Chuvit Garden near Asoke

[laban]

Chuvit Garden has been closed for "renovation" since 7 June, and walking by frequently nothing seems to be going, and sure no renovation.

Does anyone know what is going on and when it may re-open?

It's a very pleasant bit of green space on Sukhumvit, one of very few with a short running track, nice gazebo and when open with lots of people using it including families with toddlers. I like I am sure many others miss it being open. I just hope Khun Chuvit has not sold it to a developer for another huge condo.

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[sniffdog]

Maybe Chuwit will open it again after being released from prison next year.

[wordchild]

I would think there is a good chance it may never reopen. At his trial the park he had supposedly "gifted" to the good people of lower Sukhumvit was one of the main planks of Chuwits defence. Something good at least, it was argued, had resulted from the violence used to clear the area where the park is now located. Now  he has been found guilty, and sent to prison, it can no longer serve such a purpose. There maybe a pause, for the sake of decency, while he serves the rest of his time, but I would expect the area  to be developed pretty quickly once he is out.

Edited August 29, 2016 by wordchild

[anotheruser]

Prime land for a new condo.

[ClutchClark]

The best thing that could have happened to him was to have to put development or sale of that peoperty on the back burner the past seversl years since its value has increased substantially in that time it sat as a park.

 

Chuvit definitely has the amidas touch  ;-)

[blackcab]

The man went to prison for that land. He's going to want to get his money's worth.

 

I think he will get it, and have the last laugh too.

[Thainess]

Good! While they're at it, can they also close those other smelly, run-down city centre parks like Lumpini, Benjasiri and Benjakiti? Whenever I pass through them, the smell of the stagnant filthy water makes me retch. They are a severe public health hazard. I imagine you could die if you got splashed with any of that infected water and it went in your mouth, or you were bitten by one of those 2-metre long water lizards. Just think how many condo and office block and shopping mall developments you could fit inside them, especially Lumpini Park. Few people even use the parks (except Lumpini for jogging in the evening), so I say close them all and build some more much needed shopping malls. They are a waste of space and money.

[wordchild]

11 hours ago, wordchild said:

I would think there is a good chance it may never reopen. At his trial the park he had supposedly "gifted" to the good people of lower Sukhumvit was one of the main planks of Chuwits defence. Something good at least, it was argued, had resulted from the violence used to clear the area where the park is now located. Now  he has been found guilty, and sent to prison, it can no longer serve such a purpose. There maybe a pause, for the sake of decency, while he serves the rest of his time, but I would expect the area  to be developed pretty quickly once he is out.

Actually, for the sake of accuracy I should have said above that Chuwit  has been jailed recently having changed his plea, in the long running case, to guilty, rather than saying that he had been found guilty. 

[dddave]

My guess is that it will be a long, long time before that land is sold and/or developed. Chewit has few friends in high places these days.  He offended many insiders during his political campaigns and to many. he is still nothing more than a pimp, having made his fortune in the "Slip & Slide" massage business.   Many of the lawsuits filed against him are still unresolved and though the land may have greatly appreciated in value, I would not be surprised if his personal cash position has suffered, very possibly not the rich man he once was.

Edited August 30, 2016 by dddave

[wordchild]

6 hours ago, dddave said:

My guess is that it will be a long, long time before that land is sold and/or developed. Chewit has few friends in high places these days.  He offended many insiders during his political campaigns and to many. he is still nothing more than a pimp, having made his fortune in the "Slip & Slide" massage business.   Many of the lawsuits filed against him are still unresolved and though the land may have greatly appreciated in value, I would not be surprised if his personal cash position has suffered, very possibly not the rich man he once was.

Well in that case he will surely just sell it to someone who can develop it ; either way its pretty long odds on it remaining as a park!

[gdgbb]

16 hours ago, Thainess said:

Good! While they're at it, can they also close those other smelly, run-down city centre parks like Lumpini, Benjasiri and Benjakiti? Whenever I pass through them, the smell of the stagnant filthy water makes me retch. They are a severe public health hazard. I imagine you could die if you got splashed with any of that infected water and it went in your mouth, or you were bitten by one of those 2-metre long water lizards. Just think how many condo and office block and shopping mall developments you could fit inside them, especially Lumpini Park. Few people even use the parks (except Lumpini for jogging in the evening), so I say close them all and build some more much needed shopping malls. They are a waste of space and money.

Troll.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The sign on the front gate says the park is closed for repair or renovation, or some such word.  But like the OP,  I've seen not a whit of any work being done there since the gates were locked shut months ago.

 

Curiously, the closure did come in the wake of Chuwit being sent to jail. Whether there's any connection between the two things no one seems to have any clear information. But it kind of seems unlikely that there's no connection. Although, the closure also happened to coincide with the opening of the new sections of the enlarged Benjakiti Park on former Tobacco Monopoly land nearby.

 

 

[Thainess]

8 hours ago, gdgbb said:

Troll.

 

I assure you I'm deadly serious. The troll is you. You're the name caller. That is what trolls do. Then again, you know that well enough.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 8/30/2016 at 9:01 AM, Thainess said:

Good! While they're at it, can they also close those other smelly, run-down city centre parks like Lumpini, Benjasiri and Benjakiti? Whenever I pass through them, the smell of the stagnant filthy water makes me retch. They are a severe public health hazard. I imagine you could die if you got splashed with any of that infected water and it went in your mouth, or you were bitten by one of those 2-metre long water lizards. Just think how many condo and office block and shopping mall developments you could fit inside them, especially Lumpini Park. Few people even use the parks (except Lumpini for jogging in the evening), so I say close them all and build some more much needed shopping malls. They are a waste of space and money.

 

There was no "stagnant filthy water" at Chuwit Park, although it did have some water fountains. Never noticed any smell from them at all.

 

As for the park itself, it was never "run-down" and was pretty well-used by and popular with all kinds of local residents, Thais, farangs, the elderly, young joggers, moms with babies in strollers, etc etc.

 

Bangkok already is severely short on park space, which is also green space that helps cool down the environment and improve the air quality. Turning all the city's parks into condos and malls is the last thing Bangkok needs, especially considering that there already is a pretty significant overdevelopment of both condos and malls.

 

[anotheruser]

12 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

There was no "stagnant filthy water" at Chuwit Park, although it did have some water fountains. Never noticed any smell from them at all.

 

As for the park itself, it was never "run-down" and was pretty well-used by and popular with all kinds of local residents, Thais, farangs, the elderly, young joggers, moms with babies in strollers, etc etc.

 

Bangkok already is severely short on park space, which is also green space that helps cool down the environment and improve the air quality. Turning all the city's parks into condos and malls is the last thing Bangkok needs, especially considering that there already is a pretty significant overdevelopment of both condos and malls.

 

 

I am guessing the post was sarcastic.

[gdgbb]

23 hours ago, anotheruser said:

 

I am guessing the post was sarcastic.

 

Apparently not...

 

On 31/08/2016 at 9:51 AM, Thainess said:

 

I assure you I'm deadly serious.

 

[anotheruser]

It takes all kinds.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 8/31/2016 at 1:40 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

The sign on the front gate says the park is closed for repair or renovation, or some such word.  But like the OP,  I've seen not a whit of any work being done there since the gates were locked shut months ago.

 

Curiously, the closure did come in the wake of Chuwit being sent to jail. Whether there's any connection between the two things no one seems to have any clear information. But it kind of seems unlikely that there's no connection. Although, the closure also happened to coincide with the opening of the new sections of the enlarged Benjakiti Park on former Tobacco Monopoly land nearby.

 

Well, fast forward five months or so to January 2017 and Chuwit Garden has remained closed all this time, even after Chuwit's recent early release from prison.

 

FWIW, ever since the park was closed and the sign was put up saying closed for "renovation," there's been ZERO work of any kind done at the park, other than the maintenance crews doing routine stuff like mowing the grass and sweeping the pavement areas.  Nothing of any kind of substantive nature, because I pass by regularly and have seen nothing.

 

Last week, as we were passing, my wife stopped and talked with one of the groundskeepers there who was standing near the entry gate one evening. She asked if he had heard anything about when the park might be reopening, and his answer was he didn't have any idea.

 

All of this really makes me wonder just who is in control of the park itself. Is it in essence a private park that's maintained by and under the control of the Chuwit family, or, is it a public park under the control of the BMA???

Edited January 24, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[thedemon]

A cynic might say that after the appeals court reduced Chuvit's prison sentence from 5 to 2 years and he had started actually serving the time, the park has outlived it's usefulness.

 

I have never heard or read anything that suggests that ownership of the land has ever been transferred. But that doesn't mean it hasn't been. I don't know.

 

Nothing wrong with having a downtown park named in your honour (even if self-named) but my back-of-an-envelope calculation would put the land value of that park at close to 5 Billion Baht. Hmmmm

[smokie36]

On 30/08/2016 at 3:01 AM, Thainess said:

Good! While they're at it, can they also close those other smelly, run-down city centre parks like Lumpini, Benjasiri and Benjakiti? Whenever I pass through them, the smell of the stagnant filthy water makes me retch. They are a severe public health hazard. I imagine you could die if you got splashed with any of that infected water and it went in your mouth, or you were bitten by one of those 2-metre long water lizards. Just think how many condo and office block and shopping mall developments you could fit inside them, especially Lumpini Park. Few people even use the parks (except Lumpini for jogging in the evening), so I say close them all and build some more much needed shopping malls. They are a waste of space and money.

 

 

Jeez you should change your nick to Victor Meldrew!

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Well, for all the skeptics and naysayers here, I'm happy to report that Chuvit Garden on Suk Rd at Soi 10 in Bangkok recently reopened -- pretty much after a full year of being closed, and seems to be back to its prior regular opening hours of mornings and then afternoon until early evening.

 

As noted earlier in this thread, a sign they put up on the gate at one point said closed for renovation (or something like that). But as far as I could see, no major work of any kind was done inside the small park during the entire time it was closed. I never saw anyone doing anything there except sweeping up the leaves and such... But, at any rate....

 

Chuvit Garden is back. Dunno for how long... But I'll take it for the good news it is, for the present.

 

Edited June 17, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[shadowofacloud]

17 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Chuvit Garden is back. Dunno for how long... But I'll take it for the good news it is, for the present.

 

That's great news - I am in the building opposite the park almost daily and at some point lost all hope for a positive resolution.

[Thainess]

On 1/25/2017 at 2:40 AM, smokie36 said:

 

 

Jeez you should change your nick to Victor Meldrew!

That would not be appropriate, as I'm only 35 years old not 75.

[Chou Anou]

21 hours ago, Thainess said:

That would not be appropriate, as I'm only 35 years old not 75.

No, but earlier in this thread I read a post written by someone complaining and babbling nonsense like an incoherent 75 year old.  Close Benjasiri and Benjakit parks?  Nobody uses them?  Okay, sure.  And you kids get off my lawn.

[MrJohnson]

Yes, can report the park is open again.

[dave2]

On 6/19/2017 at 8:39 AM, Chou Anou said:

someone complaining and babbling nonsense like an incoherent 75 year old.  Close Benjasiri and Benjakit parks?  Nobody uses them?

 

i always go to a lot of the parks when im in bangkok !

 

but im looking for moniter lizards :)

 

dave2

[fandango71]

It would seem that the park is now closed for good.

There have been signs up for the last week or so advising that the park will be closed from Dec 30th onwards and apologies for any inconvenience. 

 

I asked a taxi rank / tout guy that is always sat on soi 10 outside the park what was going on and he said the owner wanted to build a hotel and supermarket, "same like Robinson" while pointing in the direction of terminal 21.

 

The lanterns have all been removed from the walls and are lined up inside the park as though they are waiting to be taken away. Last night as I walked down soi 10 the groundsmen / caretakers were all having some kind of a party like it was their last day or something.

 

Shame really. I never actually went in but it was a pleasant patch of green to walk by.

[jomtien99]

Chuvit gardens is definitely closed for good and will be redeveloped - it is such a shame as it was a nice small garden with some large trees, benches and a lovely gazebo. It was a private garden owned by the ex-massage king Chuvit, and with very few green spaces in Bangkok, sad to see it go for another development of some sort.

[The manic]

On 30/08/2016 at 9:01 AM, Thainess said:

Good! While they're at it, can they also close those other smelly, run-down city centre parks like Lumpini, Benjasiri and Benjakiti? Whenever I pass through them, the smell of the stagnant filthy water makes me retch. They are a severe public health hazard. I imagine you could die if you got splashed with any of that infected water and it went in your mouth, or you were bitten by one of those 2-metre long water lizards. Just think how many condo and office block and shopping mall developments you could fit inside them, especially Lumpini Park. Few people even use the parks (except Lumpini for jogging in the evening), so I say close them all and build some more much needed shopping malls. They are a waste of space and money.

We need more parks not less.  

[TallGuyJohninBKK]