By ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

Treasure Cay homeowners and locals are still optimistic that the resort community’s revival will materialise while voicing concern that the potential developer continues to push the timeline back.

Eric Bethel, who resides in Treasure Cay for the majority of the year, said he has chosen to “be positive” after Jacksonville-based GreenPointe Holdings’ said it will not undertake any development activity until all approvals and permits are obtained.

The developer, which has yet to close Treasure Cay’s $25m purchase from the Meister family, added that it is now hoping to obtain all government approvals by October 2025. However, in a recent update to homeowners and other parties with interests in the North Abaco destination, it added that this timeline depended heavily on the Government agencies and could be delayed further.

Mr Bethel said he hopes the project’s start is not extended beyond October because “the worst thing in the world they could do for Treasure Cay is just sit on this for years and years. It’ll be great if it goes forward. Now they’re saying October. Initially, it was the beginning of this year. So we’ll see what happens, I guess. I mean, we’ll see what happens in October,” he added.

“I don’t know how long that’s going to take or what the hold up is, but my understanding was the Government was already giving these guys approval to do this thing,” Mr Bethel said. “So I figured the Government would be helping them, not hindering them. I’m not sure what all these other permits they’re waiting for are, or why that wasn’t done when they did the due diligence.

“But, I mean, I don’t know. I’m not in that inner circle, but I guess the positive thing now is that they’re still going forward instead of dragging their feet. But that’s still another ‘wait and see’. So I guess we’ll see in October. Hopefully it’s October; it’s not January, and hopefully in January, it isn’t in April.

“I mean, as long as there’s some kind of timeline when he’s [Ed Burr, GreenPointe’s principal] supposed to get this thing done… because the worst thing in the world they could do for Treasure Cay is just sit on this for years and years. Now, if they say they’re going to start in October, I’ll keep my fingers crossed because they told us they were going to start in March. Now, it’s October.”

Mr Bethel, who “will be less apprehensive when I see some concrete going into the ground”, reiterated the many opportunities the revitalisation of Treasure Cay would bring to Abaco’s residents and the economy.

Pointing to other “booming” areas on the island, such as Green Turtle Cay, Hope Town and Marsh Harbour, he said Treasure Cay is stagnant and “people are tired of sitting on the fence seeing if something’s going to happen”. However, with the delay, he challenged the new completion date that GreenPointe is seeking.

“When this initially came through, everyone was excited, because nothing was happening… and this guy was coming in and was going to do this, this and this,” Mr Bethel said of Mr Burr and GreenPointe. “And then we found out that he was looking for investors, and that kind of dampened it a little bit.

“My personal opinion is, because I reside in Treasure Cay most of the year, I want to look at it as a glass half-full. I don’t want to be a pessimist about this. But, I will be less apprehensive when I see some concrete going into the ground and some kind of structure getting built.

“I want to have faith that this guy is going to do the right thing and, what he says, he’s going to do. I’m just wondering when that’s going to get done. Now, we’re October. What’s going to happen in October? Is he doing the marina? Is he doing the golf course? Is he doing some shops in here? Is he doing residential? Is it going to be in phases?” he added.

“How long are the phases going to take? How many years is this project going to take until completion? These are some questions people here want to know; if this is like a five-year project, and they’re doing the marina for one year and something for another year, or they’re going to do it all at once and knock it out in a year. I mean, no one knows, so we’ll see what happens.

“There are people who can work at the marina, people who can work at the golf course, people who could work at the stores, people could clean the gardens, all that stuff’s intertwined, intermingled. So the faster this project gets up and running, the faster people could get to work. More jobs can become available. The economy can start coming back bigger than what it is now. It’s beneficial for everybody.”

Gaynelle James, GreenPointe’s marketing director, in the message to homeowners said the developer is working “with a team of Bahamian attorneys, environmental consultants, architects, coastal engineers and civil engineers to ensure every permit is properly prepared, submitted and approved before any work begins.” The developer has “the utmost respect for Bahamian laws, culture and environmental standards”.

“Having done some construction, it’s very rare when people tell you a target date that that date actually occurs,” Mr Bethel said. “Because there’s a lot of things that get thrown into the mix that people weren’t expecting, especially if this guy is not familiar with how Bahamians operate, how things get built here. He’s an American builder. But he is a developer, so I’m sure he knows all these things. And I’m just hoping that it’ll happen in October. That’ll be great. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”

Bruce Neandross, a Floridian and Treasure Cay resident, added: “I do believe it’s going to happen, I’m just waiting for it to happen. And I understand the complexities of working with government agencies and stuff like that. I’m a developer at home, so I get it. So it just takes longer sometimes than you really want it to.

Tara Diane, a Treasure Cay resident said she is still “extremely excited” for what the development will bring.

“[I’m] extremely excited for our community, and excited for the community of Abaco at large, because now there are opportunities, not just for jobs, but entrepreneurial opportunities for persons here on the island,” Ms Diane said. “My prayer is that everyone is prepared to take advantage of the opportunities that are going to present themselves.”