The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Sir Franklyn Wilson says "everything spins" on how quickly the Jack's Bay project can find 40 "founder" investors to kick-start its next expansion phase following Friday's Heads of Agreement signing.

Making an impassioned plea for "everyone in Eleuthera" to rally behind the investment, its chairman said the build-out pace for a development that has been 35 years in the making and counting now hinges on attracting a group of high net worth individuals prepared to part with a minimum $1.5m to acquire lots and build their own homes.

"It all depends on what happens with getting these founders. Everything spins on this," Sir Franklyn told Tribune Business after the signing. "It's in the interests of everyone in the country to get these 40 founders. Everyone is invested in this.

"The key is if everyone in Eleuthera pulls together and works with us, it can only go faster. We've already had real estate agents approaching us with their clients. Real estate agents from Harbour Island have been down here. If we have to build 40 homes at Jack's Bay in the near future, you know what that means in terms of employment?

"If we can sell those 40 founder units in a very short period of time there could be a level of employment on Eleuthera of the kind that the island has never, ever seen. Everyone in Eleuthera has a stake in helping to attract those 40 founders to Jack's Bay; everyone has a stake," he continued.

"In fact, everyone in The Bahamas has a stake. If we're successful in building those homes very quickly we will need people from Nassau to build. That will be a wonderful problem for The Bahamas to have."

The "founder" strategy is one typically employed by new-build private members' clubs and mixed-use resort communities to attract high net worth owners to invest in buying/constructing residences, thereby providing them with the critical mass and credibility to grow and gain further homeowners.

Albany, the high-end south-west New Providence community, whose investors include Bahamas-based billionaire Joe Lewis and his Tavistock Group, which led the development of similar projects in Florida such as Lake Nona and Isleworth, as well as world-famous golfers Ernie Els and Tiger Woods.

Albany's managing partner told this newspaper at the time that the project knew the identity of its founders before any construction activity started. And Baker's Bay, the Abaco-based mixed-use resort and residential community that Jack's Bay is also modelling itself on, enjoyed significant success in selling real estate prior to Hurricane Dorian.

The south Eleuthera project used the platform provided by Friday's Heads of Agreement signing, and completion of the Tiger Woods-designed 10-hole golf course, to launch its marketing campaign to attract these founders via a glossy promotional brochure seen by this newspaper which seeks to sell the lifestyle concept offered by Jack's Bay.

Sir Franklyn replied "in God's time" when asked how rapidly he expected Jack's Bay to rein in the necessary 40 investors, who can spend up to $3.66m on their home sites, and take the project to its next phase which includes development of another Tiger Woods-designed golf course - this one for 18 holes.

Suggesting that the $100m already invested by himself and his fellow investor group on developing a clubhouse, together with dining and accommodation options on the 1,200-acre property, had created sufficient amenities to appeal to high-end real estate buyers, Sir Franklyn said the investment in developing Jack's Bay moving forward will likely be "a lot more" than the $400m given by the Government.

Although the uncertainty and economic fall-out created by the COVID-19 pandemic appears likely to impact the "founder" search, Sir Franklyn told Tribune Business yesterday that within 48 hours of the Heads of Agreement signing he had been contacted by "a very senior partner in a substantial law firm" in The Bahamas seeking details and sales information on Jack's Bay to pass to a major client.

"The fact we're trying to get 40 founders is a way of saying to the super wealthy this is really exclusive," he added. "We're not trying to get 400. We're only trying to get 40."

Given that Jack's Bay is following the same business model employed by the likes of Lyford Cay, Albany, Baker's Bay and the Abaco Club, the project's build-out will likely take many years. For these reasons, Sir Franklyn said the developers were not imposing any timelines on themselves, or providing figures for total investment and the number of jobs created.

"Lyford Cay has been here 70 years and is still growing and reinventing itself by putting in millions of dollars more [at the Lyford Cay Club] to make sure it stays current and relevant, and that the standards are maintained," he added.

"I can assure you that everything that has happened in south-west New Providence, E. P. Taylor didn't see all of that. That wasn't the plan. The fact of the matter is that when you do this type of thing, the owners take over."

Asked whether predictions that Jack's Bay will have a Lyford-Cay type effect on Eleuthera's economy, as touted during the Heads of Agreement signing, were realistic, Sir Franklyn responded: "Just think about it. Why should it not? It's inevitable.

"I will give you an example. Look at Governor's Harbour today. Look at the restaurant activity, the amount of activity in Governor's Harbour. A lot of that is due, and credit is given to a developer called Bob Coleman.

"Bob has built dozens of homes in Governor's Harbour. The people who bought those homes helped to sustain the restaurants and other activity there. The work of Bob Coleman and other developers has had a significant effect on all spin-offs happening at Governor's Harbour."

Arguing that resort communities had been proven as a "viable" development model for The Bahamas, Sir Franklyn added: "Baker's Bay, despite the recession in 2008-2009, based on our research sold $688m of real estate in ten years after that. Think about the power of that, think about the power of that........

"There was a time at Albany, shortly past the point where we are at, where 50 percent of the truck drivers on this island were working at Albany once they had got the founders. That is where we are at."

Asked by this newspaper whether Jack's Bay was largely a real estate play, Sir Franklyn said the proceeds from founder lot sales would be used to further develop amenities and attractions at the community.

"It's not a question of a real estate play in the sense we are selling real estate and taking money out to put in our own pocket. We use that to put in more amenities and more people will come," he added, denying the project was reliant on such sales for the bulk of its financing.

Bahamians have in recent years become increasingly sceptical about Heads of Agreement signings involving the Government and major tourism-based investment projects given that the country is littered with unfinished developments that have been abandoned by investors who never delivered on their promises.

When asked why he was confident that Jack's Bay will not follow this trend, Sir Franklyn pointed to the fact he and his fellow investors have stuck with the project for 35 years and already sunk some $100m into developing its existing amenities.

Suggesting this was why they will not walk away, he said: "The difference is that over 35 years we have learnt a great deal. It is not like this is the first Heads of Agreement we've signed. The first one was in 2004. This agreement is defined as a restated and updated Heads of Agreement.

"We were in that category of false starts; that was where we were in 2004. The difference from then to now is that we've learnt so much and have spent millions and millions of dollars. We are not saying we are going to build a Tiger Woods Playground golf course, we have built it. You can come today and enjoy it. That's the big difference; that's the big change."

Friday's signing appears to represent the first efforts by the Minnis administration to deliver on its post-COVID-19 pandemic promise of fast-tracking all "viable" investment projects in the pipeline.

While Sir Franklyn's Sunshine Holdings group is Eleuthera Properties’ largest shareholder, its other investors include the likes of Colina, BAF Financial, the John Bull Group of Companies and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).

Besides the corporate investors, the Anglican Church has been “gifted” shares in Eleuthera Properties Ltd, while the estates of the late John Morley and Billy Lowe were also among the shareholders.

Eleuthera links to the investors are through the estates of the late Albert Sands and Whitfield Kemp. Another Eleuthera shareholder is businessman Lawrence Griffin from Governor’s Harbour, while Sir Orville Turnquest, the former governor-general, and his family - long-time investment and business partners of Sir Franklyn - are also invested.