A new $13.8 million shopping plaza just outside of Marsh Harbour has created around 75 construction jobs and promises to generate many more by its opening in November.
The Central Pines Shopping Centre & Business Complex, owned by the Teachers and Salaried Workers Co-operative Credit Union Limited, is now leasing out up to 20 spaces in the facility. The 50,000-square-foot plaza consists of five interconnected buildings, a stand-alone bank and an office complex.
Ashley Glinton, the president of Woslee Construction, said the Central Pines area is growing rapidly and should be a center of robust economic development in the coming years.
"Abaco is growing very fast and I think this will certainly help the community grow. We just finished the government complex right near by," he told Guardian Business. "We are up to around 75 workers and I can say they are nearly 100 percent from Abaco."
Glinton added that Woslee is placing the roof on the complex and it's on schedule for the November opening. It is the largest project for Woslee on the island.
Anthony Rolle, the building manager at Central Pines, told Guardian Business yesterday that the search is on for tenants.
The complex will include a supermarket, movie theater, pharmacy, dental office, doctor's office, shoe store, clothing stores, fast food restaurants, liquor store and outlets for paying bills from Bahamas Electricity Corporation, Water and Sewerage or Cable Bahamas.
"We have a list of names, and if they all come through then we will be fully rented. I will be looking at taking deposits to ensure their commitment going forward," according to Rolle.
The building manager agreed that the new plaza is well positioned to take advantage of community growth. In addition to the government complex, he said that a high school and primary schools are also "not too far away".
He said the township is only a two- or three-minute drive from Marsh Harbour proper.
While Rolle was reluctant to assign any specific employment figures to the development, space for at least twenty businesses, including a supermarket, could easily equate to well over 100 jobs.
"It really depends on the tenants and how many employees they would hire. We are seeking three major anchors - a food store, fast-food restaurant and hardware store," he explained.
Marsh Harbour has been the source of increasing investment in recent years. The new Leonard M. Thompson International Airport has been under construction for several years after the original contract was signed under the previous administration.
Since then, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) has expressed concern on the length of the runway and the quality of construction. The new international airport is reputedly due to have a grand opening, however, sometime this summer.
The government recently stated that Marsh Harbour is the third busiest travel hub in the country.
Guardian Business understands a new hospital is also under construction and should open in 2014.

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