The controversy surrounding the government plans to build a $200 million dollar tower on the site of the old U.S. embassy seems to draw criticism from a number of sectors. To begin with there are those who believe the government should not be in the business of building financial towers of which a good portion must be leased out in order to justify it. This will compete with private interest just at a time when an over abundance of commercial space will be coming available. And with that kind of a situation wouldn't it be more prudent to wait for the prices to come down on office space and make a deal with a private company? Some believe the US embassy represents an important part of Panama History and heritage and should be converted to a museum. Others just opposed the the design which appears to be in shape of a phallic symbol. I would rather the government use the $200 million in education where long term tangible results will benefit the country.
In any case, the government is set on doing this project and I am sure there will be many controversial moments between now and 2013 when they expect to move in.
La Prensa
Roberto Gonzalez Jimenez
[email protected]
It is a project that leaves no one indifferent. The Government intends to build a skyscraper over 300 feet in the land on which sits the old U.S. Embassy on Avenida Balboa.
The Financial Tower, as it was called, would house the offices of the Banco Nacional de Panama, the Superintendency of Banks, the Superintendency of Insurance, Securities and Exchange Commission, the Tourism Authority of Panama, the Ministry of Energy and the Authority Utilities.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) issued its Statement of
Objections to hire the conceptual design and plans, in a tender that
has a reference price of $ 8 billion. The construction is estimated at $ 200 million.
In the statement of objections has been included preliminary design. For this work, the MEF hired directly by $ 300 thousand at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), a firm that participated in the design of Burj Dubai's Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.
According to official documentation, "the proponents can improve this information." The U.S. firm proposes a building height of 333 meters and 69 floors in a cylindrical shape, similar to the Torre Agbar in Barcelona or the Gherkin (cucumber) in London.
The offices occupy 55 floors. For state entities would be 30 thousand square meters and private offices, whose sale is to finance part of the building, would cover 40 thousand square meters.
In the last three plants would have a restaurant, a lounge and an observatory triple height spaces that would have independent access to public office.
In an adjacent lot would be built after a 12-storey building with a capacity of 200 thousand parking spaces. In the last two projects a government conference center, connected to the office tower by a bridge.
Another thousand parking spaces, are authorized in two underground levels located under the main tower, the building of underground parking and the park area of Santo Tomas Hospital. In the basement level under the main tower would also be a food court.
The tenderers must include in their design a proposal for connectivity to the coastal strip and the stations of Metro Line 1 which will be on Avenida Justo Arosemena.
The government's goal is to start work in 2011 and end in 2013 to match the opening of the building with the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the discovery of the South Sea.
CRITICAL
The government's proposal has been rejected from various sectors. The disappearance of the building that housed the U.S. embassy means, for many, a way of not respecting the history.
"The Panamanians have to start preserving the heritage we have. Why not a museum or a cultural attraction? "Asked Ivan Carlucci, former president of the Panamanian Association of Brokers and Real Estate Developers (Acobir).
As in other projects, the State shall assume the duties private sector activities, such as the sale of offices, but industry members said one tower will not affect the market.
The president of the Panamanian Chamber of Construction said that "at the beginning is a high investment, but will serve to reduce public spending on rent, we support it." Carlucci, however, think that in a tower more than 35 plants, the costs grow exponentially and that there were other cheaper solutions.
Also interpreted the project as a way to satisfy the megalomaniac ambitions of the Government, when in the same town there without addressing basic needs, for example, refuse collection, water or the creation of sidewalks and public spaces.
COASTAL BELT
SOM's proposal also includes a recreation of how the future would be in Panama City with the new tower and the extension of the coastal strip to the Amador Causeway.
You can see the location and concept of the convention center that the Government plans to build in Chorrillo and the completion of the promenade on a breakwater, creating more space in front of the Museum of Biodiversity.
It is not said, however, if the coastal strip would cross the Old Town with a skirt tunnel or if, as some time has considered the Government, a project that has raised the alert about the risk it would have on the historic, declared World Heritage Site.
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