Renaming the Paslow Building; the Competition Begins

Earlier this week, a protest was held by a group of energized Belizeans seeking to give the old Paslow building a more appropriate name when it is completed. Construction for the building has begun in the downtown area of the city under the Belize City House of Culture and Downtown Rejuvenation Project and is expected to be completed at the end of this year.  The group is pushing to name the building the 1919 Plaza to give it a historic perspective given the 1919 revolt in the then colony.  Today, the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation opened a competition seeking submissions of proposed names for the site.  Deadline is at five p.m. on August thirtieth.  According to the release, the proposed names will be shortlisted, published and followed by online voting by the public at the end of September. As an incentive, first prize gets eight hundred dollars, second prize is six hundred dollars and third, four hundred dollars.  A new two-storey building is one of five structures in the downtown area which the ministry says it is investing in. The new building will host a Tourist Welcome Centre and vendor booths on the first floor with offices; a café on the second and a parking area to the rear. The project is being funded by the Government, Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund and is being executed by the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation through the Belize City House of Culture and Downtown Rejuvenation Project.