Both Sides of The Coin: The Story of The Central Bank of Barbados 1972-2017

79 Sanitation Department; there was also uncertainty regarding the actual amount of available building space. Accordingly, the Bank bought an additional piece of land at Church Village to augment the parcel which had been bought from Government. All told, the buying price of the lot on which the Bank stands was about $1 million. During 1979 too, the firm of Colin S. Cooper and Associates was named as Quantity Surveyors and CEC/ADeB Consulting Engineers as Mechanical and Electrical Engineers. Detailed designs for the main office structure were prepared and Awon made a slide presentation to the Board and the Building Committee in May. Early in 1980, the Planning and Priorities Committee of the Cabinet requested substantial modifications to the design of the auditorium. The auditorium had been originally conceived as a lecture hall for 500 persons but it was felt in some quarters that it should seat 800. Accordingly, it was later redesigned as a multi- purpose facility with provision for stage performances by large groups and facilities for international conferences. In January 1980, some financing for the undertaking was secured when the Bank negotiated a credit line of US$6 million from Manufacturers Hanover Trust. The delay in getting the Sanitation Department to vacate the site slowed progress during 1980. By October it was realised that the Sanitation Department was slow to relocate because no funds had been provided for that purpose in the Ministry of Health’s budget. The Bank decided to make Left: Architect Mervyn Awon and the model design of the new Central Bank building. Right: The site being cleared. Chapter 3: Consolidation: 1976 to 1986