Responsible and coherent was how neighborhood groups are calling the decision of developers of the Hard Rock Santo Domingo Hotel & Casino to cease the construction project at the corner Abraham Lincoln and Andrés Julio Aybar. The neighbors had brought legal action against the construction, arguing it violated many zoning regulations and would bring chaos to the residential and commercial area. National District Mayor David Collado broke the story of the company’s change of heart. The city government under Mayor Roberto Salcedo had authorized the construction.
Carmen Alonzo, president of the Piantini neighborhood board that led the resistance to the project, said they do not oppose the construction of a hotel in the area as long as it complies with existing zoning regulations.
Hard Rock International in January 2016, had announced the construction of a 400-room, 40-floor hotel for Santo Domingo. The zoning laws stipulate the maximum limit for the area, including the planned underground parking, is 23 floors. The hotel would have also featured a casino that would have been double the size of any other casino in operation in Santo Domingo.
As resistance to the project heated up, the company revised its proposal, saying that only 38 floors would be built, but which were still 15 floors more than what zoning allows for in the area. The hotel/hectare density for the area is 400 rooms/hectare versus the 1,333 rooms/hectare the developers had proposed. In addition, the developers were short 500 parking spots of the zoning requirements in their architectural plan.
Hard Rock International has not yet issued a press release confirming the news released by Mayor David Collado. It is still unclear what the company will do with the location, and whether it will seek a new site in the city for the mega hotel construction.
