The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Grand Lucayan’s prospective purchaser was yesterday said to be “finalising” its development plans and brand/operating partners with the processes for obtaining the necessary permits to launch its $827m development set to begin imminently.

Phylicia Woods Hanna, the Government’s investments director and head of the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA), told Tribune Business that the Davis administration plans to form “a special team dedicated” to managing and expediting the approvals process for Concord Wilshire so that long-awaited construction and demolition activity can begin at Grand Bahama’s ‘anchor’ resort property.

Amid growing scepticism from the Opposition and some in Grand Bahama that the resort’s sale to the Miami-headquartered developer will ever complete, she signalled that the Government plans to help accelerate the project’s permits and timelines given that it is significantly behind the schedule unveiled at the Heads of Agreement signing last May. Approvals will also have to be obtained from the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA).

“As it relates to Concord Wilshire, the last development plans and branding partner agreements are being finalised,” Mrs Woods-Hanna told this newspaper. “The permitting processes are about to commence. As you are aware, it is critical for any investor to have all the necessary permits in place - both from government and, in the case of Freeport, from the GBPA before starting any work.

“The developer is working to get those applications submitted for works to commence. The Government will have a special team dedicated to managing the process. Alll processes being undertaken by the Government, although they may appear from the outside as delays and are painful, are done to ensure that the future development is in the best interest of Grand Bahamians given the history” of the Grand Lucayan.

Mrs Woods-Hanna said development timelines, deadlines and start dates will be unveiled “when the first development plans are rolled out”. She echoed Prime Minister Philip Davis KC in describing the Concord Wilshire project as “very complex” due to the number of entities involved as brand and/or operating partners for different parts of the redeveloped Grand Lucayan.

Noting that the Government has devoterd significant time, manpower and resources to facilitating the development, the BIA chief said: “A lot of hours have been dedicated to that. Once everything has been confirmed in terrms of legal documents for the branding partners, we can move on to the approvals process.

“The Government has committed to put together a team specificaly to deal with that and ensure permits are expedited in a safe manner that protects the Bahamian people.” Mrs Woods-Hanna’s comments signal that Concord Wilshire will function as a master developer entering into contracts with different operating partners to manage and run separate parts of its project.

Tribune Business had previously told that renowned Australian golfer, Greg Norman’s, company was being tapped to manage the upgraded golf courses, while other brand and operating partners will be hired to oversee assets such as the different hotels, the casino and marina. This newspaper has also been informed that Disney Cruise Line has shown interest in developing a water-based adventure park near the revived Grand Lucayan.

Pinning down these components likely requires significant time and legal resources from both Concord Wilshire and the Government, which may have been a factor behind the drawn-out wait to close the Grand Lucayan’s sale that has frustrated resort staff as well as many residents and businesses on Grand Bahama.

Tribune Business sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Concord Wilshire executives and teams are at the Grand Lucayan almost every week to inspect the property and refine their plans.

However, they added that “the story keeps changing” on a weekly basis, with the developer’s representiatives first saying only one property will be demolished only for another team the next week to assert that the entire complex will be torn down.

Tribune Business previously reported that the conveyances, transferring title and ownership of the Grand Lucayan from the Government’s special purpose vehicle (SPV), Lucayan Renewal Holdings, to Concord Wilshire’s own Bahamian-domiciled entity, were completed prior to the much-touted Heads of Agreement signing in May 2025.

It is also thought that the resort’s acquisition has been structured as a so-called “take-down purchase”, meaning the $120m sales price will be paid in installments by Concord Wilshire. As the developer demolishes each new part of the existing Grand Lucayan, a new portion of the purchase price will be paid to the Government. The $120m has not been paid yet, while the transition and hand-over to the developer has been a protracted affair.

This newspaper understands that there has been some reluctance by the Government to grant all the tax breaks and other investment incentives that the buyer is seeking. Concord Wilshire is thought to be arguing that it needs significant concessions given that it is trying to revive a stopover tourism market that sources say is “100 percent dead”, but the Government’s concern is understood to be that it would have to give the same tax breaks to other major investors such as Atlantis and Baha Mar, which have ‘most favoured nation’ clauses in their own Heads of Agreement that state they are to be treated no less favourably than other resort investors.

In the meantime, the Government’s political opponents have continued to attack the Davis administration over the Grand Lucayan deal. Kwasi Thompson, the Opposition’s finance spokesman, told Tribune Business it is “tragic” that employees have been left in “limbo” - not paid for five weeks but unable to claim unemployment benefit and other National Insurance Board (NIB) assistance because they have not been formally dismissed.

“We are still having these reports of them not being paid for several weeks; more than one month,” Mr Thompson said. “It’s obviously a very difficult situation for them, it’s a very uncertain time for them. They have not been given any information on how long they are going to continue in this state of limbo.

“They have not gotten their severance pay. They have challenges. If you do not have a letter of dismissal you cannot go to NIB for unemployment benefit. It’s a huge slap in the face for the Prime Minister to have last week said what he said, and said the employees have been paid when they have not been. It’s an unfortunate, tragic situation for those employees.

“It remains a time of uncertainty for Grand Bahama with respect to the future of the Grand Lucayan. The public has still not been provided with any information on the deal, no confirmation of receipt of funds by the Government, no information on when the deal will be completed. Grand Bahama has been left with a cloud of uncertainty, and it’s a national embarrassment how the Government is dealing with this matter.”

The Grand Lucayan sale includes the 56-acre beachfront resort along with the adjacent 160-acre Reef Golf Course. Concord Wilshire last year said the revived property will feature seven major resort components, including three new hotel buildings and branded timeshare units.

Other features include a 35-acre cruise destination open to all cruise lines and guests, a 25,000 square foot indoor/outdoor casino, the conversion of the Reef Golf course to a 160-acre Greg Norman signature golf course, and a 16-slip mega-yacht marina.

Construction is expected to begin within 90 days of obtaining the necessary permits and approvals. The project will be rolled out in phases, creating 1,320 construction jobs and 1,750 permanent positions once the resort is fully operational.