By MALCOLM STRACHAN

THE big news of the past week has been without doubt the signing of the deal for the Grand Lucayan.

After previous deals with Royal Caribbean International and the ITM Group first of all, then the Electra America Hospitality Group, there will be plenty of hope that it’s third time the charm with the new company to sign on to the dotted line, Concord Wilshire.

It is reasonable to be hopeful. It is reasonable to be cautious. We have after all had promises before that have not come to fruition.

So who are Concord Wilshire? By the company’s own description, it is a “Miami-based, nationally recognised leader in residential, resort, and mixed-use real estate development and construction with over $10 billion in total value of developed and acquired assets”.

Its website boasts of projects across a number of states, including offices, residential and hotel developments.

So far, so good. Scratch the surface and there have been hitches at some of those projects – the demolition of the Metrocenter Mall in Phoenix was hit by significant delays, falling more than a year behind schedule, although part of that seemed to stem fro issues surrounding sales tax changes. Another project in Las Vegas, the Maxim Hotel, was announced in 2006 but never went anywhere despite 14 years of back and forth with different issues.

Still, despite those, there have been plenty of other projects which have come off – and the company has the assets to hopefully make the most of the Grand Lucayan.

The launch event spoke of confidence, complete with the legendary Greg Norman in attendance as the golf star spoke of the latest course he has been asked to design.

The country has put a lot of money into the Grand Lucayan since it was bought up by the government. The new deal is for a sale and redevelopment for a value of $827m. After paying to keep it going for years, it was revealed that we will be getting back $120m as a sale price, according to a government statement. 

All that investment may be worthwhile if it has taken us to this place, this moment, where we are promised – again – that everything will come good and Grand Bahama is set for lift-off. But let’s see more details.

If all does turn out as we are told, then this deal will bring 1,300 construction jobs, then 1,750 jobs when the resort is up and running properly.

Concord Wilshire has detailed its plan for the development – calling the Grand Lucayan a powerful engine, and talking about each aspect of the project as “cylinders” for that engine. There would be a cruise destination, a casino, a hotel and convention centre, a timeshare, a golf course, a marina.

Prime Minister Philip Davis aid that the people of Grand Bahama will finally “have the development partner you deserve”.

Mr Davis cited the “track record” of Concord Wilshire as being “conclusive evidence of its ability to deliver on this complex redevelopment”.

Meanwhile, Nate Sirang, president of Concord Wilshire, said: “By reimagining and redeveloping this entire resort, we’re not just creating a destination, but we’re reigniting tourism, generating local jobs, fueling the local economy and crafting a legacy that both the government and community can proudly call their own. We are also proud to be working with Bahamaland Investments, which is acquiring Port Lucaya Marina and Grand Bahama Yacht Club, to integrate these facilities and the existing Port Lucaya Marketplace, containing 120,000 square feet of local authentic shops, into this unique mixed-use resort and village.”

Richard Bosworth, a board member of Concord Wilshire’s Lucayan Resort and Gaming Platform, said that “every element of this resort is being financed independently of the other elements, and each is coupled with a select branding partner to ensure long-term sustainability and growth”.

It certainly seems like a good deal of thought has been put into how the project would work – the involvement of individual partners particularly suggests consideration has been given to ensuring the appropriate expertise.

The signing ceremony, admittedly, was an occasion for patting one another on the back and saying well done – despite there being lingering questions such as what will be done about the redevelopment of the airport in order to service the island, even before the presumably extra anticipated passengers coming to the redeveloped resort. There was also notice posted to IssueWire of a lawsuit being filed against Concord Wilshire as the deal was being announced, for “anticipatory breach of contract and unjust enrichment” from Joseph Brown and Howard Babcock over claims of the pairs involvement in the project. Many projects attract lawsuits of course, but it will be a case to follow and hopefully not a major stumbling block on the way to delivering the outcome that Grand Bahama needs.

And we keep coming back to that. What Grand Bahama needs. Over the years, I have written many times about the state of affairs at the Grand Lucayan.

Back in 2017 – eight years ago now – I wrote about then Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and his talk of selling the Grand Lucayan. I wrote: “Grand Bahama desperately needs an economic stimulus. The prime minister promised them this. He has no choice but to deliver. Otherwise, it will be another knock against his already weakening credibility.”

We all know what became of those promises for a deal, and what became of Dr Minnis’ credibility.

The same now applies for this government. On the face of it, this is good news, but the proof will be in the delivery.

Michael Scott KC, the former chairman of Lucayan Renewal Holdings under the Minnis administration, has already dismissed the new deal as “pre-election hype”, pointing at the lack of an upgraded airport as evidence and suggesting Concord Wilshire is a “reluctant suitor, and the Government seems to be more interested in them than they are in the government”.

We sincerely hope he is wrong, and that this is the beginning of something big for Grand Bahama.

But fool me once? Shame on me. Fool me twice? Shame on you. Fool me three times? Well, don’t be coming asking for my vote if that’s the way it ends up.