The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A major Exuma project yesterday said it is hitting “warp speed” with its development plans, amid talks likely to result in it handing 150 acres to the Government for Georgetown’s redevelopment.

Burton Rodgers, February Point’s vice-president of operations, told Tribune Business that “a bunch of folks” had been hired to take its total workforce to more than 100, with construction on the real estate development’s public spaces having already begun.

Estimating that February Point’s owners will be investing $5-$6 million in this area, which includes a plaza, new restaurant and bar area and recreational spa, Mr Rodgers said they also planned to begin construction on a 26-unit condo complex within 30 days.

A February Point Board meeting last week effectively gave the ‘green light’ to forge ahead with the new construction, while the developers are poised to meet soon with the Government to finalise their Flamingo Bay joint venture.

Mr Rodgers confirmed to Tribune Business that February Point is prepared to convey 150 acres to the Government for “a masterplan” the two parties will redevelop jointly for Georgetown’s revival.

And, with Exuma’s tourism and construction economy on the upturn, Mr Rodgers also revealed that February Point’s owners were in discussions with third parties over a mega yacht marina development and the branding of the project’s planned hotel.

“We’re at warp speed right now,” Mr Rodgers told Tribune Business. “We’ve started the construction of our public space, the plaza area.

“That’ll be the new restaurant area and bar, a sales area, pool and recreational spa. We’re also getting ready to re-do and start construction on our condo complexes.”

Construction on the 26-unit condo complex was set to begin within the next 30 days, with February Point’s developers set to also begin building work on an unspecified number of model homes soon after that.

February Point was acquired from the Hart family in early 2014 by an investor group headed by Florida-based John McGarvey, and the new owners spent much of last year finalising their development plans and obtaining the necessary government permits and approvals.

They now aim to push on in 2015, and Mr Rodgers told Tribune Business: “We’ve been pumping up staff, and have hired a bunch of folks for the construction and some additional folks in the security department, plus people at the concrete plant. We’ve got that up and running.”

With part-time workers included, Mr Rodgers said February Point’s directly-employed workforce totalled 100 persons. He added that it was also “98 per cent Bahamian”, with just three temporary expatriate staff present.

“When we’re at full force with construction of the condos and houses, we will be bringing on north of 100 again just to get that ramped up,” Mr Rodgers revealed, implying that February Point’s workforce might eventually number more than 200 persons.

He added that the developers were aiming to complete construction work on the condo complex and public spaces by year-end 2015, as they sought to exploit increased interest in both February Point and Exuma.

“The whole of Exuma is on an upswing,” Mr Rodgers told Tribune Business. “Hotel occupancies are up, visitors are up, and winter residents are through the roof. It’s booming. Go to the island, and there’s a lot of construction activity going on.”

He described interest in February Point as “very high”, adding: “Every day we have about three to four calls.

“We just went live with our new website. We’re getting a lot of phone calls.”

With February Point’s landscaping, and look and feel upgraded, Mr Rodgers said the developers were now looking to roll out their marketing and advertising campaign.

“We’re also in discussions with someone to come in and develop a mega yacht marina, and having discussions with hotel brands to brand our hotel or condo hotel site,” he added.

Tribune Business previously reported that the proposed boutique hotel will be between 50-75 units, its size depending on whether the developers brand it themselves or bring in a five-star name.

The marina, meanwhile, is intended to be as large as Atlantis’s.

Elsewhere, a sporting complex, featuring an athletics track and soccer field, plus basketball gymnasium and Olympic-standard swimming pool, are among the facilities planned for the Flamingo Bay joint venture with the Government.

“We’re about to meet with the Government real soon to continue discussions on the joint venture; that’s the Flamingo Bay site,” Mr Rodgers told Tribune Business.

“We’re about to meet them in a matter of weeks to finalise that. We already have a rough draft of how that will work out that we presented to the Government, and that should be finalised in a month or so.”

Mr Rodgers confirmed that the February Point owners were also prepared to convey 150 acres to the Government to aid Georgetown’s redevelopment, which will be driven by a masterplan developed by both parties.

“It’s part of the masterplan and discussion about other parts of Georgetown, and how do we revamp the area around the town,” Mr Rodgers added.