Stop Screwing with the Skyline

My background in media began in radio, something I still do on Saturday mornings when I co-host a show called "Tourism & You," which airs on Newstalk K-57 at 10 am (except for the 3rd Saturday of the month, which is when The Food Guy does his thing). My co-host Norm and I like to joke about the number of soapboxes we each have from which we expound our theories on a variety of topics, most recently in my case, the changes to the Tumon skyline.

My recent rant was prompted by the clearing of a large section of land in Tumon, which if you're unfamiliar with Guam, is where the majority of our hotels and resorts are located. The land in question is between the PIC and the Marriott, though no one seems to know what is planned for the newly cleared area. My fear is that its for the four towers that were proposed a couple of years ago.

I have never been a fan of progress for the sake of progress and often feel we run willy-nilly after the chance to make a dollar, ignoring the hundreds that could have been made with a slower approach. It is a curse this island falls privy to far too often. Case in point, the four Verace towers that are currently being constructed at Oka Point.

The four towers are part of what is touted to be a gated community for the elite, complete with all the amenities one could possibly want, including a wall and security guard designed to keep the riff-raff out. When I first heard about these towers, I thought they sounded like a ridiculous idea. Like much of the world, our island is experiencing economic hard times, so I couldn't imagine who was going to be purchasing these condos (all of which run close to a million dollars a piece).

Sadly, the people of Guahan are rarely asked for their input when it comes to progress and even if we are, as in the recent invitation from the US military to comment on their proposed plans for the military buildup, it has little, if any, impact. So, needless to say, the four towers are well underway and as they've climbed higher and higher, I have been shocked by the change they have wrought upon the skyline of Tumon and Tamuning.

Where you could once see ocean, you now see only concrete. This would be bad enough if it was only affecting Tamuning... but I live in Asan, frequently referred to as the first village of the south (though most of us tend to think of that as being Agat), and you can see these four monoliths just fine from there! What was once a beautiful view now looks very sad.

The whole project has reminded me of that poor misguided Senator from Alabama who believes that if we bring too many Marines from Okinawa to Guam, our island will tip over. If he could see what Tumon looks like now, he might be able to make a much more convincing argument for Guahan's eventual capsize.

A real estate agent friend of mine told me that most of the Verace units have been pre-sold. I find that hard to believe, as it is apparent that many of the units in the Alupang Beach Tower still sit open a decade later. And now not just one, but two large scale areas in Tumon have been cleared and neither is for the additional four towers still on the proposal block... maybe buying life jackets isn't such a bad idea.

On the bright side, Asan will remain the same whether Guam tips over or not. We'll still be the first village of the south... but the southern most village will be Yigo instead of Malesso.