The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Mosko Group is aiming to develop a beach club, featuring a zip line attraction in front of a public beach, on land it owns between Sandyport and Caves Village.

Vakis Ltd, which is the group’s real estate development and leasing arm for properties such as Harbour Bay Shopping Centre, has unveiled plans for the 7.272-acre project on New Providence’s north coast at a location known as Rock Point.

The development, which requires approval from the Town Planning Committee and other planning regulators to be rezoned from ‘residential’ to ‘commercial’ before it can proceed, will also feature swimming pools; a beach bar; cabanas, loungers and a conch stand; a gift shop; vehicle parking and changing rooms, lockers and showers.

Jimmy Mosko declined to comment when contacted by Tribune Business and referred this newspaper to Toby Hayes, who also declined to speak on the grounds that he did not want to prejudice the project’s upcoming Town Planning Committee hearing on October 21. 

“A lot of thought and a lot of effort has gone into it from a lot of different parties to come up with something,” he said. Given the project’s proximity to Sea Beach Estates, several sources have suggested there will likely be opposition at the Town Planning meeting due to concerns over increased traffic volumes and congestion.

Ahead of the Town Planning hearing and public consultation, the Mosko Group of Companies and Vakis Ltd have been busy evicting an alleges trespasser - a daiquiri shack operator - from the Rock Point property and development site.

Vakis Ltd has obtained an August 2, 2024, ruling from Justice Carla Card-Stubbs requiring Andrew Murray, operator of ‘Daq Shack’ or ‘Tropical Daiquiri’, to “pull down or remove” his structure within three weeks plus remove all tables, benches and other belongings from the site within the same timeframe. An injunction was also issued to prevent Mr Murray from “trespassing” on the land.

However, photos supplied to Tribune Business show the daiquiri shack remained on the property as of late last week despite the Supreme Court ruling and Order. Mr Hayes conceded that Vakis Ltd might have to remove the structure itself, and revealed that Mr Murray had twice rejected its offer for him to lease the property for just $1.

“It won’t hold up any Rock Point plans,” he added of ‘Daq Shack’s’ continued presence. “We have twice offered Andrew Murray to lease that property for $1 a year. He refused that twice and told us where to go. We had no choice. I don’t think he will remove it, and it might be up to us to do that.”

Mr Hayes said the principals of the Taco Stand, shown in the photo next to the daiquiri shack, both have a Business Licence and all necessary permits and are leasing their spot on the same terms as those offered to Mr Murray.

“We just intend to defend our interest in the land, and our within our rights to do so. We had to spend a lot of money on legal fees to resolve that when all he had to do was sign the lease. He was offered a lease at $1 a year and refused,” Mr Hayes reiterated.

Justice Card-Stubbs, in her ruling, noted: “The evidence of Toby Hayes, employed by a company that manages certain properties owned by the claimant [Vakis Ltd], is that during one of his site visits ‘in or around March 2019’, he noticed ‘a makeshift wooden building known at the time as ‘Daq Shack’ where daiquiris were being prepared and sold.

“There was a generator connected to the beverage stand that produced electricity for that business. Also, there were wooden tables and benches nearby for customers to use. Mr. Hayes’ evidence is that he ‘made enquiries to ascertain who the owner was and was told that the proprietor was the defendant’ [Andrew Murray].

“Mr Hayes evidence is that, following this discovery, the attorneys for the claimant’s attorneys wrote to the defendant informing him that he was encroaching on the claimant’s land. The letter also invited the defendant to acknowledge the claimant’s ownership of the land by signing the letter. The claimant received no such acknowledgment from the defendant,” the judge added.

“On another site visit ‘one month later’, Mr Hayes observed that the defendant continued to operate the beverage stand on the claimant’s land. The claimant’s attorneys issued a second letter to the defendant and then a third letter. There was no response from the defendant to the letters from the attorneys for the claimant.

“Mr Hayes’ evidence is that he last visited the property on May 20, 2024, and that the structure was still present. He describes the shack as a ‘permanent structure made of timber and wood’. It operated with an electronic device. On this issue, I am satisfied that the claimant gave no consent to the defendant to operate the daiquiri stand known as Tropical Daiquiri on its land. The Defendant operated same without permission and is a trespasser.”