The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE DEVELOPERS behind a $10 million ‘upscale’ entertainment venue for western New Providence believe the project will be fully funded within 90 days, one of its principals disclosing that US-based consultants had been contracted to take it to the “next level”.

Ellis Peet Jr, a partner in TFG Company, said the Encore development had received favourable responses from potential investors, although he acknowledged there had been queries over the expertise driving the upscale theatre and dining concept.

“We have gotten favourable responses from potential investors, but what has happened is because of our varied backgrounds, Marcus (Laing) and myself, me being in IT and Marcus in architecture, and no one specifically having a theatre background, the investment offering has been limited,” Mr Peet said.

“Though interest has been expressed, the options have been limited because persons have been asking who is the expert, and so that’s why we went out and found some experts and brought them in on the project.

“We are expecting now to see a turnaround in the project. We are hoping that within 90 days we will have the project fully funded. We’re at that place now where we are anticipating some things to happen, but we will know in short order.”

Mr Peet added: “We have some consultants coming in with regards to our project. They have about 60 years in the business. We are hoping they bring a level of expertise to the project that we may have been missing earlier on since its inception.

“They’ve already been contacted and signed, so they’ll obviously be a part of what we are doing. It is our hope that we can take the project now to the next level. We are still on target for construction to start in the last quarter of this year, leading into 2014, and anticipating an August to September grand opening.”

The proposed 45,000 square-foot complex would feature theatres, a gourmet restaurant, a roof-top terrace for hosting events and private meetings rooms.

The complex will be a green-design facility using high-efficiency equipment and LED lighting, with emphasis placed on indoor air quality.

It will also contain provisions for power stations for electric vehicles and golf carts, as well as bike racks for bicycles. From construction to completion, the complex is expected to generate 300-375 jobs. The project is being financed via a private placement and VIP membership pre-sales.

Mr Peet said the group was looking to embark on an aggressive marketing strategy to sell VIP membership.

“What is happening now is we are aggressively embarking upon the marketing strategy to sell those memberships,” he told Tribune Business.

“Up until recently we had not been doing anything exclusive with that. We hope to change that in the next 35-45 days. Right now we think we’re at a good place. All of the preliminary work has been done and the consultants are coming in to add some credence to what we have already done.”