Garet “Tiger” Finlayson and his group are said to be at least 15 months behind in getting their 250-room hotel off the ground because the Colby-Evans estate is claiming the developers plan to build on generation property.
The development will also include a 150-slip marina and a championship 18-hole golf course.
The family is reportedly claiming a large portion of purported Crown Land.
The Journal has learnt that the government intended to provide Mr. Finlayson the land through an arrangement that has not been disclosed.
Mr. Finlayson, who was reportedly ready to move “full steam ahead” in starting the development, has now been sidelined.
He has already invested substantial sums of money in preparing the project with some of those funds going to architects and planners.
Mr. Finlayson was also in discussions with leading hotel groups interested in managing the property, the Journal has learnt.
The family’s legal action is actually against the government, which claims that it has clear title to the land in question.
Prime Minister Perry Christie announced the development at the Progressive Liberal Party’s National Convention in November, 2002, indicating at the time that it would transform the entire island of Andros.
He also revealed then that businessman Al Collie was also a part of the group of investors pushing ahead with the project. But it was unclear on Thursday whether Mr. Collie is still involved in the deal.
“We are especially proud of this particular project by Bahamian investors who have responded to my government’s invitation to invest directly in our number one industry,” the prime minister said.
But the matter could be tied up in court for years.
It’s not the kind of news local Androsians are enthused about.
Keith Treco, an Andros businessman and former local government official, said Thursday that residents of North Andros are becoming restless and impatient.
“They are very anxious,” Mr. Treco said.
He said the development would jumpstart the island’s economy and would probably create about 200 jobs for residents.
“It would be a major boost to the island,” he said. “People are trying every little thing to make a dollar here and that would give them something to do.”
Mr. Treco said the development would stop a lot of the migration from the island that is taking place. Andros has a lot of young people, he said, and residents there don’t want it to be like other islands that are populated by the very young and the very old.
Angie McDonald, who runs Angie’s Poop Deck in Nichol’s Town, added that most residents seem to be disappointed that the development is on hold.
“People here are waiting for it because nothing’s happening here,” Ms. McDonald said.
She said the jobs that Mr. Finlayson and his group would create would obviously do a world of good for Andros.
Government officials, meanwhile, are hoping that the matter will soon be resolved, given increasing frustrations from Androsians.
The government is hoping that developments like the one planned by Mr. Finlayson will become a reality for all Family Island communities.
Prime Minister Christie has said repeatedly that his government intends for there to be at least one such project to fuel economic activity on depressed islands, thirsty for a turnaround.
For now, north Androsians will have to wait a little while longer for what they hope will be the key to economic revitalization and growth in their community.
Ms. McDonald said frustrations are boiling over and she believes that something must be done soon for residents in her area.
“It would be a very big deal,” she said of the project.
The Bahama Journal
