Businessman Arun Hotchandani this morning moved to evict the Belize City Council from its Pound Yard location. Reports to Amandala are that at about 10:00 this morning four of Hotchandani’s workmen began dismantling a wooden shack that was being used as the carpentry shed. The Council knew that they were coming, and the materials from the shed were removed yesterday.
The workmen removed the wooden planks from the side of the building with crowbars, and the instruction was for them to dismantle the shed and take its components off the premises. They were to work their way around the compound until the three workshops on the premises are gone, but things reached a standstill by 12 o‘clock, because the Council holds that it cannot be evicted without a court order.
As we had reported in April, the Hotchandanis—who now have legal title to the 7,267.67 square-yard property—had asked the Council to vacate the premises.
On site at the Pound Yard this morning Belize City mayor, Zenaida Moya, said that they had planned to move since September, but were unable to move because they are waiting for the Human Development Department, which is located on the second floor of the Commercial Center – property of the Council – to vacate so that the Council can move there.
But what about all the heavy works machinery on site at the Pound Yard property? They certainly could not be moved downtown to the Commercial Center. Mayor Moya told us that the plan is to relocate the machines to a BCC property at Mile 4 on the Western Highway. However, it would mean constructing a shed to house the various workshops—which they were not able to do before because their workmen were tied up with other projects.
According to the mayor, the Hotchandanis had pledged $50,000 to the Council to help them with their relocation expenses. They have paid down $25,000 with the promise that the other $25,000 would be paid to the Council when it leaves the premises.
But for now, the Council is trying to get the Hotchandanis to hold off on the eviction. Leader of the UDP Opposition, Hon. Dean Barrow, has advised the Council that the eviction cannot be executed without an order from the court.
The workers were instructed to dismantle not only the carpentry shop, but also the building that houses the paint and gas shop, as well as the mechanic shed on the westward side of the compound.
Meanwhile, the Council says it plans to sue Antonio “Tony” Novelo, from whom the Hotchandanis got the property through the bank.
The Pound Yard compound was originally the property of the Belize City Council, which purchased it for $500 from Central Government in 2001. In 2002 the Novelos bought it from the Council for a price of $1.2 million. However, the Council claims that the receipts they have for payments towards the property total only $139,000, and so far no other receipts have been produced for the sale.
The land was actually valued at $3.5 million, Mayor Moya added. The Novelos had used the property as collateral for a Belize Bank loan, and Hotchandani Holdings Limited (belonging to brothers Arun and Michael Hotchandani) acquired it on March 31, 2005, for a documented price of $3 million.
The Novelos had gotten the property from the PUP Council on the promise that the Novelo Bus Terminal would be expanded and upgraded, as promised under the terms of their $30 million loan with the Development Finance Corporation. The Hotchandanis now reportedly want to build a state-of-the-art shopping mall on the site.
Mayor Moya said that attorney Michael Peyrefitte is handling the suit against Tony Novelo.