For most of the millennium, the memory of Bagshot House, Maraval would have been lost to most in T&T.
The building, which was once one of the most recognisable homes of colonial T&T, was demolished in 1999.
Since then, it had largely been known as the empty lot of land along Saddle Road Maraval just after the Royal Palm Suite hotel.
That changed earlier this year, when fast food restaurant Wendy’s opened a new outlet in pre-fabricated shipping containers on the site in April.
In early June more containers adorned the expanse of land with an image “Bagshot Box Park Coming Soon” draped along the side facing pedestrians and vehicular traffic along the Saddle Road, Maraval.
In recent weeks some of those passing by noticed excavators and other construction vehicles heading in and out of the site, as construction on the Bagshot Box Park is pushing along.
In a phone interview with the Business Guardian, the team behind the park confirmed the use of the Bagshot name was indeed meant to preserve the history of the space, including a presentation to educate visitors about the historical significance of the Bagshot House.
“It does have a historical story behind it. Once it’s completely built out, I think customers and people who are interested in being a part of the space would have a better understanding as to where the name was derived from and how we came about with the entire design. We do have a concept in mind to highlight the reason why it’s called Bagshot Box Park. There will be a presentation of what the area represents,” said the team member.
The land had been the location of Bagshot House, which was constructed in 1904 as part of the Champs Élysées estate. The land was owned by the De Boissiere family before financial challenges led to its sale to the Sturm family in the 1930s. It then became a hotel and for a time was also a nightclub before it was bought from the Sturm family late in the 20th century.
The Bagshot Box Park team however assured, despite Wendy’s being the first tenant of the box park, that this new incarnation would not simply be another food park despite the growing popularity and success enjoyed by other open-air food courts around the country.
Food parks and courts have risen significantly in popularity in T&T, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The parks have sprung up at various spots along the East-West corridor and in Central Trinidad and, in most cases, have attracted large crowds and visitors from varying areas of the country.
The popularity of such spots was recently recognised by the owners of C3 Shopping Centre, who opened a similar concept food court at the San Fernando location called the Eatery.
Indeed Bagshot Box Park would not be the first food park featuring shipping container spots opened this year, as the Aranguez Food Park opened on March 1, featuring several container units catered for food outlets.
The Bagshot team said the rise in popularity of food parks and food courts around the country did not inform the decision to transform the area, which had been vacant for over two decades.
The team member explained that Bagshot Box Park will have a unique, modern feel and will not resemble other container parks.
The park will offer a variety of activities, including retail, live entertainment, and more, making it a distinct and niche destination.
“We never took inspiration from any local food spots. What we’re currently working on is pretty niche in my opinion. Yes, it is a container park, but it’s not like any other container park in Trinidad, because we have a variety of things to do. It’s not only food and beverage. We also have retail spots coming in, where friends and families could go and actually shop in these places. While someone sits and has a meal, someone else could go to shop, someone else could do another sort of activity. They would be live entertainment,” the team member said.
The Bagshot team emphasised that the area would provide a space for networking, entertainment, and fitness.
“This idea was in the making for quite some time now. We just wanted to create a space where people could come and network and enjoy good news, have fun times, and meet new people. And one of the things that we really wanted to implement at a time was some sort of sporting facility. So, we came up with a pickleball court, which we would be implementing as well,” the team member told the Business Guardian.
“These pickleball courts would have membership access, and so you’d have, the best of both worlds. You have the food, you have the entertainment, but you also have the athletic aspect, people who would want to come and have fun with their family but also enjoy some sort of fitness session.”
The decision to include pickleball may raise some eyebrows, the racket sport does currently have a significant footprint in T&T and the Bagshot Box Park is hoping the inclusion of the court will spark some interest in the sport and the space.
Pickleball is a game similar to tennis which also borrows elements of other racket sports such as badminton and ping pong. A pickleball court is smaller than the traditional tennis court.
“It’s fresh. It’s something that not many people have experienced before, and this is one thing our company is known for bringing fresh, new ideas and activities to T&T.
“So we try to use pickleball because it’s not something that people are very familiar with, and it’s an avenue to open up opportunities for pickleball as well in Trinidad, because maybe in future, we would have more pickleball courts around. This is what it is now. Because now nobody is familiar with the sport, but you want to introduce something that people could gain knowledge on and it could be a fun experience as well,” the team member said.
Construction of the Bagshot Box Park is still ongoing, but the team member told the Business Guardian that there are looking forward to the new iteration of the Bagshot name.