Flipping Grand Bahama

After an eleven year sabbatical from Grand Bahama I returned to a very depressed looking place. In 2013 I took some pictures of businesses/buildings on Queens Highway. It's so easy to become discouraged and feel nothing is happened, if you are looking for only the good and better you notice to little sparks happen. Here are some changes. Beginning with the Bethel Roberts and Co building which is up for sale Also for sale is the former headquarters for Burns House Other photos of buildings that have gotten a new lease on life thanks to the artwork by Sheldon Saint with help from the Grand Bahama Port Authority include this one. Other buildings that has revived business are: This was the Coopers Lab. And this was the Light fixture business that is now Island Bedding. While working at The Freeport News my then General Manager Mr. Ollie Ferguson was very concerned about the way Freeport looked, particularly on t...

In my last post I said I was selling some good vibes but I began to wonder.... who is buying what I'm selling? As I look around Grand Bahama I do hear the negative. I do see the unsightly but I try to give a positive spin. If we were all invited to a pity party would we all go? How much good would it do for us personally and how much would it do for the island? To see what you want to see you have to make it change. So ... I stumbled on a gem yesterday as I was driving down Queen's Highway. The once huge lighting place that closed abruptly two to three years ago left a rather large building supposedly abandoned. But it was recently sold and the new owners are Bruce and Maura Chee-A-Tow who are moving their bedding manufacturing and sales business right on the main thoroughfare. Island Bedding they told me will be opening on Queens Highway hopefully within the next two months. This is a great addition to the look of Queen's Highway which suffered some set back...

A couple of weeks ago, I posted this picture on my blog to show some of the eye sores in Freeport, because this one was clearly seen on Queen's Highway. This area is the mean light industrial area and a mean road that shows off what is on offer. To my great surprise last week, I discovered that it is under transformation and according to a gentleman I found working on the inside, it is going to be an interior decorating center with upholstery being done on one side. This again is a sign of hope that things can and will get better. There are a number of other business changes that I have heard of in the last two weeks which will all make grand announcements when they do. I look forward to reporting on them all. Below is the transformed building as I cannot contain my excitement for any good change that comes about on this island. By the way, writer/historian Peter Barrett has a campaign going on to save a historical building...