Located in the Historical town of Falmouth, the Hampden Wharf warehouses had been empty for many years and had fallen into disrepair when LHDI was commissioned to view the property. The buildings were constructed of heavy white ballast stones, had wide spans of heavy timber and steel roof trusses, and still had the aroma of sweet sugar. The property enjoyed spectacular coastal views, and even more interesting, the famous Tharpe House was sited on the project site.

Over the course of several meetings a development program was established which included a large market for Jamaican crafts sales, an indoor air conditioned theater to house the new ‘Jamaican Review’ dance show, several waterfront restaurants and shops, and a completely restored Tharpe House Museum. LHDI immediately went to work to master plan the project, and over a period of a few weeks created design concepts for most of the signature property components. The resulting project is a careful blend of refurbished historic buildings with authentically themed new buildings and spaces, all designed to reinforce the strong architectural character of the town of Falmouth. The original planning work was designed using a vehicular and pedestrian circulation path so that guests could enjoy the water views. Later, the project was transformed when Royal Caribbean created a cruise ship terminal which has successfully energized the area.

Falmouth Wharf is one of LHDI’s proudest examples of historic preservation and adaptive re-use.