Demolition of the abandoned, burnt, derelict buildings in the International Bazaar continued last week with two of the once popular shopping sections - African and Asian - being torn down.

The buildings demolished were owned by the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU).

Renardo Karageorgiou, Grand Bahama Port Authority's (GBPA) assistant city maintenance manager in the building and development services department, said officials from both the GBPA and the BHCAWU were in discussions for 18 months before coming to a decision.

"These demolitions are important to the GBPA and the community because these buildings, in their fire-damaged state, represent a health and safety hazard to the public," Karageorgiou said.

"It is also an eyesore not only to residents but visitors who come to our shores, because it is highly visible in the center of the City of Freeport."

Karageorgiou commended Darrin Woods, BHCAWU president, who heard the GBPA's plea to tear down the buildings because they were structurally unsound.

He said it is the GBPA's hope that owners of the remaining fire-damaged sections of the Bazaar will see the wisdom in tearing down the compromised buildings.

"At the end of the day, they constitute a health and safety concern as there are people who traverse the area," Karageorgiou said.

"So, we definitely want them onboard and appeal to all the owners to contact the GBPA and make necessary arrangements to have the fire-damaged buildings taken down."

Woods explained that the union owns 22 percent of the Bazaar, but had no disposable income to deal with maintenance of the property, particularly after fires.

"So, we came up with an understanding that they would demolish the buildings and cart the stuff away, with a future payment agreement that once the property is sold, they would be paid," he said.

As for the way forward, regarding the property, Woods said there was some interest from a group to purchase the property, but the owners could not come to an agreement on selling.

"I am hoping there will be a meeting of the minds, because the property is just sitting there and it could be utilized," he said.

"So, once the owners could come together and come up with what we want to see done, that would be beneficial to all.

"But having the buildings torn down, we wanted to make sure that we were not only onboard in creating an environment that is safe but being a part of the island's redevelopment as good corporate citizens."

The design for the International Bazaar, which opened in 1967, was the brainchild of a motion picture special effects expert from

California.

The property, which once boasted of having more than three dozen stores strategically placed in sections named for countries or regions including the African Section, the French Section, the Scandinavian Section and the Oriental Section, has been in ruin over the past decade, having suffered damage from two hurricanes in 2004 and the closure of the Royal Oasis resort.

The abandoned stores were vandalized, many becoming a shelter for vagrants. And over the past year, large sections of the Bazaar were damaged by fire.

This latest demolition is the second project being carried out by the GBPA and owners of the targeted buildings. Last year February, the Oriental Section was demolished. At that time, there was also a call from residents to have the Torii Gate taken down.

Karageorgiou confirmed that although the historic marker is structurally sound, the Japanese-style Torii Gate will be bulldozed at the request of Bazaar Owners' Association President Chris Paine, who is also one of the 12 property owners.

"It is coming down because it advertises a property that is no longer," Paine said.

"It is a big advertisement for a burnt out and vandalized eyesore in the middle of Grand Bahama, so, why on Earth would you want to keep it?

"It is a complete waste of time, because the whole area needs to be redeveloped, including the neighboring property, the Royal Oasis."

Paine said an imaginative redevelopment is needed for the property and hopes that will happen.

"There are some suggestions out there which are kind of talks-in-progress on what can take place on the property after it is cleared down," he said.

"There can be a multitude of things - a whole other resort, a business center, a retirement home, a medical facility - but it has to be something sustaining."

While many feel the Torii Gate should come down, longtime resident Emmie Forbes feels it is an important part of the island's history.

"The Torri Gate is a symbol of what had been on the site," Forbes said.

"It could have benches and a small garden, just for the memory of what used to be and how great the International Bazaar was."

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