DURING the Saipan Chamber of Commerce gubernatorial debate on Thursday last week, Independent candidate Arnold I. Palacios criticized the current maintenance of popular tourist sites, including the Garapan district, which he referred to as “Skid Row.”
Asked about his plan to address the government’s budget constraints once the American Rescue Plan Act funds run out, the lt. governor said, “With $2 billion of opportunity, we could be rebuilding our infrastructure. Are we? I dare you and invite you to go and see the tourist sites. Go down to Garapan… That’s supposed to be the center of our tourism. That looks like Skid Row. Seriously. I hate to say it, but walk down there. Really? We pay airlines to bring in tourists, and then we don’t even clean up the sites.”
Chamber President Joseph Guerrero, who owns Naked Fish Bar & Grill in Garapan and also serves on the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers, said in an interview on Wednesday that it’s no surprise that the tourism district needs a lot of work.
“A lot of the businesses, including myself, in the Garapan district are looking forward to the Garapan Revitalization Project,” he said. “That’s going off to a slow start, but they should be breaking ground very soon. That will really help out businesses in the area, so we look forward to that.”
He added, “Yes, the tourist sites need work here and there, and I know a lot of companies volunteered their time and materials to the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers to revamp those sites… From what I understand, they’re planning a transformation for some of those sites. They’re only doing patchwork right now, but for a lot of the sites — the plan and the hope is to really transform a lot of sites with new buildings and new structures, so we look forward to that. I think it’s just a matter of time.”
The Garapan Revitalization Project includes repaving and regrading several streets in Garapan, including Coconut Street, Date Street, Paseo De Marianas, Palm Street, Micro Beach Road (between Coral Tree Avenue and Beach Road), Royal Palm Avenue, Coffee Tree Mall, Ginger Avenue, Plumeria Avenue and Beach Road (between Micro Beach Road and Garapan Street).
The $11.7 million project, which is funded through a U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration grant, also involves the construction of sidewalks and curbs on each street, the installation of new street lights, landscaping and installing approximately 350 public parking stalls within the public rights of way.
Skid Row is a neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles.
