TIGblogs TIG | TIGblogs GROUP TIGBLOGS LOGIN SIGNUP
Bahamas Blog International
Bahamas Blog International


Albany Development Company Offers Landowners 30% Above Appraisal Value To Secure Land For New Highway, And Clear The Way For Its $1.4-Billion Mixed-use Development Project To Go Full Steam Ahead
Related to country: Bahamas

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Albany-Landowners offered 30% above appraisals:
By VERNON CLEMENT JONES,Senior Business Reporter,
Nassau, Bahamas:
EXCLUSIVE



About 30 percent extra. That appears to be the final offer for land appropriated to build a public road, replacing the one Albany will soon swallow up.

"They (the landowners) have been offered about 30 percent above the average appraised value of the land," said Christopher Anand, managing partner for the $1.4-billion mixed-use development project. "That's our ceiling.

"We expect final arrangements will be completed by the end of the month, and as soon as this is resolved you will see Albany going full steam ahead."

If Anand's reading of the tea leaves is correct, the last obstacle standing in the way of his development will have been removed. It wouldn't have happened overnight.

This fly has been stuck in the ointment since late last spring when the government decided it would appropriate each of those individual lots, arguing the move in the public interest.

The 565-acre Albany project is set to employ a 1,000 workers in the construction phase alone, but hinges on relocating a portion of Southwest Bay Street.

Integral to that plan is paving a new stretch of road on the appropriated land, said Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham last year.

"The projects require the relocation of a portion of Southwest Bay Street," he said. "The Heads of Agreement with Park Ridge Securities Corp (official name of the Albany development company) commits the government to acquire private land upon which a replacement road is to be constructed by the developers.

While his government was prepared to direct landowners to sell their property, it decided to leave open to negotiation the question of a purchase price. Those on-going talks have failed to end in a meeting of the minds, however. Until now that is, according to Anand, who said that final arrangements are likely before the end of the month.

He asserts that the current offer, calculated on the basis of two independent appraisals commissioned by the government, represent the best and fairest offer those landowners will get. Technically speaking, they'll collect that money from the government, although Albany will pick up the tab.

That technicality has likely done little to keep those landowners from holding out for the very best offer they can get, especially given the highly publicized deep pockets of Albany's investors.

Chief among them is Lyford Cay billionaire Joe Lewis, whose recent billion-dollar acquisition of a 10 percent stake in New York investment house Bear Stearns has made headlines around the world.

Tiger Woods, set to become his sports first billionaire, is Lewis's partner with millionaire Ernie Els rounding out the well-heeled investment team.

Those Albany backers may have been victims of their own success with Bahamian landowners deciding to pass up earlier offers in hopes to claiming a bigger piece of the pie.

Anand is now suggesting their slices won't get any bigger than "30 percent above the average appraised value."

January 10, 2008 | 10:57 AM Comments  0 comments

You must be logged in to add tags.


Dennis Dames's Profile

Dennis Dames's Friends


Latest Posts
Bahamian Religions
Two hungry wolves and...
Journeys Through The...
The Situation of The...
Bahamas: Politics,...

Monthly Archive
December 1969
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008

Change Language


Tags Archive
bahamas business&entrepreneurship choice decision enfusion governmentsector ict4d individualeconomy investment network networkdevelopment networknews newmedia news participation participationworks personaldevelopment personalproductivity podcast resources socialentrepreneurship socialreporting spelling test toolsforthejob video vodcast website websitehelp

Friends
Bahamas National Youth Council
Fay Knowles
Roderick R. Mckenzie

Links
A+ Links Int'l
AltaBlog Directory
Bahama Journal
Bahamas Dames
Bahamas Hotels
Bahamas Search
Bahamian WebRing
Best Blog Directory
Blog Directory
Blogadr
Blogdup
BlogExplosion
Blogit
Blogoozle Directory
Blogs Directory
Clickbank Marketplace
Crooks Blog
Dating Network
Free Paid Web Directory
International Classifieds
LS Blogs
Politics Blogs
The Nassau Guardian
Top 100 Women Websites
Top Poetry Sites on the...
Top Web Blogs
Vote For Me


348402 views
Important Disclaimer