This month New Hope Holding, which owns Grand Bahama Yacht Club, acquired the 115-slip Port Lucaya Marina, which would be included in an $500 million expansion project around the Bell Channel Bay
“One of the first things we did when we got involved with Grand Bahama Yacht Club, was to change the size of the boat slips to accommodate the larger yachts,” Preben Olesen, chairman of New Hope Holding, told the media.
“Quickly it became obvious that the Port Lucaya Marina would really give us the ability to cater to a fast growing mega yacht market, and provide all of the amenities these yacht owners expect,” he added. Olesen said the marinas would be merged for a total of 300 yacht slips that would sit on 70 acres of waterfront.
The company also revealed it would dredge the channel to 13 feet to accommodate larger yachts.
Expansion would also include a $20 million 240-room condo hotel in Lucaya. Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe and Prime Minister Perry Christie recently attended the ground-breaking for the condo, which the developers anticipate would be completed in one year.
There are also plans for 300 private residences as well as office and shop space, and a 38,000-square-foot building will soon be constructed that would house six condos, and a customs and immigration office.
Florida boaters told a US daily recently that there is fast becoming less dock space, and with prices of boat slips in south Florida increasing, it is anticipated that many boaters would turn to The Bahamas where they view prices as relatively cheaper.
By: BARRY WILLIAMS, The Nassau Guardian
