The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

ALBANY’s developers yesterday said its newly-launched Marina Residences would create 650 construction jobs over the next 18-24 months, telling Tribune Business that approximately $370 million in economic activity had been generated from lot sales.

Christopher Anand, the $1.4 billion Albany Golf & Beach Resort’s managing partner, said 95 per cent of those new jobs will go to Bahamian workers. He added that more than $600 million had been invested in the luxury resort community to-date.

“We will have another 1,000 people working here over the next several years around this marina area,” Mr Anand said.

He added that $120 million has been invested to-date in the first phase of the Marina Residences launch, which includes three buildings slated for completion in 2014.

Some 24 of the 35 units have been sold through Albany’s pre-construction marketing efforts, and Mr Anand said: “The sales of these three buildings alone is equal to what the value of the Reef was in Phase II, so just the Stamp Tax alone from the sale of these units is over $25 million.”

He explained that $50 million had been invested into Albany’s marina itself, which includes private berths for 71 vessels.

“The majority of the amenities here at Albany are finished, and the next phase of Albany is building residences. There are two types of residences that are under construction. We have custom residences where people might buy land from us and then hire a local contractor to build their home. We have 250 people working on site, but there are a lot of new homes to come, so that will probably run up to 500-600 persons by later this year or earlier next year,” Mr Anand told Tribune Business.

“There will be a total of 400 residences once completed, and we have sold over 100 already, which is quite an accomplishment.

“We’re thrilled with what we have been able to do over the past several years. We sold over 100 properties to buyers from over 16 different countries, some of them Bahamian. The total custom residences will be about 275, then there will be about 125 of what we would call villa cross-over product that visitors can rent, sort of like a hotel component.

“We have $125 million in lot sales for far. What you have to factor is that is just what we sold the land for, but when people build on those lots the average spend is probably $4-$5 million per home. To-date we have probably generated about $370 million in economic activity from the sale of those lots.”

Mr Anand said the 565-acre luxury resort community, which opened in 2010, employs over 275 full-time employees, 97 per cent of whom are Bahamian.

Mr Anand said that Albany, created by private investment company Tavistock Group (the vehicle for Lyford Cay billionaire Joe Lewis’s worldwide investments) in collaboration with golf icons, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els, had been a great partner for small Bahamian businesses, and praised the service levels of the resort’s staff.

“Universally every single visitor to Albany remarks on how wonderful our staff are,” said Mr Anand. “We have over 605 vendors that have been a part of Albany over the last several years. We are a great partner for the small Bahamian business.”

Prime Minister Perry Christie, who was at the launch, said: “For me this is a fabulous investment and we are proud to see the progress that has been made to-date.

“This important second phase at Albany is a terrific vote of confidence in the Bahamas. This really is a welcomed development. The fact that Albany has 250 employees current, 650 coming here for this development, shows that this really is a wonderful development in our country, and will inspire people who have developments on the drawing board to see that the developers are getting value for the money being spent. People are expressing confidence in this island as a destination and it really bodes well for the future.”

Mr Christie added: “What is most interesting during these challenging economic times is that Albany continues to be successful in selling units which range from $2 million to over $20 million.

“The level of success that Albany has experienced is also a resilient validation of our country and its international appeal.”

Mr Christie said the development would have a multiplying effect on the Bahamian economy, with high net worth individuals attracted to the resort subsequently looking to invest in the Bahamas.