Residents to pay for parking around the Sunshine Hub

The Sunshine Hub carpark on Independence Drive could rake in some revenue yet, but not in the way it was originally intended.
If government has its way, individuals who park in the immediate area around the building could begin paying about $2.00 per hour for the “safety
and security they enjoy”, according to government’s Chief of Staff, Lionel ‘Max’ Hurst.
“Since the former administration built that area for a car park, we see no reason why there should not be a small charge connected to its use,” he added.
Hurst said that at present, nearly 100 people use the area for parking, including workers at the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) and the government will fence the area to make it easier to collect the fee for parking.
The Gaston Browne led administration purchased the stalled carpark for US $3 million in 2017 from the
CL Financial Group’s receivers.
The project was halted in 2010 after the financiers, CL Financial Group, collapsed.
Hurst said the government hopes to impose the fees for parking before the end of the year.
The government is also using year end as the target to complete the construction of office spaces in the Sunshine Hub, which will serve as office spaces for the government.
“It would take considerable investment to turn that building into something useful so the National Asset Management Company (NAMCO) is working towards having it happen,” Hurst explained. “We believe by Christmas of 2018 we ought to see some government offices in that building and some work being done to make the multi-level carpark a reality.”
The chief of staff said with over 6,000 additional cars imported into the country and increased businesses in St. John’s there is greater need for parking.