The Tribune

BY FAY SIMMONS

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

THE MARINA developer targeting a Nassau harbourfront location just west of Potter’s Cay said he plans to invest more than $2m in the project while promising vendors it will generate extra business rather than compete with them.

Larune Russell, president of the proposed Blu Cay Marina development, told Potter’s Cay business owners last night that the project will focus primarily on tour boat operators, particularly those who he said have difficulty securing space at other Nassau marinas. He rejected concerns that the development will worsen traffic congestion or take business away from existing vendors.

The meeting gave Mr Russell an opportunity to directly address concerns raised publicly in recent weeks over the proposed 25-slip marina, including its impact on traffic, parking, competition, environmental issues and the identity of the project's investor.

Mr Russell said he is the sole investor behind the development and described the project as both a business venture and a personal investment in an area with which he has a long-standing connection.

“I’m just a sole investor. I always had a vision for it,” he said, explaining that he had started working in the area as a packing boy for the former City Markets at age 11.

Mr Russell said those early experiences at the waterfront, including interacting with fishing boat operators, mailboat workers and vendors, helped shape his appreciation for Potter’s Cay and influenced his decision to invest in the area. “When you’re young, you remember these things. They stick with you,” he explained.

Mr Russell said he was concerned by the condition of parts of the waterfront, including sunken vessels and what he described as activities that have contributed to a negative image of the area.

“This has such good history and is not being really held up,” he said. “I want to hopefully be some type of empowerment to that, and try and bring back the good old Potter’s Cay.”

A key concern raised about the proposed marina has been whether additional vehicles and boat traffic would worsen congestion around Potter’s Cay, particularly on busy mailboat days. Mr Russell rejected that concern, arguing that the development's traffic patterns would not significantly overlap with existing mailboat activity.

“It cannot add congestion because we’re not a spot where there’s any stopping to offload or unload,” he said. “If you’re going into the marina parking area to the front, you’re simply waiting on a line that exists.”

Mr Russell said the marina would primarily cater to tour boat operators who typically leave in the morning before the heavier mailboat activity begins.

“If we’re catering, as we intend to cater, to mostly tour boat operators, they’re going to be leaving from that tour boat marina around 8am, 9am,” said Mr Russell. “The mailboat traffic doesn’t start until 10, 11 o’clock.”

He added that the development has secured overflow parking that would be dedicated to vessel operators, with the facility to be monitored by CCTV and controlled access.

On competition, Mr Russell said the development would not operate a restaurant or food business that would directly compete with Potter’s Cay vendors. He said an initially-proposed deli had been misunderstood, explaining that it was intended primarily to provide coffee and light breakfast items for early-morning boaters.

“My intention is to be no kind of competition; to sell no food or what you sell,” Mr Russell said. “We ourselves would probably have a souveniur shop... But again, there’s no competition from us outside of us wanting to sell coffee.”

Mr Russell said the development would instead seek to direct visitors toward existing vendors and help them capitalise on additional tourist traffic. He envisioned partnerships with tour boat operators, including arrangements that could encourage their passengers to visit Potter’s Cay vendors, while also proposing business and marketing initiatives to help existing operators increase their revenues.

“We intend not to just be developing. We intend to figure out how we could be a contribution to you,” Mr Russell said.

Part of that effort, he said, would include a welcome centre at the marina where representatives of the Potter’s Cay Vendors Association could help introduce visitors to the businesses and products available in the area.

The development would also include amenities intended to improve the wider waterfront experience, including cabanas and spaces for dominoes and checkers players. Mr Russell said he wanted the project to enhance the area without stripping away its local character.

“I want you to make that commercial money, but keep this native feel,” he said. Mr Russell added that the marina would provide overnight docking and would specifically welcome tour boat operators who he claimed are sometimes unable to secure space at other marinas.

“We want that tour boat to feel welcome there, that he can dock there at night and still carry his guests and bring them back at that same dock,” he said.

Mr Russell said the project would involve more than the marina itself, with the marina structure expected to take about a year to a year-and-a-half to complete and other planned improvements targeted within a two-year period. He said the total investment is expected to be “around $2m-plus, up over $2m”.

Environmental concerns were also raised during the consultation process. The project's environmental consultant, Janeen Bullard of JSS Consulting, said the development would be subject to environmental monitoring during construction and dredging, including the use of turbidity curtains and regular testing of water conditions.

Mr Russell stressed the development was not approved for fuel sales and would not operate a fuel facility. The proposed marina is expected to have 20 slips available for its operations, according to Mr Russell, with the wider plan also including dry storage for jet skis.

He said the development is being designed around the needs of tour boat operators rather than as a conventional marina catering primarily to private boat owners.

Mr Russell said the project would require years to recoup its investment, but argued that its value extended beyond its financial return. “It’s more so a personal thing for me,” he said, describing his long-standing connection to the waterfront and his desire to see Potter’s Cay regain some of the character he remembers from his youth.

The Potter’s Cay Fish, Fruit and Vegetable Vendors Association has welcomed the proposed development. Ormanique Bowe, its president, said the group had decided to partner with Blu Cay Development, describing Mr Russell as a young Bahamian who had grown up in the area and whose vision could help enhance the community.

“We welcome the new extension to this area and will work hand in hand so that tourist vendors and natives can enjoy what Potter’s Cay has to offer,” said Ms Bowe.

The Association also pointed to its own broader vision for the redevelopment of Potter’s Cay, which it claimed to have presented to the current administration in 2023.

Ms Bowe said the Association believes relocating mailboat operations to Arawak Cay would create room for additional stalls, a family entertainment area, an entertainment stage, high-end shops and a cultural square.

The Association's proposed redevelopment vision extends from the Sir Sidney Poitier Bridge to Potter’s Cay, and is intended to address what Ms Bowe described as the area's growing congestion and deterioration while expanding its commercial and cultural potential.