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Published On:Thursday, August 20, 2009

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

THE prospective purchaser of the Hotel Corporation's last resort property has been asked "to revise some parts of their proposal", the minister of tourism and aviation confirmed yesterday, which will involve providing the Government with details about how the project will be 'phased in'.

Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, in a brief interview with Tribune Business, confirmed that Scheck Industries, the Illinois-based industrial and real estate developer, had been asked to revise its proposal and, until these submissions had been received and approved, its acquisition of the Andros-based Lighthouse Yacht Club & Marina would not be permitted.

"I don't know about imminent but, yes, there's likely to be some movement on that," Mr Vanderpool-Wallace confirmed to Tribune Business, when contacted about how close the Government was to approving the Scheck Industries acquisition and project.

He added: "We've asked them to revise some parts of their proposal. They've agreed to do that. We've not received those revisions as yet. Until we've seen them and they've been approved, so announcement will be forthcoming."

Mr Vanderpool-Wallace explained that Scheck Industries' plans for the Lighthouse Yacht Club & Marina, and the surrounding real estate, would be implemented in several phases once it was finally approved by the Government and the purchase consummated.

"Their revised proposal is going to provide is with the phasing, and from that will come the number of jobs to be created and the level of investment involved," the tourism minister explained.

"Very obviously, the Lighthouse Yacht Club & Marina will be expanded in the first phase. They're looking at extending the subdivision with a housing development, and a golf course.

"All of this is being guided by an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that was completed last month to give an indication of what was possible on that site. That was a very important piece of the puzzle."

Tribune Business revealed last month that Scheck Industries was the front-runner to acquire the Andros-based resort which, according to the company's website, it plans to re-name as the Andros Sporting Club.

Apart from the Lighthouse Yacht Club & Marina itself, the Hotel Corporation also owns some 7,000-10,000 acres of land in that part of Andros. The precise size of its landholdings is unclear, though, as the land needs to be surveyed and the boundaries established.

Residents of Coakley Town have been consulted on the Scheck Industries project, which has been modified several times to account for the EIA, which was prepared by the consulting firm, Black & Veatch.

The project is also said to include a marina, marina villas and shopping/retail facilities, fishing lodges and boutique hotels. The Lighthouse Yacht Club & Marina currently has about 30 employees, and features a 20-slip marina, beach frontage and a 20-room hotel. Yet the average occupancy at the Fresh Creek property is only about 35 per cent.

According to the Hotel Corporation's 2004 accounts, the appraised value of the Lighthouse Yacht Club & Marina's buildings was pegged at $2.314 million, with the land valued at $400,000 and furniture, fixtures and equipment valued at $528,173. Yet allowing for depreciation, the net book value was reduced to $1.547 million.