The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian investor has unveiled ambitious plans to create thousands of construction and full-time jobs through the $6.5bn transformation of the former Ginn project in Grand Bahama’s West End into “the Monaco of the Caribbean”.

Shane Coakley, principal of Seattle-based Coakley International, which is described as a real estate and investment company, told Tribune Business that the planned nine to 12-year build-out will generate an estimated 2,800 construction jobs and as many as 6,000 permanent Bahamian jobs as he pledged to “see it all the way through”.

Speaking after payment of a $2.6m deposit, the first step in acquiring 1,143 acres at the former Ginn site from The Bahamas’ treasurer for a $26m purchase price (see other article on Page 1B), he asserted that the necessary financing to move his ambitions forward is “all in place” once the land transaction closes with unnamed investor groups in New York and Palm Beach said to be interested.

Many Bahamians, wary of multi-billion dollar investment and job promises that have failed to materialise, and especially given the numerous false starts since Ginn’s original developer defaulted on its loan obligations some 15 years ago, will likely only believe Mr Coakley’s plans are for real once they can see and touch them. However, voicing confidence in his West End vision, he “guaranteed” it will awaken what he branded “the sleeper island”.

Mr Coakley named two Bahamian sporting achievers, New York Yankees baseball player Jazz Chisholm, and Golden State Warrior’s shooting guard, as two who have “already signed” to invest in a three-phase project that is being named Bristol Pointe. And he also revealed that Bobby Ginn, the original developer, is partnering with them as a consultant to advise on the project’s development and the necessary permits required from the Government.

The Coakley International chief, asserting that the Davis administration has promised to “honour” the terms of the original Ginn Heads of Agreement, added that his planned development will feature a hotel/casino at its core, along with a “super yacht marina”, “branded private condo towers” and high-end homes and residences worth up to $15m-$20m. And, once the required permits were obtained, such homes will “start going vertical after eight weeks”.

Noting that it has taken six-and-a-half years to reach the land acquisition stage, Mr Coakley argued that “I don’t know who else” would spend such time and money on trying to bring such a major development to life, adding: “I stood fast and am here now.”

Confirming that a $2.6m “non-refundable deposit” has been paid to the Treasurer, and that the two sides have agreed and signed a sales agreement for the land transaction, the Coakley International founder and president told this newspaper: “We now have to get permission from the Treasurer to clean up the property. It’s so overgrown, some of the roads, that you can’t go through there.

“Some of the lots are not owned by the Treasurer; they are owned by individual private buyers, so we we have to do a survey and clean up the property so that we know what we’re buying. That will start next week and we will hire local Bahamians to do that.”

Should Coakley International close its land purchase, much work remains over the coming years and decades to bring its vision to reality. The four land parcels, spanning 1,143 acres, which it is acquiring from the Treasurer comprise the former Ginn project’s real estate component and, while a significant portion, does not represent all the required land holdings.

Coakley International has budgeted $100.7m for land acquisition and closing costs to assemble a total 2,015 acres for its plans. Several other parcels will have to be acquired from private owners, but - with the original developer having already installed roads, utilities and other infrastructure that is being valued at $480m - Coakley International has had West End’s real estate appraised at an “as is” $791m valuation.

Its development plans are broken into three phases, each spanning three to four years, with the construction investment for each pegged at between $1.8bn and $2.5bn. Total construction spend is estimated at $6.4bn over more than a decade.

Bristol Points’s central feature will be the Nandana resort campus, which will incorporate a 200-key high-end resort, 75,000 square foot casino, mega yacht marina, numerous villas, and entertainment amenities such as an ice skating rink, bowling lanes, billiard room, dog park and private movie theatre. Horse racing is also planned for the Bristol Pointe Downs and Equestrian Centre.

The scale and cost of such a project makes raising the necessary financing a big task, but Mr Coakley asserted that the level of investor interest is already such that he may not need to raise a loan to finance the balance of the $26m initial land acquisition cost.

“Right now I’ve got four different groups that want to partner and joint venture with me - two out of Palm Beach, and two out of New York. The Palm Beach people, they were looking at it from Bobby Ginn days. They never thought it would become available and knew there were title dispute issues. We have a loan in place to close, but whether we take a loan or joint venture with groups from Palm Beach….

“That’s where I’m moving right now to spearhead the project. I’m leaving Seattle and moving to Palm Beach to spearhead the project. We’ll put a sales office in Palm Beach and be flying back and forth.” Asked whether the necessary financing is ready, Mr Coakley replied: “It’s all in place. All of it….

“The moment I close on the property, we’re going to build model units. They’ll be $15m-$20m homes, and we will also develop a super yacht marina and have branded private condo towers. We have a binding letter of intent (LOI) with Fendi.” Mr Coakley said Henge, an Italian furniture brand, would be involved with the private residences while “Fendi will be the first two towers we are going to do”.

He added: “The Treasurer and the Government does not want the property split up. We are acquiring it all. We are already in contract for all the property. We are acquiring all of it. I’m leaving in three weeks to Macau, meeting with one of the largest casino operators in Macau, who wants to come and operate the project…

“I’m confident. I’ll guarantee you that once we’re done with this, see how much development follows Coakley International. I think Grand Bahama is the sleeper island and, when people find out, everyone will come running to Grand Bahama. The beauty of it is that the Government said they are going to honour the existing Heads of Agreement. We also want to do horse racing in there.”

Mr Coakley, who said his uncles were part of the Grammy award-winning group T-Connection, said he first became interested in Freeport after being sent there during the school holidays from Nassau by his mother. He added that he first looked at acquiring and redeveloping Freeport’s International Bazaar, but the former Minnis administration directed him and his group to West End instead.

Tribune Business sources shared there was scepticism at the time as to whether Mr Coakley had the financing and resources to pull off the International Bazaar deal. However, he said his background in dealing with “distressed properties” and “title disputes” persuaded the Minnis administration that he could “figure out the Rubix cube” that was the former Ginn project.

“I don’t know who else stays for six-and-a-half years throwing money at a project,” Mr Coakley told Tribune Business. “I’m a Bahamian. I had no choice. I made a commitment to people that I would not give up on the project. These guys [Lubert Adler and Kingwood] have done everything to run me off this project. I stayed fast, fought through it and now I’m here.

“We waited six-and-a-half years because there were so many projects in The Bahamas getting talked about that never happened. We were dealing with aggressive sellers so we kept it under the radar. We made 26 trips in the last six years; 26 trips to Freeport to put this together. There were a lot of consultants, and we hired a lot of architects. We put a lot of money into this project and said we’re going to see it all the way through.”

According to Coakley International’s website, it has been involved with the land assembly for Google’s headquarters and brokering US commercial property and resort deals. However, it is not clear if it has acted as lead developer as will be required in Grand Bahama’s West End.