visiting for the Santo Domingo 2015 Congress that sought to define the city into the next 10 years were blatantly opposed to the construction of the island. Alfonso Vegara, president of the International Society of City and Regional Planners said the island would be the equivalent of “placing a mask on the Malecon.” He commented when asked by reporters about the island: “What Santo Domingo needs is socially-integrated spaces; not islands for hotels.”
Former Mayor of Bogota and successful urban planning expert, Enrique Penalosa stated during the congress that the island “would reduce residents’ quality of life as well as the quality of the view.” He highlighted in his conference that there is even the risk that it would dry up the waters. In his view, a better solution would be to turn the Malecon into a walkway and improve the seafront.
Spanish architect Jordi Borja, who also attended the Santo Domingo 2015 city congress, and was one of the key architects behind Barcelona’s successful transformation, was also very critical about the proposed artificial island. He said it would have a negative impact on landscaping, and would amount to the construction of an enclave. He told his audience that if the city continues to build enclaves instead of socially-integrated spaces, the social segregation would require private armies to maintain security.
Locally, the opposition for the artificial island has also come from city planners. Andres Navarro, Santo Domingo municipal urban planning director said in a recent interview: “This (island) will only speed up the uneven development of different parts of the city. Some areas look as if they are in the Middle Ages, while others are ultra-modern.” Roberto Henriquez, president of the Santo Domingo Hotels Association has blasted the government for backing the construction of an artificial island in front of Santo Domingo. “We, the hoteliers, consider the artificial island to be totally absurd. It would remove the character from the Dominican people. In this country there is enough land for exploitation. We do not view such a large investment favorably – US$400 to US$450 million), even if it is a private one. The biggest losers will be the Dominican people who will lose their view to the sea,” he stated in a past interview with El Caribe newspaper. He called the island “an aberration”. “Imagine how those buildings will obstruct the view for tourists staying at the six hotels on the Malecon,” he explained. He added it would ruin the flavor of all the celebrations that are held on the Malecon.