The "most significant remaining tract of land in the Bahamas," a 385-acre development site, is back on the market.
Southern Cross Construction, owned by golfer Greg Norman, is planning a $1 billion mixed-use development on the site of the South Ocean Resort. The site on New Providence's 3,000-foot waterfront has been in limbo for years, after a development team's plan to construct an opulent resort was derailed by a slew of lawsuits.
"South Ocean clearly represents the most important growth potential in the Bahamas, if not the entire Caribbean." villa qatar
The Canadian Commercial Workers Industry Pension Plan (CCWIPP), which foreclosed on the property in 2011, now owns it. Last year, CCWIPP hired Southern Cross to create a master plan for the site in collaboration with the Bahamas government, in the hopes of attracting more buyers.
A casino, restaurants, and residential units are planned for the site, which will be centered on a 60-slip marina and an oceanfront lagoon. The site is next to the former Blue Shark Golf Course, which was built by Mr. Norman and has been closed for many years due to the owners' financial difficulties.
In 2008, a consortium led by Florida developer Roger Stein and Plainfield Asset Management, a three-year-old hedge fund founded by Wall Street billionaire Max Holmes, announced plans to build the site for $860 million. However, the plans fell apart quickly, and CCWIPP was forced to foreclose on a $72.5 million mortgage. Plainfield was deregistered and liquidated in 2012.
According to a statement from CBRE Hotels, the listing agent for the site is "actively fielding inquiries from hotel, growth, and investment groups based in the United States, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia."
According to the company, the project would benefit from its proximity to the airport and Albany's high-end population. According to media reports, the development plan may also aid, though buyers are under no obligation to implement it.
In a quote, CBRE Hotels vice president Paul Weimer said, "South Ocean clearly represents the most important growth opportunity to come to market not only in The Bahamas but also in the greater Caribbean."
Any construction on the site will compete with Baha Mar, a $3.4 billion, 2,200-room resort set to open next year on New Providence.
The new Global Residential Cities Index found that the average annual price increase for all 150 cities was 4.3 percent.
Manila tops the annual world rankings for the second consecutive quarter, according to international property consultancy Knight Frank's new Global Residential Cities Index, with price growth of 22% in the year to March 2020. Budapest continues to be the fastest-growing city in Europe, with a 16 percent increase. The trio of Central and Eastern European cities in the top ten includes Zagreb and Warsaw.
Apart from Manila, the top performers in Asia Pacific are Seoul and Melbourne, both with annual growth rates of 13%. In the 12 months to March, the index increased by 4.3 percent, the fastest annual rate of growth since Q3 2017. Over the course of the year, 85 percent of the 150 cities studied saw their prices rise.
A look at the 15 cities in China and the United States with the highest GDP highlights the severity of China's slowdown in the first quarter of 2020, with average price growth of just 0.4 percent, the lowest average quarterly rate of growth for the 15 cities since Q1 2008.