The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Lynden Pindling International Airport’s (LPIA) operator has launched a formal bidding process to determine if third-party developers are interested in meeting demand for office space at its location.

A Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) spokesperson, responding to Tribune Business’s questions, said it released this week’s expression of interest (EOI) document in response to inquiries by both government and private sector entities about obtaining office space near LPIA.

“We have had interest expressed in office spaces proximate to the airport by multiple government entities and others. As such we determined to gauge the interest of qualified developers to undertake this project,” they said. “[We] will be better positioned to speak to the interest of developers once the process ends on January 31, 2020.”

The spokesperson added that NAD has “identified five acres of airport land north-east of our terminal buildings” that would be suitable for an office and commercial complex.

It is seeking, according to advertisements published on Monday, entities/persons with eight to ten years’ experience in developing, owning and operating “major office and/or commercial complexes in The Bahamas” and the ability to raise necessary financing.

“NAD’s goal is to develop its landholdings within the footprint of the airport to satisfy potential demand for office facilities near the airport, and to create general facilities to support and stimulate aviation-related and other business and economic activity,” the advertisement stated.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson said NAD had yet to select a winning bidder for the proposed airport hotel despite the Request for Proposal (RFP) launched last year generating substantial inquiries.

“The process generated significant interest from proponents. We do not have a selected proponent at this point,” they added.

Tribune Business exclusively revealed plans for an airport hotel back in October 2011. The original developers were the owners of the Atlantic Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale, who were looking to construct the hotel on a three-acre site immediately to the south of Windsor Field Road, right between the two entrance and exit roundabouts for LPIA.

The project was anticipated to create between 100-150 full-time jobs, and the developers were aiming to construct a facility of ‘four-star’ standard, rather than the typical ‘two-star’ airport hotel, targeting the private aviation market and foreign directors of Bahamas-based companies who fly into LPIA for Board and other meetings.

George Allen, one of the principals in the original developer group, subsequently told Tribune Business they had elected not to pursue the LPIA ‘airport hotel’ because feasibility studies showed it could sustain only 50 rooms.

This was 50 per cent of the inventory eyed by NAD, and Mr Allen said the group had instead looked at developing a mixed-use proposal for the site involving a smaller hotel, offices, retail and restaurant. This, though, failed to match NAD’s demands.

“The feasibility was not that good,” he said in explaining why the project was not pursued. “It can barely sustain 50 rooms based on the feasibility we did. We didn’t pursue it.

“We were trying out restaurants, offices, shops, and they wanted a larger hotel there. That would have had to go to a chain that was willing to sacrifice and wait 10 years for it [investment returns] to happen.”