IT’S ANOTHER historic block in Bridgetown that has fallen to the ravages of time and neglect.
But there is a benefactor, with $10 million, waiting in the wings.
The site is steeped in history.
On what is now a car park once stood Cod’s House, where Parliament was held in the 1830s and where the Emancipation Bill was proclaimed.
Next to that, hidden behind a high wall, are the buildings that once housed the island’s first fire station.
It was subsequently the Weights and Measures Division and now holds a workshop of the Royal Barbados Police Force.
The block also includes a building at the corner of Synagogue Lane, which abuts and abounds the property of the Jewish Synagogue.
Made of rubble stone and trimmed with ballast bricks, the building is known for its series of eight doors – each one a room – some of which were occupied by cobblers and other craftspeople.
For months now, the doors have been closed and padlocked but when Heather-Lynn’s Habitat paid a visit earlier this week, one door had been removed and a peep inside revealed some evidence of work.
All are in for a facelift.
President of the Barbados National Trust Dr Karl Watson revealed that there was a proposed plan to redevelop the entire block.
“All of that is going to be restored. We are just waiting on the final go ahead from Government but the money is there,” he said.
“The donors have promised $10 million and they are ready to give it. They have been ready to give it for months and we don’t want to put roadblocks in their way and eventually they find somebody else who is eager to take the money,” he said.
Different buildings in the block are owned by private sector entities and the state.
The redevelopment will include the restoration of the old Fire Station; a plan to retain the car park but turn it into a green area with a memorial to Cod’s House and the renovation of the workshops – the four shops with those iconic eight doors – which were built by members of the Jewish community in the 1840s.
“It will be beautiful when it is all done,” he said.