The development now known as Jubilee Park has been in the works since 2010. In that time, cost estimates for the nation-building project have grown from $250,000 to $1.5 million. The opening deadline of 2012 Heroes Day has flown by; a ground breaking ceremony was held April 2011; and the tendering period closed in September last year. So far, though, the land remains empty. 

However, according to the Office of the Premier, the contractor for the project will soon be announced, followed shortly by the beginning of real construction, with an opening date set in time for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebration on the first weekend of June. 

Heroes Green Public Space 

In its first iteration, the park and monument were only the first pieces of an ambitious four-phase master plan that included an extension to the Legislative Assembly, mixed-use buildings, a parking garage behind the Public Library and a government building. 

According to a Department of Planning report dated 1 November, 2010, titled “Heroes Square/Heroes Green Public Space Report”, the final project would involve the government’s potentially leasing of property to tenants, activity programmes such as lunchtime concerts or ‘jazz on the green’, proper electrical lighting and amenities. It was envisaged that the project would allow tourists and residents alike to use the space for leisure activities such as picnics, while paying homage to the Cayman Islands’ national heroes. 

The first phase of the project comprised a paved extension from Heroes Square to the new Heroes Green Park, a Heroes Walk promenade featuring new monuments and where existing monuments would be relocated, a Christian Heritage Monument, Legislative Assembly staff parking, a wooden trellis and deck area, VIP parking for the Legislative Assembly, and a pavilion. 

The second phase involved a proposed extension to the rear of the Legislative Assembly building. 

The third phase would bring in a building for ‘commercial food activity’, such as food shops and/or a cafe/bakery, with a residential component upstairs. The residential component would consist of a “hotel catering to short-stay businesspeople” or flats. Also in the third phase, a parking garage would be built behind the Public Library. 

In the fourth and final phase, a small office/residential building would be constructed next to the new food/residential building, and a government building would be constructed to the northwest of the Legislative Assembly building. 

According to a cost estimate from November 2010, the initial two phases of the project carried a probable price tag of between $200,000 and $250,000 – not including parking or the Legislative Assembly building extension. 

At the time, government officials urged for the commencement of the project as soon as possible in order to have it open to the public in time for the 2011 Heroes Day celebration. 

Christian Heritage Monument 

The initial design of the Christian Heritage Monument was a bell tower with four granite pillars and a tiled roof. Unlike the current design, the original bell tower did not have a staircase or observation points for sightseeing. In October 2010, Lalev Construction estimated the bell tower would cost $33,000 to build. 

Shortly after the first concept of the bell tower was released, the design of the bell tower was changed to a three-sided monument, to reflect the three Cayman islands.  

In its current form, the monument is the centrepiece of the public green space (now called Jubilee Park). The roof of the bell tower will rise roughly 44 feet above the ground and will be topped with a cross. The tower features an observation deck and a bronze bell. Visitors will be able to climb the monument via a staircase and have a vantage point with views of the waterfront. 

The roof and base of the monument will be slate stone tile, and the monument will feature ironwood columns and caymanite trim. 

The monument will have a footprint of some 1,205 square feet. 

On 25 November 2010, Premier McKeeva Bush broached the subject of the park and monument in front of the Legislative Assembly, during his Strategic Policy Statement for the 2011/12 Financial Year. 

He said, “There is also the development of Christian Heritage Park with the extension of Heroes’ Square, the construction of the Bell Tower and provision for National Heroes’ full statues or busts. That is intended to be utilised by redeveloping the Legislative building grounds and property for the Tower Building. 

“Some people have asked that it be sold. The Tower Building property will not be sold. It is going to incorporate what I have just mentioned. It will incorporate the Bell Tower, which will be a historic Bell Tower, and have space for a central park in this George Town. It will also incorporate enough space . . . the land will be split in two to incorporate facilities for this Legislative Assembly in the future. 

“The parking lot will be redesigned as we take some space between us and the next buildings, the present small tract that is there, and utilise some of our space to incorporate from that end to that end our Heroes’ Park, our Christian Heritage Park, with that extension of Heroes’ Square. It will be a Bell Tower, and yes, it will have a bell, or else it could not be a Bell Tower.” 

During the January 2011 Heroes Day Celebration, Bush publicly announced plans to construct the new national park and Christian Heritage Monument. Again noting that some people had said government should sell the land where the Tower Building formerly stood, Bush said, “Government will not sell that piece of land. It will be kept for all and sundry as a national park.” 

In February 2011, Appleby law firm offered to purchase a sliver of the parcel of Crown land adjacent to the firm’s buildings. The small sliver of land was outside the boundary of the proposed new park. Also in February 2011, government officials determined to hold off on the possible acquisition of another parcel of land – leased to Butterfield Bank – adjacent to the Legislative Assembly building, for the purpose of expanding the Legislative Assembly building. 

Jubilee Park 

In March 2011, officials circulated a time line for completion of the project, with a ground breaking scheduled for April 2011 and completion by January 2012. At the time, it was estimated that the bell tower would take up to six months to complete, while other facets such as the parking lot relocation, Walk of Heroes and waterfront entrance would take six to 10 months. 

In April 2011, in conjunction with the 20th National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving, the official ground breaking on the project was held. 

In its current form, the park will centre around the Christian Heritage Monument and feature walkways, a gazebo, rest room facilities and five national heroes bust platforms. The new park and monument will tie into the existing Heroes Square via the Heroes Walk. Sean R. Evans is the project’s lead architect and designer of Heroes Square. 

In May 2011, the Public Works Department estimated that the project will cost between $1.25 million and $1.5 million to build. Cabinet has earmarked $1 million in funds for the development, which is now projected to open in time for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebration the first weekend of June. Hence the name Jubilee Park. 

The bidding process for the project closed in September, and the identity of the successful tendering contractor is expected to be announced soon. 

In September 2011, the Central Planning Authority green-lighted the Ministry of Finance, Tourism and Development’s request to rezone the area reserved for the monument and park from General Commercial to Public Open Space.  

Just over $1 million of the Public Works Department’s cost estimate is for external/site works, including landscaping, hardscaping and park amenities. The total cost of building structures is nearly $98,000, including about $73,000 for the monument itself. In November 2010, the cost of the bronze bell itself was estimated to be $3,000. 

While the park, monument and Heroes’ Walk is a nation-building project, the money is not coming directly from the Nation Building Fund. 

The Cabinet used its authority under Section 11(5) of the Public Management and Finance Law to allocate the $1 million in funding for the project, down from a previous funding level of $1.3 million. The Law enables Cabinet to “authorise executive financial transactions for which no appropriation exists” in order to attempt to remedy the effects of “an exception circumstance [that] has occurred during a financial year”. 

Because Cabinet earmarked the funds for the project after the 2011/12 budget was passed, the allotment does not appear in the budget. 

According to the Office of the Premier, just under $5,800 has been spent on the project to date for planning fees.