Neil Richards | How Devon House was won

Nearly six decades ago, there was a very distinct and alarming possibility that the prestigious property at the north-eastern corner of Hope Road and Waterloo Road in Jamaica’s capital city would be an enclave of multiple private owners — and not the delightful public open space that it has become.

In the nick of time during the mid-1960s, that prized premises was prevented from becoming a no-go location for Jamaicans from ‘all walks of life’, and it would never have become a must-see highlight on the itinerary of international visitors.

The Devon House site was a prime target for ‘up-market’ block-and-steel real-estate development when residential densities began to increase within prime mid-St Andrew sectors of the Corporate Area.

The increasing scarcity of flat land on which to build single-family homes, and the prospect of increased personal safety and security in gated communities, contributed to a demand by well-to-do Jamaicans to purchase an apartment or town-house in a secure residential setting, even with the inevitable compromise of personal privacy.

Increasingly higher land prices within preferred residential areas of the Liguanea Plain meant that increases in residential density became necessary in order to strengthen the likelihood of viability of investments by property developers engaged in such projects.

TOWN PLANNING REGULATIONS

That trend led to the introduction of town-planning regulations that permitted higher residential densities in specified zones of Kingston and St Andrew.

The Devon House site was ‘land-locked’ in a zone delineated for increased residential density — which enabled property developers to zoom in on the prospect of a bonanza at that prestige location.

Proposals by a leading real-estate developer to construct a high-density residential project where Devon House sits in splendour would have entailed demolition of the Devon House building or radical modification of its innards.

That potential travesty was packaged in a land-development application submitted to the local authority (then called Kingston & St Andrew Corporation) and the Town Planning Department, with the expectation of permission to construct condominiums.

The application began its step-by-step journey through various departments of government. During that process, a very senior public official recognised the possibility of great cultural loss to the nation and alerted ‘the powers that be’ to the looming destruction of a location of special significance.

There was an immediate response by a political heavyweight who was in charge of a high-profile ministerial portfolio. He promptly instructed termination of the progress of that application.

In her book Pieces of the Past, Rebecca Tortello states that “Devon House almost suffered the same fate as Abbey Court (a nearby apartment complex) but was saved and preserved for posterity as a historical landmark and heritage site”.

NATIONAL MONUMENT

Upon hearing of developers’ plans to turn the grand old house into condominiums, then Minister of Development and Welfare, Edward Seaga, issued an interim Preservation Notice under the National Trust Act to prevent Devon House from falling to the developers’ axe. Devon House was later purchased by the government to create a centre for local craftwork, food, and drink. It was later declared a National Monument.

Over the past several years, there have been some marked justifiable changes to various outdoor spaces of the Devon House complex beyond the peripheral walls of the historic residence.

The temptation to add more and more income-generating features without recognising when enough is enough will inevitably overwhelm consideration of potential damage to a splendid heritage site.

Relevant expert professional opinion should declare what constitutes an appropriate balance between the maximum number of facilities that the site can and should accommodate and also the ideal maximum visitor-population that would prevent overload and damage.

The Devon House premises was won for the Jamaican nation in a victory that prevented it from becoming a domain for only the privileged.

Ranked as a paramount public property, the currently celebrated character of Devon House should be preserved in perpetuity.

Neil Richards is an architect and town planner.