The Tribune

By ANNELIA NIXON

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

TREASURE Cay home owners are expressing renewed optimism over the Abaco destination’s proposed $177m redevelopment following assertions by the Government’s investments chief its sale is “well on the way” to closing.

Residents said the signs of progress are raising hopes for job creation, increased property investment and an economic revival in North Abaco amid the wait for Treasure Cay’s long-awaited sale to Jacksonville-based GreenPointe Holdings and its principal, Edward Burr, to complete.

Phylicia Woods-Hanna, the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) director, recently told Tribune Business that GreenPointe and the Meister family, the vendors, are working through the final items required to close the transaction. Permits for the project have been issued, including pre-construction and demolition approvals, and the parties are said to be working through a final check-list of closing items.

Dan Proctor, a second home owner who has lived in Abaco for more than 25 years, said reaction within Treasure Cay’s Facebook groups has been overwhelmingly positive as anticipation builds around the proposed sale.

“I think overall the anticipation has been building for a number of years,” Mr Proctor said. “And the frustration was building until Mr Burr got involved, and until maybe in the last year or so, when we’ve seen some real movement on the ground in Treasure Cay.”

He added that activity on the ground suggests both the prospective buyer and the seller are serious about completing the transaction, although residents remain cautiously optimistic.

“At this point, we’re always cautiously optimistic,” he said. “But, at the same time, we feel that we’re closer now than we ever have been as a community to getting the sale to closure.

“We have seen things happen on the ground that have not been widely known or widely reported that indicate that there is serious movement. I mean, there have been a number of things that cost money for a buyer to engage in that we don’t think would happen unless there was a real seriousness around the purchase.”

Mr Proctor said the redevelopment is particularly important because Treasure Cay residents and second home owners have spent years without the range of services and business activity they previously enjoyed.

While Marsh Harbour remains an option, he said the journey takes about 30 minutes over roads that are sometimes in poor condition, making access to services less convenient.

“We’re looking forward to having restored businesses and business activity in the community,” Mr Proctor said. “It’s important not only for the second home owners and the residents of Treasure Cay but, most importantly, it’s important for the economy of North Abaco, for Treasure Cay, and for the north.

“We think that that redevelopment will re-energise the economy, and that’s good for all of us.” Mr Proctor said the years following Hurricane Dorian in 2019 have been difficult for both second home owners and local residents, but the prospect of redevelopment is helping restore confidence in the community.

“I’m very excited about what’s happening with property values, with the energy in the community,” he said. “After Dorian, as you well know, it was very, very tough for a number of years for all of us, second home owners and local residents. And I think we see the light at the end of the tunnel. Or at least I do.”

Eric Bethel, who owns a home in Treasure Cay, also welcomed the anticipated sale, saying the destination’s revival could encourage property owners and prospective buyers to move ahead with investment plans.

“It’s been a long time coming, but it’s happening now,” Mr Bethel said. “All good things for Treasure Cay.” 

Mr Bethel said several prospective buyers who have rented his condominiums have been waiting to see whether the sale to Mr Burr and GreenPointe would proceed before committing to purchases or construction of their own homes on Treasure Cay.

“I talked to a lot of them, and they said they were kind of waiting to see what happened with the sale,” he said. “I think the sale going through now, they’re going to pull the trigger and maybe start building or start buying, and I think a lot of people are going to start doing stuff now.”

Tara Diane, a Treasure Cay resident, said she is encouraged by the activity she has observed involving GreenPointe representatives and preparations for the marina component of the development. She said people associated with the marina project have been visiting the area and putting arrangements in place ahead of the anticipated work, including preparations for demolition and construction.

Ms Diane said the redevelopment could have a significant economic impact by creating employment opportunities closer to home for North Abaco residents and encouraging people who left Treasure Cay because of limited job prospects to return.

“So for us here, with the economic impact, it’s going to be major,” Ms Diane said. “There’s going to be a lot of jobs that persons now in the north, they won’t have to drive so far to get to work.”

She added that the project could also create opportunities for entrepreneurs and small businesses, allowing local residents to benefit from renewed commercial activity.

“It’s been a long time, and I’m just blessed that I am alive that I can see that this is now happening for my community, for my home, and I am happy for our people and for, by extension, Abaconians because they are really going to be able to benefit from this,” she said.

“I’m looking at us once again being the crown jewel of the Bahamas here in Treasure Cay.”

The proposed redevelopment includes a new marina, a marina village with retail and dining options, the return of the Tipsy Seagull Bar & Grille, beachside amenities and the rebuilding of the golf course and sporting facilities.

Previous plans also include a wastewater treatment plant and efforts to explore additional services, including medical care and grocery facilities.

Ms Diane said she is not concerned about potential environmental impacts from the marina, arguing that the project largely restores facilities that previously existed in Treasure Cay.

“So there is no type of kick back or stand back against the environment or harm to the environment,” she said. “It’s a revitalisation of what was there before. Apart from that, the marina village where there will be shops, that’s going to be new. But the marina itself with the docks being put in place, that’s been there before.”

The proposed $177m investment follows years of uncertainty over Treasure Cay’s sale and redevelopment, with the transaction involving numerous land parcels and complex title issues and approval requirements.

GreenPointe, in the meantime, has also marketed a marina ownership programme offering prospective buyers the opportunity to purchase slips ahead of construction, signalling continued preparations for the planned project.

For residents, however, the immediate priority is seeing the transaction completed and work begin. Ms Diane said Mr Burr’s commitment to Treasure Cay and its residents has helped strengthen confidence in the proposed revitalisation.

“Mr Burr believes in this community, believes in the people and the love for Treasure Cay, the love for the people,” she said. “It means a lot. And so just looking forward to the positive outcome of all of this, and that it will benefit Bahamians at large.”

The proposed redevelopment has been years in the making, with residents and property owners enduring prolonged uncertainty over the destination’s future following Hurricane Dorian in 2019.