The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The long-awaited sale of Exuma’s February Point development finally completed on Friday afternoon, Tribune Business can reveal, with its leading investor partnering with 10 existing homeowners in a “debt free purchase”.

Burton Rodgers, a Bahamian partner of Florida-based investor, John MrGarvey, yesterday confirmed the conclusion of the $8.2 million deal with February Point’s former owners, the Hart family.

The acquisition, which also includes Flamingo Bay, was said to be “debt free”, and Mr Rodgers said Mr McGarvey, who also owns Exuma’s former Coconut Cove resort, was planning a March job fair as his first move in taking the development forward.

Mr Rodgers added: “We have the right blend of investors, all of whom are known to the Government and the wider community, and have previously demonstrated their commitment as they have all already invested millions of dollars into Exuma.

“We are looking forward to the rebirth of February Point and, by extension, the further development of surrounding communities.”

Tribune Business sources had previously confirmed that the February Point purchase had closed on Friday afternoon, with Mr McGarvey partnering with 10 existing homeowners, who have joined him as equity investors.

One source told this newspaper: “They closed the deal at 3.30pm on Friday. There was a meeting the day before between Mr McGarvey and the Prime Minister, and it went extremely well.”

The source, who has been close to developments at February Point, said that while Mr McGarvey had contemplated vendor financing for the acquisition, in the form of allowing the Harts to take a mortgage over February Point in part exchange, that option was ultimately dropped.

“That didn’t happen in the end,” they said. “The homeowners did not want the Harts to have any more involvement down there.

“It’s all purely MrGarvey and the homeowners together. It’s looking good. It was critically important to save that development. This was very important, and is going to be good for the future of Exuma and Georgetown.”

Thomas Dean, a Freeport-based attorney with Dupuch & Turnquest, who acted for Mr McGarvey in the purchase, previously said the group’s proposed project - worth an initial $40 million - would transform Georgetown into “a mini mecca”.

“This will revolutionise the Great Exuma, Georgetown area and have knock-on and beneficial effects for the Central Bahamas, as it will create Georgetown as a mini-mecca in the centre of paradise,” the attorney told Tribune Business.

Tribune Business understands that Mr McGarvey and his group plan to change the project’s focus from a pure residential development into one that is mixed-use.

Once the deal closes, it is thought the new owners will develop a 25-unit complex of condominiums, which will be placed in a hotel rental pool and also offer the potential for fractional ownership.

And, slightly further out, a boutique five-star resort has also been earmarked for February Point, together with an expansion of the existing marina.

Mr McGarvey and his group are seeking to attract the mega yacht market, and sources said they are proposing a ‘Georgetown Marina Village’ that would be similar in style, and size, to the existing Atlantis Marina Village and Freeport’s Port Lucaya.

The February Point purchasers are also acquiring, and seeking to revive, the closed concrete plant opposite the main development site, plus establish a community sports complex.

Upgrades to the existing community and beach areas at February Point are also planned.

Tribune Business understands that Prime Minister Perry Christie and his government are hoping that Mr McGarvey’s redevelopment of February Point, and the surrounding area, will be a catalyst and do for Georgetown what Genting is doing for Bimini - albeit on a smaller scale.

Getting to this point, though, has not been easy. Previously planned closing dates with the Harts, of February 6 and February 14, had to be extended as all the paperwork and legal documents were finalised.

Mr McGarvey also had to pay off the $380,000 owed by the Harts in unpaid National Insurance Board (NIB) contributions, plus redundancy and other payments owed to some 20-plus former February Point staff.

And February Point’s homeowners were forced to band together, and contribute their own funds, to pay for the projet’s ongoing security, upkeep and common area maintenance, after the Harts stopped paying the developer’s portion.

Still, Pedro Rolle, Exuma’s Chamber of Commerce president, in a recent interview told Tribune Business that the McGarvey group’s plans for February Point would help revitalise the island’s capital, Georgetown, due to its close proximity.

“Based on the plans they have for Exuma, it’s going to have a wide-ranging impact,” Mr Rolle said of the McGarvey group.

Not everyone has been convinced. George Smith, the former PLP MP for Exuma, said his main complaint was that the McGarvey deal appeared to rely on real estate sales for its success.

Suggesting this raised questions about the sustainability of its financing structure, Mr Smith said: “There’s no evidence it was well thought-out in the first place.

“I just don’t like deals where the person tells you the development hinges on selling property. That’s always a bad deal.”