It was revealed yesterday that China Construction America (CCA) could miss yet another Baha Mar completion date due to non-receipt of lounge chairs. This revelation, according to Bahamian Contractors Association President Leonard Sands, sounds "interesting", as he alluded to a reason deeper than just lounge chairs.
Sands said substantial completion of a property, in the world of construction, is typically never based on the placement of fixtures, furniture and equipment, and called CCA's claims made in court documents that the chairs are "essential to the timely completion" of the resort "interesting".
According to an article in The Tribune, CCA filed a lawsuit in a South Florida federal court alleging that the lounge chair vendor Source Outdoor could cause "incalculable and irreparable damage" if 1,420 chairs are not released to Baha Mar.
CCA, under a strict financial penalty, is bound contractually to finish its part of the Baha Mar project on time. The Tribune article suggests that the chairs are being withheld due to a balance owed to Source Outdoor that predates the bankruptcy filing by the resort's initial developer. CCA is alleging it is not responsible for any past debts.
Despite this latest hiccup in the Baha Mar saga, Sands said he does not know "on which condition completion is based on that item".
"It sounds interesting that a general contractor is claiming that they may be late because of lounge chairs. To me it seems like there is another story there," he said.
Sands said the reasons for completion delays would likely be linked to ongoing work that might not have happened fast enough. He said from a construction standpoint, lounge chairs does not sound like an accurate reason for delays.
Baha Mar executives told Guardian Business yesterday they could not comment on an "ongoing litigation matter between CCA and one of its vendors". Calls to CCA were not returned up to press time yesterday.
Baha Mar opened its Grand Hyatt towers in April, which represented a soft opening of the larger mega resort property. The entire property, which includes the SLS, was expected to open this quarter; Rosewood is expected to open in the first quarter of 2018.

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