Randall Lister visited the Dockyard to observe the changes made to the area ahead of the 2017 Americas Cup.
Ahead of the upcoming 2017 America’s Cup, there are a whole host of changes taking place at the Royal Naval Dockyard. The Dockyard is incredibly busy right now, because of several different work projects that are being undertaken. Some of the older, historic buildings are being renovated and repurposed, such as the old Bermuda Glassworks building. The old Great Western Storehouse building (next to the Clock Tower mall) is being renovated, as well, and will be turned into a new diamond and jewelry store. Another building close to the Clock Tower Mall has been turned into a gym for the America’s cup sailors.
New structures are also being created. One new structure is the training school building, operated by Team Oracle that has been set up on the grass courtyard. Team Oracle uses this facility to teach sailing to beginners. A new Gazebo has also been recently built. This new gazebo, (which is next to the Bermy Berry gazebo and the Visitor Information Centre gazebo), is owned by The Island Outfitters Company. This gazebo will be used as an America’s Cup souvenir shop, where customers can purchase all of the official America’s Cup Merchandise, such as shirts, flags, mugs, etc.
Near to the cruise ship wharfs, changes are also being made. To better assist the tourists, a new Island Tour Center building has been constructed, and it is close to the cruise ships. This new center offers various tours around the island, such as Jet Ski tours, snorkeling tours, and glass bottom boat cruises, etc. At this time of year, it is also offering whale watching tours.
Changes are also being made to the local shops in the area. In the Clock Tower Mall, the Haagen-Dazs ice cream shop has moved to a different section of the mall. Also, a new branch of the Glaze Bakery has opened up in dockyard. Outside of the mall, the long-established Freeport Restaurant, has closed down, but the hope of having a new restaurant up and running come the 2017 races would be an added feature for the area.
Along with the completed projects, there are also plenty of new developments that are still in progress. Just outside of dockyard, the Albert Row housing units are being made available for redevelopment, as well as sections of Maria Hill, (where the cemetery is). Work is also still continuing at the Victoria Place housing units. The office next to the main gate at the entrance into Dockyard, is also being refurbished. The Victualling yard, inside of the dockyard, is also available for development projects. One of the biggest projects involves Cross Island. The land at Cross Island is being reclaimed, so that it can be used for the America’s Cup. A new bridge has also been built to connect Cross Island with the rest of Dockyard.
Dockyard used to be a simple, quiet, and tranquil town, but that appears to have changed. Dockyard is now lively and vibrant. It is bustling with activity. New attractions are popping up all over the place and long - established buildings are being transformed. There are so many new sights and sounds in the dockyard. This new dockyard seems worlds apart from the traditional dockyard that I am familiar with. I felt like a tourist, as I witnessed the renaissance at the dockyard.
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