The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Exuma’s Chamber of Commerce president yesterday said he was hopeful the controversy-torn Oceania Heights project may “turn the corner” soon, adding that its success was equally important as new investors on the island.

Pedro Rolle, who has also become Oceania Heights’ president, told Tribune Business that his meeting earlier this week with Deputy Prime Minister, Philip Davis, showed the Government had not forgotten the need to correct what had happened to investors in the project.

While acknowledging that Oceania Heights’ fate was unlikely to be on the Government’s “leader board”, given the numerous other issues the Christie administration was facing, Mr Rolle said this week’s meeting had given him some comfort that it was still committed to bringing the situation to final resolution.

While not going into the details of what was discussed with Mr Davis, Mr Rolle said the two planned to meet again in two weeks’ time to assess progress on Oceania Heights.

“The goal remains that we would like to position Oceania as a potentially viable community, and if we can remove the stigma put on it, we can start to take steps moving forward,” the Chamber president told Tribune Business.

“I think we can attract people to be part of this community. I can’t afford to give up on this. I’ve invested a lot of time and effort in it.”

Tribune Business has repeatedly revealed over the last four years how Oceania’s initial developers, Canadian citizen Howard Obront and Bahamian attorney Anthony Thompson, structured the project as a giant ‘tax avoidance’ scheme To live up to its ‘tax free real estate investment’ billing.

Mr Thompson, as a Bahamian, was shown as the owner of land. This ensured it was not subjected to real property tax, due to the exemption for Bahamians owning Family Island real estate.

And it also meant no Stamp Duty was paid to the Treasury on the property sales either. This, though, also resulted in no conveyances being passed to Oceania buyers, meaning they did not obtain clear title to their land.

These and a myriad of other problems have undermined Oceania Heights’ development. And, apart from the damage inflicted on foreign investors and the Bahamas’ business reputation, the project was also effectively a ‘rip off’ of the Bahamian taxpayer and Public Treasury.

The Government has forced Messrs Obront and Thompson to cede control at Oceania to a Homeowners Association, which appointed Mr Rolle as the project’s president and is working with him to chart a new course.

Mr Rolle told Tribune Business that Oceania Heights’ past continued to have a negative impact on both the project and island’s reputations, and he is now working feverishly to convert it into a positive story moving forward.

“We speak to people. I’m in the real estate business and head of the Chamber of Commerce,” he added. “I’m somewhat surprised that investors or potential investors, so many of them know Oceania and the name Obront.”

Mr Rolle said much of his time was spent reassuring investors that neither Oceania nor Exuma were a bad place.

“It’s a positive place to come, and one bad experience is not indicative of the future experiences they may have,” he told Tribune Business. “I’m trying so hard to change this around, so there’s a good, positive story.”

Mr Rolle suggested this may not be too far away from happening, and when it did the Oceania saga would “turn the corner” and alter people’s perceptions of both Exuma and the project.

“It’s just as important as new investors coming in,” he told Tribune Business. “I think Oceania can be just as positive.”

However, Oceania’s existing investors, who have a collective $50 million exposure, last week said they felt betrayed and abandoned by the Bahamian justice system, with their development struggling to move forward under the weight of its controversial past.

Chris Fleming and Chris Bain told Tribune Business slammed the authorities for failing to take stronger action against the former developers and prosecute them in the courts.

With some 20 existing Oceania lot buyers having walked away from their investments in frustration, Mr Fleming told Tribune Business that the sale of these properties and others were critical to generating an estimated $5.25 million to finance the development’s full build-out.

And Mr Bain expressed scepticism over whether his land at Oceania, and that belonging to other investors, was “worth anything” due to the project’s ongoing woes.