The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Hurricane Hole’s developer yesterday said its investment will increase by $20m-$30m amid plans to build the Caribbean’s largest marina at the Paradise Island destination.

STERLING Global Financial executives said the project was a “couple of weeks” ahead of schedule and has met all its milestones to-date, with total investment now projected to rise from the initial $250m to between $270m to $280m.

“Thus far we have made all of our milestones and done it ahead of schedule,” said Khaalis Rolle, Sterling Global Financia’s senior executive vice-president for business development. “We said we would break ground a year from the time we purchased the property. We were actually a week ahead of that, and I think now we are a couple weeks ahead of the construction schedule.

“We have employed with the project directly about 55 to 60 people, but with all of the sub-contractors and contractors we are well within the hundreds.” Some 600 jobs are expected to be generated during Hurricane Hole’s redevelopment, with around 500 permanent jobs created at completion.

Mr Rolle, former investments minister under the Christie administration, added: “We purchased this property from Brookfield in February of 2018, and one of the commitments we made was we wanted to break ground within a year. For a development of this nature and size it is virtually unheard of, from purchase to design, to go through that process within 12 months.

“Due to some of the changes we have made to the design, we think it’s going to go beyond our original estimates of $250m to maybe $270m or $280m. The entire project is expected to be completed in five years.”

Sterling Global Financial is expected to move its offices to Hurricane Hole upon its transformation into a “mixed used” development consisting of retail, office and residential space.

Mr Rolle said: “We have seen quite a bit of interest from various services providers. The retail offerings will be service-oriented. We will have two restaurants, which will be standalone. There will be a liquor store, a mailboxes type facility, dry cleaners, a spa, hair and nail salon, doctor’s offices and things of that nature that people will need. We are also building a 5,000 square foot supermarket.

He declined to name the tenant for the supermarket, but added that the Hurricane Hole development is being carried out in three phases. The first two buildings will be called Sterling Commons, and feature retail, office and residential components. The marina will also be incorporated into first phase work.

Yesterday featured the pouring of concrete to mark the start of vertical construction for the first phase, which is expected to be completed by the end of June 2020. The second phase will be called One Paradise Island, said Mr Rolle, adding that this will include residential towers, the restaurants and supermarket.

“A key feature which excites me in this first phase is the mega yacht marina, which will be the largest in The Bahamas and Caribbean. Our smallest slip will be north of 50 feet, and the largest one would be 500 feet. There is no other marina in the Caribbean that has a dock as big as that. We are very excited about that,” said Mr Rolle.