Bowen acquires prime site at Barracks

The stretch of seashore along the Newtown Barracks area of Belize City is getting a facelift, thanks to the new owner of some of the old capital’s most prime property. Bowen and Bowen Limited has purchased the two adjoining waterfront parcels of land lying between Marina Towers and the Fisheries Department, and the company is in the process of filling, levelling and planting grass and landscaping the area. According to management, there are no immediate plans for construction on the site, but it is believed that it will one day host a new headquarters building for the Bowen Group, one of the nation’s most successful business conglomerates, whose holdings include beer, soft drinks, water and shrimp, along with operations in agriculture and tourism. While the neighbourhood boasts some of the city’s most appealing buildings, including the Princess Hotel, Marina Towers and the new coastal zone headquarters, it is also the address of what may be the country’s biggest eyesore: the never finished concrete monstrosity now used as a warehouse for imported onions and other products.