The Tribune

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT

tsmith-cartwright@tribunemedia.net

WITH just under a year to the completion of his Cable Beach development, Paul Wynn is challenging the government to put one of its dilapidated buildings out to tender to remove the eyesore from the area of his investment.

Mr Wynn, developer of GoldWynn, a hotel and condominium development in Cable Beach just opposite the Office of the Prime Minister, recently learned his company’s offer to purchase “La Playa” has been turned down. “La Playa” is a dilapidated mansion situated beside Goodman’s Bay.

It was actually purchased by the National Insurance Board for $3.5 million on behalf of the Christie administration for a Prime Minister’s residence. “La Playa” sat in a state of disrepair for almost 15 years. Mr. Wynn’s offer on the house was some $2.25 million. This offer, he says, has been turned down.

“We put our offer in and we heard through a third party that they (the government) are not interested,” he told The Tribune yesterday.

“I challenge the government to send it to tender with the commitment that someone has to build something there within 24 months. Put it out to tender. The smartest businessman gets out with his first loss. The government made a bad deal. It’s just not worth it.”

“La Playa” is one of a few abandoned homes on the strip where GoldWynn is being built and Mr Wynn has expressed displeasure in the past about its deplorable state and the close proximity to his property. Even though his bid has been turned down, he still wants to purchase the house and clean up the property.

Also abandoned in that area are “Fairview”, a home that no one lives in, but is maintained properly; the Bahamas Development Bank and the Gaming Board building. “La Playa” is the worst of them all with overgrown foliage, giant, rotting gates and an abandoned building that vagrants now call home.

“I am asking the government to do this because I do not want next to our hotel development this rotting house,” he said. “I want the government to put the property out to tender and let the highest purchaser buy it, but they have to make the commitment to redevelop it. So no one buys it and just lets it sit there and rot. That happens a lot.

“So let them make a commitment by way of a letter of credit or something to say that they are going to fix the house and develop it. Give them a 24-month window to do it. Put it for tender but the condition is that you have to renovate the house or redevelop the property but you have to do it within 24 months.

“Personally I am petrified that someone is going to buy it and not develop it. I just want someone to do something with that house. It’s an eyesore. It’s at a prominent spot and I really want to see Cable Beach developed. Vagrants are sleeping there. No one watches it. When people think ‘La Playa’ is locked up I say, no it isn’t. Go to the wall, there’s a big hole in it that someone broke out. People can go in and out of that hole all the time.”

In the past, Mr Wynn has had potential buyers ask him about the eyesore buildings in the area. He has, however, seen sales at his own development pick up in recent weeks.

“I’m estimating my project will be complete around next April, May (2022). Our sales have been fantastic over the last six to seven weeks. That’s why I am looking to do a second development. I would still love to buy La Playa and not develop any mid-rise. I just want to clean it up and I don’t want to make any money from it.

“I will do something with that property and quick. Whatever I do, I am going to do it quick. Maybe a café or restaurants … something that the people going to Goodman’s Bay can use. I will not put a mid-rise or a high-rise there. I just need to clean up the area.”

Mr Wynn also promises to rejuvenate Goodman’s Bay if given the opportunity to purchase “La Playa”.