The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

An Abaco marina owner is seeking at least $7.5 million from a buyer, telling Tribune Business he and his family want to spend more time and resources developing their other worldwide investments.

Doug Poland, 64, said that having spent six-seven years focusing on Green Turtle Cay’s Leeward Yacht Club & Marina, he was now looking for a suitable buyer/investor to take the project to “the next level”.

Mr Poland described the development as a “good investment opportunity”, adding that the debt-free project had all the necessary Government approvals and infrastructure in place.

“We’re trying to tidy up a number of things,” he explained. “We’ve got investments in different places in the world, and the Bahamas is one of them.

“We’re pretty excited about this development actually. The problem is we have had to take about six-seven years out of our lives, and really it’s been pretty stagnant. We see it changing now, but I’m not really prepared to put another six-seven years in.

“When we started back in 2000 we thought we would be winding it down by the end of 2010. This economy has almost plucked six or seven years out of of that time-line. We’re at the position today in 2013 where we were in 2006.”

Mr Poland added: “I’ve got a lot of projects I’m in the middle of. We have a game farm over in Africa, for example, where we’re rearing wild game for the tourism industry. We have an engineering company, which my son runs, and some other private investments in the Carolinas and so on.

“We’ve got plenty of things to do and we’re thinking we should free ourselves of the Leeward project and get somebody with some more energy and a new vision to carry it on.”

The yacht club and marina development, which employs eight to 10 persons, includes a 28-boat slip marina with full service, and 21 fully-serviced building sites. These include five waterfront lots, 12 interior lots, two waterfront homes, two interior homes, a swimming pool, tiki bar and grill, tennis court and laundry.

“We’ve invested over $10 million in the project,” Mr Poland said. “I’m at the point where I’m not prepared to go any further. It’s been almost a dead economy for this type of project since 2006. The market really dropped out in the Out Islands during that time, and we’re pretty heavily dependent on US tourism or investors.

“Our project isn’t under any kind of threat because we’re self-owned. We have no bank involvement in the project, no debt, so we’re not being forced to do anything. We’re able to wait on the economy like we’ve done, but it’s getting to the point where things have started to pick up again.”

Mr Poland said the development, based on initial plans, was about 50 per cent complete. “We’re probably 50 per cent into it, although 100 per cent on the infrastructure,” he added.

“There are an additional 18 lots that are serviced; some of them are waterfront, that are available. I would say we’re about 20 per cent complete as far as the housing construction and sales is concerned. We have four houses that are turnkey. We’ve moved them into a rental suite for tourists and that has turned out to be quite a good idea, but that wasn’t our original. Our original plan was to build to sell.”

Mr Poland said he was optimistic that he would find a buyer in a reasonable time. “We have had a few calls on the property already. It’s just whether or not we can work together,” he said.

“Some of them may require financing, and I’m prepared to carry some of the financing depending on who the group is. It’s a good project and a very good opportunity for someone who wants to put the time into it. We have had good support on this project with both administrations. We have all of the approvals and it’s been a pleasant experience.”