The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A US developer is pledging that 30 percent of the proceeds from residential lot sales, including 100 acres of Government-owned land, will be devoted to solving central Eleuthera’s power, water and affordable housing woes as well as underwriting an up to $50m infrastructure partnership.

Jeff Jacobs, chairman and chief executive of Jacobs Investments, and head of its Jacobs Entertainment affiliate, unveiled his latest development proposals in separate June and end-July 2026 updates issued to Governor’s Harbour and Eleuthera residents while promising to Tribune Business that “the vibe and environmental sensitivity” of the historic settlement will not alter.

Speaking ahead of what he billed as a “master plan concept meeting” with local residents next Thursday, August 13, the US gaming, hospitality and development principal is proposing a public-private partnership (PPP) between Jacobs Entertainment and the Bahamian government to address the area’s utility and housing shortfalls, plus upgrade roadways and beach access.

Mr Jacobs confirmed to this newspaper his company is proposing to finance this PPP via an up to $50m “interest free loan” from capital it will raise during its “next round of financing” with lenders and investors over 2027-2028. His latest message to Eleuthera residents, dated July 31, 2026, suggests that Jacobs Entertainment’s loan will be repaid from the proceeds of lot sales to international real estate buyers.

These lot sales, according to the 24-page booklet sent to locals, will be generated from dividing up a 175-acre parcel that Jacobs Entertainment owns near Governor’s Harbour airport plus a further 100-acre parcel on Navy Beach that is currently owned by the Government.

And, besides helping to repay his $50m PPP loan, Mr Jacobs is also pledging that 20 percent of revenue proceeds generated by these lot sales be employed to fund infrastructure upgrades - including a 100-acre solar energy farm and water generation plant - with a further 10 percent directed to “affordable housing rental projects” including accommodation for staff of the proposed J Resort.

Those percentages represent a doubling of the 10 percent and 5 percent of lot sales proceeds, respectively, that Mr Jacobs promised to devote to these initiatives just one month earlier in his June message to Governor’s Harbour residents. And he pledged that the 300 high-end homes projected to be constructed by these lot buyers will be sufficiently spread out to ensure the project is low density, and does not detract from what attracts investors and visitors to the area in the first place.

Suggesting that his $650m project, of which $450m or 69 percent is to be financed from real estate sales, will take between one to two decades to fully build-out, Mr Jacobs told Tribune Business: “Ten to 20-year projects evolve over time based on many factors, including market demand and community input.

“For example, we originally planned on a golf course. For a variety of reasons, including community input, those 170 acres are now proposed to be contributed to an infrastructure PPP with the Government of the Bahamas. Our intent is to sell ocean front lots in a new development, with a percentage of lot sale proceeds directed by the PPP towards the improvement of public infrastructure, including water, power and vehicle/pedestrian circulation….

“Spreading 300 residences across 10 miles between Governor’s Harbour and Navy Beach comes out to developing 30 homes per mile, with most of those unseen from Queens Highway. The vibe and environmental sensitivity of Governor’s Harbour will not change,” he promised.

“What will change is the creation of 500 new full-time jobs providing the opportunity for young people to return to Eleuthera, the creation of locally-owned businesses, the introduction of affordable housing, and the increase in the quality of people’s lives through significant improvements in pedestrian circulation, as well as water and power generation and distribution.”

Mr Jacobs did not directly respond when asked by Tribune Business whether his lot sales plans could be viewed as land speculation to underwrite the $50m PPP loan as well as finance his other Governor’s Harbour ambitions. He said: “I would add that the Eleuthera development is not what is referred to by my lenders as a ‘permitted use’ of funds.  

“It will be added to Jacobs Entertainment’s next round of financing. Nevertheless, I have invested tens of millions of dollars of my personal funds acquiring property in preparation for this exciting development.”

However, many Governor’s Harbour and Eleuthera residents are unlikely to be impressed. Eric Carey, the former Bahamas National Trust (BNT) executive director who now lives on the island and works as an environmental consultant, told Tribune Business yesterday it did not seem to be in The Bahamas’ “best interests” for Mr Jacobs to obtain and then “leverage” the Government’s 100-acre Navy Beach parcel for lot sales to fund his ambitions (see other article Page 1B).

Opponents have also established a website, ourgovernorsharbour.org, which asserts: “We support responsible growth, not a project that remakes Governor’s Harbour beyond recognition.

“Governor's Harbour is one of the oldest settlements in The Bahamas. Founded in the 1600s, it has been continuously inhabited for over 350 years. This is a living, breathing community with deep generational roots, a rich Bahamian heritage and a unique character that has drawn visitors and families for decades.

“We are not anti-development. We are for development that fits the scale, values and infrastructure realities of a Family Island, and respects the historic town of Governor’s Harbour.” And questions have also been raised over “the sheer scale and size” of Mr Jacobs’ proposal, amid concerns that it represents the failed development model of large so-called ‘anchor’ resorts on the Family Islands.

Others, meanwhile, are also challenging whether the US developer has made good on his previous commitments to revive areas of Cleveland and Reno, Nevada, with new development and construction. And they are also suggesting that the Eleuthera project is being used to make Jacobs Entertainment look more appealing in the eyes of investors ahead of $600m worth of corporate debt, or bonds, coming due for repayment to investors in February 2029.

Mr Jacobs, though, in his latest message to Eleuthera and Governor’s Harbour residents signalled that he expects the company to complete a 2027-2028 refinancing before that payment deadline is hit.

“Jacobs Entertainment’s upcoming refinance will include language allowing Jacobs Entertainment’s central Eleuthera development to be a specifically accepted use of funds going forward, providing Jacobs Entertainment with traditional publicly traded sources of debt funding - including US pension funds and insurance companies - for Central Eleuthera development efforts,” he wrote.

“It will also include the ability for Jacobs Entertainment to make $25m to $50m in interest free loans to a proposed PPP with the Government of The Bahamas.” Outlining the PPP’s objectives, Mr Jacobs said: “As is the case with many of the Family Islands of The Bahamas, the current status of power, water and road circulation in Central Eleuthera at times is quite difficult for residents and visitors alike.

“Jacobs Entertainment is proposing that a PPP be formed between Jacobs Entertainment and the Government of The Bahamas to creatively upgrade this infrastructure by harvesting the tremendous value entrenched along central Eleuthera's Atlantic beachfronts.

“Specifically, Jacobs Entertainment proposes creating resort residential lots for sale on Jacobs Entertainment’s 175 acres near the Governor’s Harbour airport, as well as the Government of The Bahamas’ 100-plus acres on Navy Beach.”

Promising to ensure the sales proceeds benefit the local community, Mr Jacobs added: “Jacobs Entertainment proposes that 20 percent of all the resort residential lot sales from these properties be dedicated towards project roadway circulation, including the proposed community pathway, as well as water and power project grids that will reduce current and future water and power demand on the Government of The Bahamas' existing water and power infrastructure.

“Another 10 percent of these lot sales would be directed to affordable housing rental projects, including free staff housing for J Resort employees. These lot sales can be used to pay off the up to $50m interest-free infrastructure loan, which Jacobs Entertainment is prepared to begin to advance in 2028 in an effort to move infrastructure improvements forward.”

Mr Jacobs told Tribune Business he is committed to full transparency and disclosing to Governor’s Harbour and Eleuthera residents all changes and updates as the 600-acre project progresses.

“Projects like this do evolve, and we are committing to the Central Eleuthera community that as we are granted various permits for various components of the project, we will not start construction on those components until we have further community conversations either in community meetings or online,” he said in e-mailed replies. “We always believe that the best projects include transparency and communication. We all learn from communicating with each other.

“Another modification we have made since June is to include in our J Resort project utility grid a separate pipe for BPL to operate solar powered energy for the community if they so wish.”