Normandie Hotel renovation would take land from Sixto Escobar Park, planner says

By The Star Staff

The island Office of Management and Permits (OGPe by its acronym in Spanish) has approved zoning changes to the land surrounding the Normandie Hotel on the Isleta de San Juan, primarily in Sixto Escobar Park, to be used as part of the renovations.

The assertion was made by planner Pedro Cardona Roig in a radio interview this week.

The historic Normandie, which has been abandoned since 2009, was sold a few years ago for $8.6 million to Normandie Oz LLC, an investor under Act 60, a tax incentives law that provides exemptions to businesses and investors that relocate to or establish themselves in Puerto Rico.

“There is a territorial plan here that stipulates that this place is a park and should remain a park,” Cardona Roig emphasized. “They presented the consultation to change that and allow private use for the personal gain of the Ishay group and Normandie OC at the expense of the use and privatization of a third of what belongs to the people of Puerto Rico.”

The former legislative candidate for San Juan District 1 said the community can still file an administrative review appeal with the OGPe.

“The resolution has multiple errors, inconsistencies, and illegalities,” he said. “Among them, it uses the Joint Emergency Regulation of 2023, which has been in effect for more than 90 days and has never been subject to a public hearing. Therefore, according to our laws and regulations, it is a null and void regulation, and therefore cannot be used.”

The Municipality of San Juan in 2023 approved an ordinance that would lease land from Escambrón Beach in San Juan to the Normandie Hotel so it could be developed into a parking facility.

The ordinance states that the Escambrón Area and the Normandie Hotel lack adequate parking spaces. Under the ordinance, the corporation plans to build some 500 parking spaces.