The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government was yesterday warned that any “knee jerk” Grand Lucayan solution could “kill” a $350 million proposal designed to transform Freeport into an Atlantis-style tourism destination.

Peter Hunt, the Port Lucaya Marketplace’s proprietor, told Tribune Business that the Minnis administration could sacrifice “fantastic long-term gain” if it secured the wrong operator/owner for the city’s ‘anchor resort’ property.

Acknowledging Grand Bahama’s dire economic condition, and the desperate need to get hundreds of Bahamians re-employed immediately, Mr Hunt agreed that the Government faced a major predicament.

Yet he said his plans to convert the Lucaya area to an adventure-themed destination would be “a dead duck” if the Government signed a long-term lease with an all-inclusive brand for the Grand Lucayan.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for Grand Bahama to finally come out of its terrible state,” Mr Hunt said of his proposed project. “But how the deal is going to shake out, I really don’t know.

“The Government is holding all the cards. I’m just hoping they don’t pull the wrong card out of the pack. What I mean by that is if they put an all-inclusive operator in there to keep people happy, I do believe it will be an error on their part.”

Mr Hunt disclosed that when he and his partners acquired the Port Lucaya Marketplace they made it clear to the then-government that it was the first step in a much grander mid to long-term development strategy for Lucaya.

“I made it quite clear to the previous government at the time, Prime Minister Christie and Sir Baltron Bethel, that we were buying Port Lucaya Marketplace with a mid and long-term vision to turn it into an Atlantis-style destination, where people could have fun and spent money,” he told Tribune Business.

Yet Hutchison Whampoa had been reluctant to sell the Grand Lucayan prior to Hurricane Matthew’s intervention, and the property’s near 11-month closure that has thrown Freeport and Grand Bahama’s economy into a tailspin.

Mr Hunt said he had delivered the same message to Deputy Prime Minister, K P Turnquest, and Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, the former minister and director-general of tourism, who is assisting the Government’s efforts to resolve Freeport’s tourism product woes.

“I’ve made it quite clear that we’ve spent a lot of time and money putting this project together, and we’re working with experts in their chosen field,” he added.

“I’m talking to some partners in the UK who would be very keen to get involved. The whole thing is a $350 million deal. We’ve already got one or two interested partners; London-type finance companies.”

Declining to name any potential partners, or financing sources, Mr Hunt added: “We’re not going to rush into it; we’re going to make sure the partners are the right ones and that they can pull it off.

“The biggest concern I have is the Government goes knee jerk, and puts an operator into that resort long-term that makes this deal fall through. This adventure park can only work if we have the entirety of it, and have an operator in there [the Grand Lucayan] that’s part of the village. 

“If they put an all-inclusive operator in there for five to 10 years, it will kill the deal. I’m very, very nervous that the Government will have a knee jerk reaction because they want to open that resort quickly. That will kill the deal. It won’t work. It will be a dead duck.”

Tribune Business revealed on Wednesday that Mr Hunt and his Port Lucaya Marketplace partners were “part of the conversation” as the Government grapples for a Grand Lucayan ‘solution’ that avoids a repeat of the losses that have plagued the resort - and Freeport’s tourism product - for years.

Multiple contacts suggested that Mr Hunt and his partners were being lined up to take an equity stake in the Government proposal, announced by Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, that would see it take part ownership of the Grand Lucayan to ensure its rapid opening.

Mr Hunt’s comments, though, suggest he has his eyes on a much bigger potential prize - if he can find the partners and financing, and is given the space, to pull it off. He added that the renderings on his website, published in Tribune Business on Wednesday, were professionally produced to show his vision for the Lucaya area.

The Government’s efforts to attract back Sunwing and its Memories resort affiliate are unlikely to be his ideal, given that the latter is just the type of all-inclusive operator he wants it to avoid.

And the pressures on the Minnis administration to get the Grand Lucayan open as rapidly as possible, and by whatever means necessary, are increasing by the day (see other article on Page 1B).

The property’s closure has deprived Grand Bahama of 59 per cent of its room inventory, some 1,000 keys, and cost the island around 1,000 direct jobs, with many persons heading to Nassau in search of work.

Mr Hunt agreed that the Government was in an extremely difficult position, and added that it had been supportive of his proposal “as much as they can” in the circumstances.

“But we feel the process is being rushed because they have to do something, and that could restrict long-term gain,” he added. 

“I feel sorry for them [the Government]. They’re saying ‘Peter, we’d like to work with you, but people are saying we need something to happen today’. 

“I sympathise with them. They’re in a tough spot. All we’re saying is be very careful what you sign, because it could come back and bite you. I know they’ve got to get that place open, but short-term pain is long-term gain.”

The Grand Lucayan is a critical ‘piece of the puzzle’ if Mr Hunt and his partners are to realise their vision of transforming the Lucaya strip into a destination to rival the likes of Atlantis and Baha Mar.

Numerous other assets and land parcels, such as the Port Lucaya Marina and former Port Lucaya Resort, will also be required and need to be integrated into a comprehensive masterplan,

Mr Hunt said yesterday he was talking to the necessary owners, but conceded that his plans would not materialise “overnight” and needed “a bit of time” to come to fruition - time that Freeport and Grand Bahama may not have.

“I can’t stress enough that it’s the whole package that makes money,” he told Tribune Business. “It doesn’t work when it’s piecemeal.

“This [project] will transform the island for the rest of its life. Secondary businesses will be spun off, and local Bahamians will be working.

This would transform the island into a worldwide destination that people would want to come to, themed and branded, which would be on the world map. It will be operated by a recognised group, and we’ll be partners with that group.”

Mr Hunt said his plans called for a new, multi-storey building to be constructed next to the Port Lucaya Marketplace. Doctors and dentists’ surgeries would be on the ground floor, together with a pharmacy, while the second floor will contain a car park.

Arcade-style entertainment would be located on the third floor, with a medical centre above that and, on the top floor, condominiums.

Further proposed amenities include a nearby cruise pier; mega and fishing marinas; adventure and water-based theme parks; and canals with man-made reefs for snorkelling.

Mr Hunt said the Port Lucaya Marketplace would remain as the cafe, restaurant, bar and shopping experience, while he also hoped to attract local dolphin attractions to “be part of the village’, too.

He added that his plans called for three theme-based resorts, and pledged that the property would be open to Bahamians at lower prices than visitors.

Suggesting that employment would be created for “thousands” of Bahamians, Mr Hunt said “the critical key” to his proposal were the entrepreneurial and business opportunities that his project will create.