The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Plans to develop a new resort at the former Paradise Harbour Club location have suffered a setback after the project’s original site plan approval was overturned on appeal.

The Subdivision and Development Appeal Board, in a March 31, 2025, decision rejected the Town Planning Committee’s permission for the HotelConsult project to proceed over a combination of procedural missteps and the developer’s failure to produce any documents showing it has “authorisation” to construct the development’s parking lot on land leased from Atlantis.

The Board, chaired by attorney Dawson Malone, granted the appeal by One Ocean Condominium Association, the body that represents residents in the high-rise complex adjacent to the proposed hotel’s site, and sent the project back for reconsideration by the Town Planning Committee.

“The decision pertained to a site plan approval for the proposed renovation and expansion of the Paradise Island Yacht Club [Paradise Harbour Club] located off Paradise Island Drive, New Providence,” the Appeal Board, noting that the case involved a site visit and numerous preliminary hearings before the full appeal was heard on February 4, 2025.

“This Board has adopted as a matter of law two positions on prior matters, which have not been overturned to our knowledge, and both appear to be present and prevailing at this time which militate against the upholding of the approval.”

The Appeal Board reiterated that developers cannot obtain full site plan approval, as HotelConsult received from the Town Planning Committee, without first getting preliminary site approval. The latter, a requirement imposed by the Planning and Subdivision Act, was not obtained for the Paradise Island resort project, meaning that the full site plan approval granted to the developer was procedurally flawed.

“Secondly, the proposed development is to be conducted on property not owned by the second respondent [HotelConsult] and it seems to be no authorisations have been produced even at the time of the appeal (if admissible),” the Appeal Board added.

This refers to HotelConsult’s plans to build its parking lot on land leased from Atlantis. The issue was raised during the February appeal hearing by Christina Davis-Justin, attorney for the One Ocean residents.

She argued then that the original site plan, submitted on March 5, 2024, included a seven-storey hotel and a two-story parking garage on lot 13. Then, a revised plan, submitted on April 29, 2024, relocated the garage to lot eight without public notice or hearing. Lot eight, the proposed new site of the parking garage, is owned by Atlantis and the developer had yet to secure a lease with the mega resort.

“It is inconceivable how you can grant an approval, a site plan approval, which is a legal term of art, to a proposed development that you have not publicly consulted on, as required by the Act,” said Ms Davis-Justin. “And you’re also giving approval to a person who has not actually shown that they have standing or legal authority to make a development.”

Roosevelt Whyms, the Appeal Board’s deputy chairman, questioned Tamika Thompson, HotelConsult’s attorney, on the status of the lease talks with Atlantis. She said her client is still in “favourable” negotiations with Atlantis.

Mr Whyms highlighted that, during appeal hearings, developers must provide proof of ownership in the form of a conveyance or documents to show they have been granted permission to occupy a site via a lease agreement or an agreement to operate.

When pressed on whether these documents have been requested, and when they will be provided, Ms Thompson said they have been “requested under the conditions but not yet provided” and she could not give a timeline for doing so. “I cannot say at this time, and I do not wish to put a timeline before the Board and not be able to fulfill it,” she conceded.

Taking this all into consideration, the Appeal Board ruled on March 31, 2025: “In light of the foregoing, the appeal must be allowed by setting aside the decision and referring the matter back to the Town Planning Committee to rehear the application in accordance with the Planning and Subdivision Act and render a decision in accordance with the procedures set out therein.”

This, certainly as far as HotelConsult is concerned, does not mean the end of its plans - just delay, and potential time and money, in having to go through more planning hearings. Besides the Paradise Yacht Club project, it has also acquired 107 Rose Island acres that represented the former Ritz-Carlton project for $10.3m. 

Its plan for the site, according to a Central Bank report, is to develop a restaurant, bar, five bungalows, pool lounges, cabanas and the expansion of existing dock and marina, and employ 100 workers “at peak” and another 80 “incremental” staff.

Tribune Business sources, as well as documents seen by this newspaper, confirm that HotelConsult’s principal is Harald McPike, the Paradise Island-based, Austrian born billionaire who founded the quantitative investment manager, QuantRes. The contacts listed on the original planning application all had e-mail addresses of “mcpike.com”.

This newspaper understands that HotelConsult and Mr McPike have quietly assembled a significant high-end real estate portfolio on Paradise Island as well as Rose Island. Besides the Paradise Harbour Club and former Columbus Tavern site, they have also acquired the Paradise Island residence of Mohammed Harajchi, principal of the collapsed Suisse Security Bank & Trust, as well as property owned by the late George Myers.

The proposed Paradise Yacht Club will feature 101 units overlooking Nassau Harbour via a seven-storey main building with a footprint of around 19,000 square feet. The 101 units, ranging from approximately 370 to more than 1,000 square feet, will each have a balcony with harbour views. The ground floor will host amenities such as a restaurant and retail areas, along with an outdoor gym and swimming pool

HotelConsult has pledged that the project will create 100 permanent jobs and a similar number of construction posts, and generate up to 30 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources.

During the initial public hearing for the development, residents voiced concerns over the extra traffic it will generate in a residential area of Paradise Island. They also expressed opposition to the proposed rezoning of one of HotelConsult’s land parcels, lot 13, from residential to commercial to facilitate a 74-space parking facility.

The developers later amended their application, removing the plans to convert lot 13 to a parking garage and opting to build a 100-space car park on land leased from Atlantis. The site will take up a portion of Atlantis’ laundry and utilities facilities, which is already commercially zoned.

The Town Planning Committee, on granting its approval, said the proposed parking garage is to be built simultaneously with the renovation of the Yacht Club building, and the lease agreement between HotelConsult and Atlantis must be submitted to the Department of Physical Planning prior to it reviewing the building permit application.