The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

A major US-based resort developer/operator yesterday confirmed it had teamed up with Craig Symonette, brother of Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette, to expand an Eleuthera hotel via a $15 million first phase investment.

Sean Urgo, a principal of Urgo Hotels' development arm, told Tribune Business that the company and Mr Symonette were ultimately looking at a total $25 million build-out in expanding the CocoDiMama Charming Resort, which is located seven miles north of Governor's Harbour.

Urgo Hotels purchased the 12-room property in 2007, and is in the process of acquiring from the Government almost 11 acres at the former US Navy base site immediately to the south of its existing land to facilitate the expansion.

Disclosing that a groundbreaking for the project was scheduled for this Sunday, featuring Urgo's president and chief executive, Donald Urgo; Mr Symonette; and Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, minister of tourism and aviation, Sean Urgo said it was set to create "an impressive number of job for the construction phase", with "a good number" of full-time posts to follow.

Confirming that all necessary government approvals for the project were in, with the conveying of the necessary 10.87 acres at the former US navy base set to happen "within the next week", Sean Urgo told Tribune Business the project was also set to renovate the existing CocoDiMama property and "take it up a notch".

He added that construction on the project's renovation component was expected to start in mid-September 2012 after Labour Day, with work on the expansion beginning in January 2013. The new facilities were expected to be ready for opening by January 2014.

"We're buying almost 11 acres from the Government," Sean Urgo confirmed to Tribune Business. "We've been approved in writing, and the conveyancing will take place within the next week, we expect.

"We're partnering up with Craig Symonette. It's a renovation of the existing CocoDiMama and an expansion project. The first phase will be 30 new hotel rooms, bringing CocoDiMama's room count up to 42, and one condo building featuring four two-bed condos. The first phase project is to bring the hotel rooms up to 41 and one condo building.

"It's a $25 million total investment, but the initial first phase is $15 million. When we build this expansion out all the way, and combine all the condos eventually built, it will be $25 million."

Adding that each of those condos could ultimately provide three room keys apiece, Sean Urgo said the first phase expansion would get CocoDiMama up to around 52 rooms.

Explaining that the condo building was intended to effectively 'prime the market' and be a "value builder" when it came to real estate, Sean Urgo said the four condos would have a $650,000 price tag attached and be targeted primarily at Nassauvians.

"We're planning to sell these first four condos to Nassauvians," he confirmed. "We already have some interested buyers we are talking to make that initial investment......

"This is not one of those grandiose projects. It's a real project. It's something that doesn't scream, but it's a value builder in real estate. We believe there's a market just in Nassau for these condo sales. It's a price point that's not positioned at the ultra high-end; it's investor user-friendly."

Sean Urgo explained that Urgo Hotels acquired CocoDiMama in 2007, plus "a good amount of land around the property", with the intention of doing a large-scale project until the credit crunch/recession got in the way.

"This was all part of a project on 500 acres of land in 2007," he recalled. "We had a golf course, a Mandarin Oriental Hotel was planned, and there was a marina component. With what happened in the economy, we pulled that."

Urgo Hotels has clearly set its sights lower, focusing on a smaller, niche product that is attractive to lenders in the current climate. "It's doable," Sean Urgo said of the latest plans.

"It's sizeable for banks. It's the kind of thing banks are lending to right now. It's a small, boutique-type project, has a good equity-to-debt ratio. This is the kind of project banks are attracted to in the Caribbean."

Urgo Hotels, which has an ownership interest in or operates 31 resorts in the US, Canada and the Caribbean, according to its website, owns three other land parcels apart from the existing CocoDiMama resort itself. Its total landholdings at its Eleuthera property constitute about 100 acres.

"We're going to take it up a notch," Sean Urgo said of the planned upgrades to the existing property. "We'll renovate the existing CocoDiMama and expand it." Among the amenities set for construction is a swimming pool, more function and lounge space, more screened areas, and a landscaping upgrade.

"All approvals are in and the conveyancing's in the works," Sean Urgo told Tribune Business. "We've got the approvals to go forward with the project. We've started planning, and have engaged architects to come up with schematics and elevations.

"The concept and idea is off and running. We will start construction in mid-September after Labour Day, concentrating on renovating the existing CocoDiMama and doing horizontal preparation to the expansion site.

"In January 2013 we will look to start the new construction, and be open in January 2014."