The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL 

Tribune Business Editor 

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN engineer is “over the moon” that the planning authorities have rejected an appeal by two of New Providence’s largest developers that sought to halt his $20m project.

Nick Dean, principal of Integrated Building Services (IBS), told Tribune Business he can now proceed with the “dream of my father” by developing a 30-unit residential community on land the latter originally purchased after New Providence Development Company and Old Fort Company failed to overturn a prior decision that eliminated restrictions on the type of development that can take place.

The Town Planning Committee, using its powers under the Planning and Subdivision Act’s section 25, had earlier backed Mr Dean’s call for it to extinguish restrictive covenants imposed by Old Fort Company when it sold a three-acre parcel - located between Charlotteville and Old Fort Bay - to his father some 26 years ago in 1998. These limited the site’s development to two private residential dwellings of “no more than 3,000 square feet each” which, if not removed, would have blocked Mr Dean’s ambitions to develop the 30-unit Azumi community and do his part to help ease New Providence’s housing shortage. Site plan approval, as well as rezoning from single family to multi-family, was also approved despite Old Fort Company’s opposition.

Dissatisfied with the outcome, New Providence Development Company, the island’s largest private land owner, and its Old Fort affiliate, which developed the Old Fort Bay community, jointly appealed against the covenant extinguishing and other approvals to the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board, which is chaired by attorney Dawson Malone.

However, the Board in an August 19, 2024, ruling rejected the appeal in its entirety apart from clarifying that the site plan approval is “preliminary” in nature. Pointing out that Azumi’s potential neighbours and adjacent landowners had not objected to the rezoning or covenants’ removal, the Board found that the proposed land use was a good fit with other developments taking place in western New Providence.

It vowed “to support the rezoning of the parcel from single family to multi-family, it being the Board’s view that such rezoning would be in keeping with the recent multi-family development of the surrounding area and the fundamental issue of the lack of developable real property in New Providence”.

An elated Mr Dean told this newspaper that he hoped the Appeal Board’s ruling will bring the regulatory process to an end as the challenge by New Providence Development Company and its affiliate had delayed his plans for Azumi “quite a bit”.

And he warned against allowing “a 1960s development mentality”, where one or a small number of large companies controls all developments that take place, to take hold as this was not in The Bahamas’ best interests.

Arguing that the challenge to his project “makes no sense”, Mr Dean argued that permitting multiple developers to go forward with their plans in an orderly, regulated fashion will create the “diversity” that The Bahamas and western New Providence need.

“If one single entity plans out western New Providence you don’t get that diversity,” he told Tribune Business. “We cannot have a 1960s development mentality. It’s got to be in step with what the country needs.

“For my development, who’s building single homes or two homes on a three-acre parcel? Even the wealthy don’t do that. Not even Lyford Cay and Albany build like that. It’s counter-intuitive, counter to resources. It doesn’t react accordingly to the needs of the housing market.”

With the appeal challenge now resolved, Mr Dean told Tribune Business that he hopes to have “shovels in the ground” on Azumi in the 2025 second-half once the necessary financing, permits and contractors are in place.

However, New Providence Development Company and Old Fort Company can still contest the Appeal Board’s verdict before the Supreme Court and the former has already chosen this route in at least one other planning-related dispute. The law stipulates planning decisions can be disputed at every level of the Bahamian judicial system.

Despite defeats before both the Town Planning Committee and Appeals Board, New Providence Development Company is now asking the Supreme Court to overturn the approval granted for rezoning five acres near Lyford Cay owned by Henry F Storr from residential to commercial.

The electrical retailer is arguing that the rezoning will facilitate the property’s sale and enable it to achieve a higher price, but New Providence Development Company is arguing - in similar fashion to Mr Dean’s case - that the restrictive covenants imposed in the conveyance when it sold the property to Henry F Storr should remain in place and not be extinguished.

These battles, together with the Supreme Court’s verdict in the recent dispute between New Providence Development Company and the One West Plaza retail/office park’s developer, highlight what appears to be growing conflict over the former’s use of restrictive covenants to guide and/or limit the type or scale of development that occurs in western New Providence.

Sir Ian Winder, the chief justice, in his recent verdict on the One West dispute wrote that New Providence Development Company, in its role as the area’s master developer, has sought to use these covenants to “exert control” over the activities of other developers to protect its own interests and backed this up with “its ‘economic clout’”. The latter, he added, included refusing to sell extra land to others.

‘Restrictive covenants’ are becoming especially challenging when the original purchasers from New Providence Development Company sell their properties on to new owners who have different plans for the site. “I hope they don’t,” Mr Dean replied, when asked about the likelihood of Azumi having to face a Supreme Court challenge. “This is a project that is well in-keeping with development trends in the area.

“As a matter of fact, it’s intentionally understated compared to what is going on around us. It’s a small community and the impact is marginal compared to what’s going on in the rest of western New Providence. I really hope they don’t [appeal to the Supreme Court].

“I don’t see how it benefits the common good if we have to take another step here. As developers we all work in the best interests of the country at large. We would spend too much time and energy fighting the process. Our energies are much better spent in the country’s development.”

For now, Mr Dean and his family are savouring the Appeals Board ruling and removal - at least for the moment - of any road- blocks. “I’m obviously over the moon that we finally got this behind us and can get on with our project,” he said. “This means so much to me and my family. There are so many people who want to get involved in the project.

“I’m definitely looking forward to this. It’s been a dream of my dad and I. He’s turning 83 next month. It really means a lot to my family that he’s able to see this actually move forward now. It takes a lot of wherewithal, funding and resources to do a development like this. We’re at a stage where we can move the ball forward, whereas he had more challenges.

“We got our first approval last year. Of course, we went through the regulatory process. It was nothing crazy, nothing complex. It’s a very simple development with two-storey buildings. These aren’t towers and will not block anyone’s views. You could easily drive past and not see it because there will be a 75-foot setback between the road and where the project starts.”

Mr Dean said the plans have changed little from those detailed by Tribune Business last year, with the project set to feature 15 duplexes each containing two units. “The only thing adjusted is how the buildings sit on the property. We have some guidelines given by the Department of Physical Planning. There won’t be any material changes,” he added.

“We’re really going to stick with what we got in the site plan approval. Right now, we’re still in the planning stages so we have work to set up the site, the building design and the feasibility study.” Mr Dean affirmed his intention to give Bahamians an opportunity to finance and invest in Azumi via a private placement offering that will take place once all necessary permits and approvals are obtained.

Explaining that the “feasibility study” will identify “the best mix of funding sources” and how to structure any offering, he added that the initial strategy was to have small retail investors participate “at a certain level” with the balance coming from institutions and high net worth individuals.

“I always try to look locally first in terms of being able to invest in these types of projects,” Mr Dean explained. “I am fine with foreign direct investment, but don’t think we do enough to incentivise the local population. We have to incentivise people to want to invest in homes. If they have a choice, people would rather spend their money here than abroad.

“The progress of a lot of these projects depends on the funding - how much is allocated in one go, and pre-sales. If we get it in a single phase, I would love that. I’d love to roll through it in a single phase. It’s going to be responsible development.

“I’ve been a developer for the last 20 to 30 years of my life. I haven’t been at this for a minute. I take pride in the projects I work on, and there’s a responsibility we have as professionals to bring good quality projects to the market. I’m really looking forward to bringing something special with my team.”

Mr Dean confirmed previous projections that Azumi will likely create a further 30-40 full and part-time posts through operation of amenities such as a clubhouse, pool and wellness centre, as well as services required by residents. And he forecast that more than the initially-estimated 50 to 75 construction jobs will be required.

“I was kind of tentative and couldn’t take on too much initially before we got past that appeal,” Mr Dean said of Azumi’s current status.

“That was hanging over our heads. Now that’s out the way, I would say it will probably be mid-year before we’re clear with the design and approvals. I would say any time between the third and fourth quarter next year we’ll have shovels in the ground.”