A public/private partnership between The College of The Bahamas (COB) and Providence Advisors Limited (PAL) for a new residence facility on the Oakes Field campus is anticipated to transform the lives of thousands of generations of students.
COB President Dr. Rodney Smith and Kenwood Kerr, CEO and President of PAL, today, signed an approximately $100 million contract for a new residence hall for which groundbreaking is tentatively mid-summer 2017.
The 1,000-bed, modern, state-of-the-art living facility will include a restaurant (food court style) fitness facility, theatre and study rooms for individual and groups. A parking deck, retail stores and additional classroom space will also be constructed along with the building.
“We are in a rebuilding mode in our country after a devastating hurricane,” said Dr. Smith. “Simultaneously we are building for the future of this country and that’s what this residential hall is. This is a Bahamian led public/private partnership and what that means is that we believe in ourselves, that we can accomplish whatever we set our minds to do.
“This building is also going to allow us to begin recruiting international students; students who have visited this campus and want to come back as students as well. We are indeed excited about the fact that we’re making a transition that’s changing this institution, but also changing the lives of many people and its actually putting a feather in the cap of The Bahamas globally.
“One of the things that is exceptionally important to us is the ability to be able to bring student athletes in from the Family Islands and to be able to live on our campus and to be able to work closely with our sporting facilities and house international student athletes during the summer months. We’re putting in a very state-of-the-art fitness facility that will have the kind of equipment that Olympians would train with. We are looking far into the future and making sure that what we get now is what we need to last us for a long time,” Dr. Smith remarked.
Member of the College Council and Chairman of the Investment Committee, Lowell Mortimer, described it as a “proud” moment for COB.
“Today we are accomplishing a new milestone on the road to university status. The residence hall will become a major tool in creating a global campus,” he said.
He envisages that the “first-class” residence hall will be another “iconic” structure on the campus and believes that it will be one of the of the investment committee’s “signature” projects.
Mr. Kerr said a well-designed, constructed and operated facility will contribute “significantly” to the college’s transition to university status.
“We have aligned the project to be compatible with the college’s leadership so as to promote the maximum development of its most valuable resources; its students,” Mr. Kerr said.
Following the contract signing, media and college administrators viewed the construction site on the eastern end of the campus.
A tentatively opening date for the residence hall is set for the fall of 2019.
COB presently has living facilities for 60 students with a waiting list of more than 200 students.
By Kathryn Campbell
Bahamas Information Services
