The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A long-touted 10,000-acre development for Long Island has been listed for sale at $25m with a Bahamian realtor suggesting that airport upgrades, improved connectivity and existing infrastructure can make the destination “the new frontier”.

Mario Carey, president and chief executive of Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate MCR Bahamas, confirmed to Tribune Business that his firm has secured the listing to market the Salinas project to potential buyers after long-standing title issues associated with the property, part of the former Diamond Crystal salt mining site, were resolved and cleaned-up.

He added that, with the Deadman’s Cay airport upgrades now underway, the prospect of increased airlift and improved connectivity - especially to international destinations - could help Long Island’s economy to take-off while also aiding his efforts to “tee up” a buyer for the Salinas site. Comparing the island to “Exuma 20 years ago”, he added that its property and real estate prices are attractive when matched against high-demand islands such as Eleuthera.

“This is a prime opportunity,” Mr Carey told this newspaper. “The title [to Salinas] is good. Long Island is the new frontier. You have a new airport, the new cruise port potentially, and it’s good to see how the developers are moving in that direction. It trickles down. Long Island, Cat Island, from a real estate perspective are pretty attractive. Everything else is so expensive - Eleuthera, Exuma.

“With the increased airlift, it will have a huge economic impact. You’ll have an airport in the north and south of Long Island. The roads are not so bad in some areas and they are fixing them. Long Island has a very solid workforce and strong fishing. Maybe Long Island is the new frontier, an up and coming location for real estate and prices are still affordable. It’s probably where Exuma was 20 years ago.”

The “cruise port” is the Calypso Cove development, targeted at southern Long Island, and for which a Heads of Agreement was signed under the first Davis administration. However, meaningful construction and development work at the project site has yet to begin earnest.

Diamond Crystal Properties, the entity behind the proposed Salinas project, appears to have changed its plans after signalling at the 2023 Long Island Business Outlook conference that it was prepared to move ahead with its development plans.

Nina Pesavento, its president, said then that the company was optimistic its development “is poised to become the Bahamas’ signature luxury regenerative development project” once it receives all the necessary approvals to proceed.

Targeted at the site of the former Diamond Crystal salt ponds and plant in southern Long Island, it was touted as “two world-class destinations in one”. It was to be centred on the 8,560-acre Salinas Nature Reserve, with the intention of “putting Bahamian wilderness on the map on a global scale like never before” via an eco-tourism focus.

Ms Pesavento said Salinas will also feature a small scale “eco luxury” development component consisting of multiple boutique hotels, marinas and residential and estate lots that will be acquired by real estate buyers.

Diamond Crystal Properties is controlled by the Toronto-based Hamilton Group, which has investments in traditional equity stocks; residential resort communities; crypto currencies and a Canadian airline. It is headed by its president, David Young, whose family foundation focuses on philanthropic giving to environmental issues and causes.

However, Mr Carey said changed “dynamics” within Diamond Crystal Properties were likely to have sparked a fresh approach. He suggested that attracting the right purchaser could help reverse the “brain drain” that consistently sees an exodus of Long Island’s best and brightest talents seeking jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities in New Providence and elsewhere.

“You have Cape Santa Maria and Stella Maris on the northern end,” the Better Homes & Gardens chief said. “The development potential just fits. Prices are still attractive and there’s enough infrastructure for people to pay attention to.

“It [Salinas] could be a good beacon to bring Long Islanders back home, get some of the brain drain back with everyone coming to Nassau. There’s not enough to do there. Everyone’s fishing. They used to farm, but the hurricanes made that difficult with a lot of the soil getting spoiled by salt water. It’s hard to get that back.

“Long Island is a very industrious island. A lot of business owners due to Long Island’s boating history, construction, hard-working people. They will be at the cash register and show up to work on time.” Mr Carey said the Salinas niche, boutique eco-tourism model is a good fit for Long Island given the abundance of wildlife and fisheries, making bonefishing an obvious choice.

Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate MCR Bahamas, in its marketing pitch for the project, said: “The property includes approximately 1,400 acres of developable land, with government approval in principle from the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) for a 1,072-acre development component which offers a rare canvas for a master-planned, low-density community emphasising privacy, exclusivity and a deep connection to the surrounding natural environment.

”The Bahamas' pro-investment framework provides meaningful advantages, including expedited approvals, duty exemptions, concessions and VAT incentives under the Hotel Encouragement Act and the Family Island Development Act. In 2024, a comprehensive master plan was completed for an 8,560-acre nature reserve, dedicated to habitat restoration, environmental renewal and immersive land and water-based recreation.” The 10,000-acre site was said to feature 12 miles of beaches.

Ms Pesavento, in addressing the 2023 Long Island Business Outlook, said: “With Salinas, we really intend to introduce a new model of sustainable development; one that has not before been seen in The Bahamas. One we have not seen in The Bahamas. Our site is approximately 10,000 acres, so it is quite large. I guess that would be an under-statement.

“Our vision is two world-class destinations in one. First and foremost is the Salinas Nature Reserve. The idea is for the Nature Reserve to put Bahamian wilderness on the map on a global scale like never before with walking trails, kayaking and paddle boarding recreation, and a research centre.

“Alongside of that is our proposed development site, which consists of small-scale eco-luxury hospitality experiences.” While a master plan for the Salinas project was said to have been approved by the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) two years ago, it has yet to begin the process of obtaining the necessary environmental approvals - including a Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) - from the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP).

Ms Pesavento said Diamond Crystal Properties’ philanthropic arm, the Long Island Conservancy, was officially registered as a Bahamas-domiciled non-profit to signal that the project is progressing.

The Conservancy will be led by the former head of Nature Conservancy Canada, and she added: “We have throughout the last several years in planning for the Salinas Nature Reserve been working very closely with the Bahamas National Trust.

“This is not a traditional development model or one seen throughout The Bahamas to-date. When we look at the island of Long Island that is extremely self-sufficient and has grown not depending on tourism, we have a very unique opportunity to do things differently.

“Our role in developing Salinas is not to introduce a massive resort model that has been successfully played out elsewhere. In fact, we see our role as bringing out the best of what this destination has to offer. What makes Long Island so unique is what already exists here. The question for us is how can we excavate the inherent value of the site and bring financial value to the table through that.”

Ms Pesavento said the developer aimed to achieve this by unlocking what she described as Long Island’s “sacred capital” through its own financial investment in the project. She added that the 8,500-acre Salinas Nature Reserve will feature lagoons, beachfront and mangrove forest, and also seek to pay homage to the location’s “cultural heritage” and past and current uses.

It was to feature a hub for boutique salt harvesting and shrimp farming, with Diamond Crystal Properties promising to consult Long Islanders on “how they desire to use part of the salt pans that remain”. Renewable energy will also be incorporated into the development, although the developer has yet to begin remediation of a site previously used for aquaculture and industrial purposes prior to its mid-1980s closure.

“We see this as critical to establishing a destination in Long Island in a way that puts the wilderness at the forefront of this destination,” the Diamond Crystal Properties president said. “Our ultimate goal is for Salinas Nature Reserve to link with a bigger marine management area. This would tie in with the Exuma Sound...

“We really do believe Salinas is poised to become The Bahamas’ signature luxury regenerative development project. We are focusing on small-scale, high-end development that we have not really seen throughout The Bahamas.

“This is a model that has been highly successful throughout Costa Rica, Mexico and parts of Central America. We’ve seen in The Bahamas the sense that conservation and development are at odds with one another. That’s the narrative we’re trying to change here.”

The Diamond Crystal site was, almost four decades ago, the main driver of Long Island’s economy, providing the biggest source of employment on the island. Diamond Crystal opened its plant in the 1970s and, after it closed due to its US parent filing for bankruptcy, was taken over by World Wide Protein (Bahamas), a shrimp farming company.

That venture, too, failed with the shrimp farming closing after several years of operations in the mid-1980s. The loss of economic activity and employment opportunities has contributed to the steady depopulation of Long Island ever since.