Fifty, 60 years ago, downtown Kingston was the place to be after dark.

Those with money to spend had opportunity to do so at the many bars and clubs from the parade area, through East Queen Street, Windward Road, easterly to Rockfort and beyond. Also, the many off-shoot roads and lanes, leading to and from the waterfront, had much to offer for those in search of relaxation and entertainment.

Back then there were four movie houses in downtown; from Spanish Town Road in the west to Windward Road in the east.

Mr K D Knight, chairman of the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), who is at an age to remember, is no doubt speaking with more than a tinge of nostalgia when he says: “What we want to do is to return life to downtown Kingston after 5 o’clock in the evenings.”

Of course, there was material underpinning to all that nightlife. Ships arriving in the buzzing commercial port of Kingston, largely zeroed in on an area parallel to Harbour Street, embracing Victoria Pier and the starting points of such historic avenues as King Street and Hanover Street. Docking areas extended as far east as Rockfort.

Employment was plentiful and the constant flow of sailors coming ashore in a low-crime environment boosted local business.

However, economic slump followed the shifting of the commercial port in the mid- to latter 1960s to modern facilities at Newport West and points further west.

The move made sense.

Ships had escalated in size, beyond the scope of the central region of the Kingston Harbour. Also, cramped, overcrowded downtown Kingston could no longer manage the sheer quantity of cargo. In any case, the global transition to containerised cargo demanded new facilities.

It meant, though, that the main economic driving force for downtown Kingston was gone. The fast-growing services sector rapidly migrated to newly built New Kingston. And the proverbial nail in the coffin of downtown came with the politicised tribal gun violence of the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

This newspaper has watched with interest the gathering momentum to restore life to downtown Kingston. Drawn by tax incentives, a few large companies have relocated their headquarters there. The expectation is that more, including government entities, will follow.

The ICC Cricket World Cup in 2007 ensured the modernisation of grossly under-used Sabina Park, there is constant talk of a new Parliament building and of upgrading the park and recreational facilities at National Heroes Circle to satisfy people’s needs.

Now we are hearing from Mr Knight and the UDC of a multi-faceted ‘festival marketplace’ to be built on 8.9 acres. It’s described as one more element in the development of the Kingston waterfront. That’s good.

But a huge concern involves thousands of residents, many of whom live in squalor in dilapidated tenement yards in that central downtown area.

We are happy to hear from Mr Knight that the UDC is exploring partnerships with the National Housing Trust “to see how there can be a transformative improvement of the housing stock downtown. We want people who live here to live in better conditions; we want people who live elsewhere now, to come downtown…”

Mr Knight and all thoughtful Jamaicans are well aware that without the people on board, redevelopment of downtown Kingston cannot be sustained.