The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor ROBIN Hood's president is eyeing a career move into real estate development via a further $5.5-$8 million build-out of the former retailer's Prince Charles Drive site, telling Tribune Business he had "five interested parties" seeking to rent the existing store there. Suggesting that he had not given up on his development vision despite Robin Hood's closure, Sandy Schaefer said his focus was on leasing out the former retailer's 45,000 square foot property on Prince Charles Drive to another tenant, prior to starting further construction. Indicating that both himself and his family have yet to decide whether to remain in the Bahamas, or return to the US, Mr Schaefer said he was eyeing a move into the real estate development side of the retail industry through the construction of another shopping plaza, which could range in size from 40,000-90,000 square feet, at the Prince Charles Drive site. "My interest squarely is the property out east," he told Tribune Business. "The property has great value if it's developed, and if we can move forward we are looking at anything from 40,000 to 90,000 square feet, with a vertical build of three-four floors." Mr Schaefer said he had already been given some "leeway" by the church next door when it came to parking space at Prince Charles Drive, something that potentially gave any future development an additional 200 spots, taking total capacity to 450. "It gives us plenty of parking," he added. Sceptics are likely to argue that Mr Schaefer's major challenge will be to find investors/financing to fund his eastern New Providence ambitions, especially after Robin Hood folded, taking 65 jobs with it after suffering a $3.6 million net loss during its last year in existence. But, seemingly undaunted, Mr Schaefer told Tribune Business that the top two floors of his envisaged shopping plaza would feature one bedroom apartments, with the second hosting a 20,000-26,000 square foot gymnasium. Apart from a Scotiabank branch and Sbarro's eatery, the ground floor is targeting a mixture of fine dining restaurants and retail. "That location certainly lends itself to a beautiful shopping centre. There's nothing else out there," Mr Schaefer said of the Prince Charles Drive site. "The extra cost in developing this, depending on the course we go, will be somewhere between $5.5-$8 million. If it's done in the style I'm thinking about, it will be a premier shopping centre and destination for people." Mr Schaefer estimated that the additional plaza would take between 12-18 months to complete once construction started, with the latter date also dependent on when the New Providence Road Improvement's roadworks on Prince Charles Drive are completed. That project is scheduled to finish some time in summer 2012. He added that the property was owned by himself and his wife, although US investor Leigh Rodney, who owns New Providence's Compass Point resort, holds a mortgage lien on the real estate after providing the financing for Mr Schaefer's eastern expansion. Some $8 million has already been invested into the Prince Charles site, including the initial $2 million-plus land purchase from Pepsi-Cola. Development plans also await finding a tenant to lease the existing Robin Hood store on Prince Charles Drive. "I've got about five interested parties right now," Mr Schaefer told Tribune Business. "I'm looking to have someone take over the grocery store, which is 40,000 square feet. We have already subdivided the remaining 5,000 square feet into a restaurant of 1,000-1,200 square feet, a US Gold store and kiosk bank, both of 600 square feet. We've already got that all leased up, and are now just looking for a restaurant. "It's just the main space, and once we've done that we will move forward with developing the rest of the property." Asked when he was likely to secure a tenant, Mr Schaefer replied: "I would hope within the next 30-60 days; it could be sooner. I'm meeting with people today, tomorrow and Friday; every day this week I've had a meeting with people showing them this building. "The interest is keen, primarily because this is the only grocery building on the island that is turnkey." Given that Robin Hood's Prince Charles Drive outlet had only been open for two months in early 2011, Mr Schaefer said all its equipment remained in place and was "high efficiency and in tip top shape". "You're only talking about putting inventory in," Mr Schaefer said. "Anyone going in will benefit from that huge investment we've made, and can open up the place in two-three weeks." Asked by Tribune Business whether he would ever re-enter the Bahamian retail industry, Mr Schaefer said: "I would never say it's over, but it wouldn't be my first choice at this point. The powers that be prefer that I not be in retail at this point, and I accept and am comfortable with that. "Retail is an extremely demanding business, and if you do not have the drive and inclination to spend 12-14 hours a day monitoring it, it will not work." The ex-Robin Hood said that by focusing on the real estate aspect of retail, he was essentially going back to his New York/New Jersey roots. He added that it was "critically important to know what works in retail, and having the right mix of retailers" to ensure developments were successful. Mr Schaefer added that he was also helping his former landlord at Tonique Williams-Darling Highway, ex-Cabinet minister Leslie Miller, to redesign the Robin Hood store there to accommodate a grocery store and 10-12 other retailers.