By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Atlantis’s bid to construct a $10m school on Paradise Island has been hailed by other developers and realtors alike for “feeding into the renaissance” of the destination and boosting its competitiveness.

The mega resort’s plans to invest an eight-figure sum in developing a 61,000 square foot school at the 23-acre site Flamingo Lake site, located on Paradise Island Drive between Compass Suites and the Four Seasons Ocean Club, were unveiled on Friday ahead of the September 24, 2025, public consultation that is part of the process for obtaining the necessary environmental approvals.

Atlantis, responding to Tribune Business inquiries, said there would be “no further comments” beyond what is detailed in the now-public Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which said the project will create construction and full-time jobs “estimated at 50-100 people” and take two years to build. The school would cater to 150 students who are Paradise Island residents.

The project, provided it obtains its certificate of environmental clearance (CEC) and other approvals and proceeds, would give Paradise Island one of the few remaining amenities that it now lacks. And, in so doing, realtors and developers forecast it will improve the destination’s attractiveness for investors and real estate purchasers - especially those who have children and want to live in The Bahamas full-time.

Given that the quality and location of schools is a key consideration for most families, the Atlantis school project is likely to improve Paradise Island’s competitiveness when set against the likes of Albany, Lyford Cay and Old Fort Bay - all of which are located in close proximity to what are considered New Providence’s top private, fee-paying schools.

Several realtors pointed out that, once completed and operational, the Atlantis-developed project would ensure Paradise Island residents no longer have to brave New Providence’s “brutal” morning and afternoon rush-hour traffic to take their children to school in the island’s west or east. It would, in effect, be another step towards Paradise Island becoming self-contained and residents not having to leave.

The EIA, produced by Bahamian consultants, Russell Craig and Associates, also discloses that the proposed school will only cover four of the site’s 23 acres. A further 16.73 acres, or more than two-thirds of the property, has been earmarked for use as a nature reserve and walking trails, with the suggested name of ‘Paradise Wild’. The remaining two acres will be assigned to a public parking lot.

The project’s progress may also depend on the property’s rezoning by the Town Planning Committee and Department of Physical Planning. The EIA reveals the 23-acre site, which is already owned by Atlantis and its affiliates, is presently zoned as green space, although altering this may not be too difficult as adjacent properties are already zoned commercial or “low to medium density residential”.

“The school project, along with the development of the natural reserve (nature trail system, interpretive centre, etc) public car park and associated infrastructures will represent an investment in The Bahamas of more than $10m by Atlantis Holdings, and will further contribute to the economic vibrancy of Paradise Island,” the EIA asserted.

“By creating between 50-100 construction jobs and permanent jobs for Bahamians and related service providers, this project will provide an economic stimulus and will further contribute to significant inflows/ remittances to the Government from Customs duties, Value Added Tax (VAT), National Insurance Board contributions (NIB) and real property tax.”

Should the Flamingo Lake property remain undeveloped, the EIA argued that “any economic activity, employment opportunities on Paradise Island gained through construction jobs, permanent jobs, investment injections, would be missed and lost”.

It added: “The land has been zoned as green space, with designated low to medium density residential and commercial zoning adjacent to the property by the Department of Physical Planning. Island Hotel Company [an Atlantis subsidiary] intends to develop the property by constructing a single story 61,000 square foot school to cater to 150 school students to residents of Paradise Island.”

The EIA conceded that the greatest environmental impact from the proposed project will be “the removal of 40 percent to 50 percent of the natural vegetation” at the respective sites for the school and parking lot sites. However, it intends to offset this with a re-landscaping initiative and enhancing the Flamingo Lake wetlands that will form the nature reserve and walking trails to appeal to eco-tourism.

“The projected school building footprint of some 61,000 square feet represents approximately 40 percent of the total area of the site (total of 1.6 acres) to be removed from its natural vegetation,” the EIA added. “When combined with associated infrastructural works - roads, footpaths, water and sewerage system - the total footprint could reach up to 50 percent of total area of land.

“Additionally, the natural habitat for birds and other wildlife will be impacted..... The most direct impact of the development will be the removal of 40 percent to 50 percent of the natural vegetation - school site and car park - and any existing wildlife associated.

“To mitigate this loss, Atlantis intends to relandscape the school site with native flowering plants and protected trees to re-attract avian and wildlife back to the area. Additionally, to enhance and beautify the natural wetland to be used as a nature trail for eco-tourism, and to retain the botanical and avian species.”

The EIA did not confirm whether the planned school will be private and fee-paying, and if it will be targeted solely at the children of Paradise Island residents, although both seem likely. However, the move by Atlantis was praised by realtors and other developers for adding a much-needed amenity that “completes the community”.

Ryan Knowles, founder and chief executive of Maison Bahamas, told Tribune Business of the proposal: “I think it just adds to, and feeds into, the renaissance that is happening with Paradise Island.”

Recalling the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational golf tournament, and appearances by the likes of the late Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, he said “Paradise Island was the place to go” for wealthy real estate buyers and celebrities in the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, since then, the destination had lost some of its sparkle compared to other high-end New Providence destinations.

“In the last 10-15 years, western New Providence has got more of the attention with the development of Albany and improvements to places like Old Fort Bay,” Mr Knowles added. “A lot of that demand shifted west. Recently, we’ve seen Paradise Island coming back.

“The Four Seasons Ocean Club Residences have begun construction, and Hurricane Hole has been completely redeveloped by Sterling Global Financial with facilities like their fantastic super yacht marina, which has been full throughout the season and been doing quite well. 

“They have a food store, and a pharmacy and medical facilities.... quality of life things that make living on Paradise Island that much more comfortable and convenient. As a resident myself, not having to go over the bridge any more to do grocery shopping is just a huge value add for me as a home owner; not having to go back and forth between Paradise Island,” he added.

“Now, with a school component and a son who has just turned three, I will soon have an option to send him to school on Paradise Island. It’s another ingredient in the model that makes it more attractive as an area. When thinking about where to send their children to school, they don’t have to think about going west to Lyford Cay or King’s College. They have an option on Paradise Island.

“It just elevates Ocean Club Estates and Paradise Island as a whole, and puts it back where it should be on the same level as Lyford Cay and Albany where there’s that important ingredient for families with school age children. They have a place to send their kids close by. It’s a big thing.”

Explaining why Atlantis’s school move could be a potential Paradise Island game changer, Mr Knowles cited a nearby example. “Even if you look at places like Miami, which recently had a boom in their luxury market, we saw it with the challenge they ran up against,” he told this newspaper.

“They had so many new people, wealthy individuals and families relocating to Miami, the best schools ended up at over-capacity with no more space. It was causing an issue. You had wealthy New Yorkers and Californians wanting to move there, and that’s what had stopped Miami because they had nowhere to send their children to school.

“That’s been one of the challenges, one of the draw backs, for Ocean Club Estates in having to compete with that because all the best private schools are out west. The three premier schools are considered to be out west, and Ocean Club Estates has suffered because of that because property values haven’t kept pace with Lyford Cay, Albany and Old Fort Bay.”

Mr Knowles said the proposed school will be “a great boost” for Paradise Island, as it will help “ease the transition” to living permanently in The Bahamas for wealthy families and real estate buyers with school age children, and for whom education - and having such a facility close by - is among the top priorities.

“It’s fantastic,” Mr Knowles said. “We’ve been talking about this for many, many years, and now it’s happening it’s great news for anyone living on Paradise Island or looking to buy there. It’s a huge factor in our competitiveness to be able to have a great school on the island, and it’s really becoming self-sufficient now.

“We have great security on Paradise Island - private security and Atlantis security - all the restaurants all-around at Atlantis and Hurricane Hole, we have got several medical facilities. It’s [the school] another step to making it one of the most attractive places to live, not only in New Providence but The Bahamas.”

Others were equally enthused. Khaalis Rolle, president at Sterling Global Advisory Services, the Hurricane Hole developer, said of the Atlantis proposal: “I think it completes the community to be honest with you. A lot of people that live on Paradise Island, or are looking for residential property on Paradise Island, some of them are concerned about the lack of schools in the immediate area.

“I think it’s a great addition to Paradise Island. Definitely. That would be an amazing amenity. If you look at everything on Paradise Island now, and things that are missing, that completes the ‘live, work and play’ concept we first talked about when we started our development. The school completes what’s missing. I think it adds significant value.”

The nearest private school to Paradise Island is Queen’s College on Village Road. Others in eastern New Providence include St Augustine’s College, St Andrew’s and Kingsway Academy, but Mario Carey, president and chief executive of Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate MCR Bahamas, said: “Most of the schools are a drive and not easy to get to.

“The choices tend to be, if you are living on Paradise Island, St Andrew’s but now you have Windsor and King’s College. To make that drive, if you live on Paradise Island, to go out west is brutal. It’s a full day.” Mr Carey said a school is “a very important component” to completing Paradise Island’s amenity line-up, with only a gas station now missing from such critical infrastructure.

“It’s coming together piece by piece,” the realtor, himself a Paradise Island resident, added. “If you can pick your children up in a golf cart, or they can ride a bike to school, that’s huge. Huge. Sandyport benefited by having Tambearly there.

“As a resident of Paradise Island I’m excited to have it. I have a buyer now looking and saying where he needs schools. He said he cannot drive all the way to Lyford Cay. It’s all positive. It should have a very positive effect on property values and should help the island to grow by attracting more families.”