Developers of a "high-end" west New Providence commercial village, which hopes to feed off the Baha Mar development, have experienced higher than expected demand for what is now anticipated to be a "$50 million-plus" overall investment.
Charles Christie, CEO of C.A. Christie Real Estate, said that almost 12 of the spaces available in the 20-acre Towers Shopping Center, located just 2,000 feet from Baha Mar, have now been committed to, and indications are that the entire project could be fully leased "within three months", before a shovel has even been placed in the ground.
Urged on by the high level of interest in the center, which is expected to be similar in style to the Marina Village at Atlantis, C.A. Christie now plans to break ground on the project within the next 60 to 90 days in time for a December 2014 opening, to coincide with the Baha Mar resort's opening.
The Towers Shopping Centre will be located immediately to the east of Baha Mar Boulevard, which connects Cable Beach to John F. Kennedy Drive, overlooking Lake Cunningham.
While Christie expects to pump $35 million into the project, with the development of an additional eight commercial "out-parcels" around the property, of which five have already been sold by his company, the businessman said he expects the overall value of the investment could rise to $50 million.
"We've seen tremendous interest, absolutely tremendous. I'm more than pleased," said Christie, describing the out-parcels adjacent to the main property as "a hit".
"It's all about location, location. There's not a lot of land available for development in the Cable Beach area so when this came on stream they flew off the shelf at premium prices."
Christie said he now expects to push ahead with formalizing leases for the remainder of the plaza in the coming months.
"We're well on our way with it. I've just gotten back from a virtual walk through of the plaza, and we're going to go to television, radio and all of the other media to promote it this month. It appears we won't need too much promotion because we've been getting flooded with calls, so we'll be paying attention to going out and getting them to sign the leases."
The Towers Shopping Centre is located just over the top of the peak of Corridor Seven, now known as Baha Mar Boulevard.
The concept is a high end shopping plaza that will offer "boutique" retail spaces, as well as large and small food and beverage options, and perhaps a few small offices.
First and foremost, the developers hope to ensure that the Towers is more than just a place people go to shop. "It's going to be a very village style.
If you look at most of the commercial developments in The Bahamas, 90 percent of people come in, park, buy what they want, and leave. We are creating an environment where people can come and stay - grab a bite to eat, sit down, have a coffee, have a glass of wine. There'll be a lot of indoor and outdoor food and beverage options, lots of lush landscaping; it will be an inviting place where people want to spend a lot of time," said Gavin Christie, Partner with C.A. Christie.
Gavin added that the developers had "underestimated" the demand for the property, and in light of the "great response" have pushed forward their construction plans.
Meanwhile, clearing of lots is already occurring in some of the five commercial out-parcels which have been sold, with a doctor's office, a health spa, and a credit union set to take up three of those spaces.
He said: "It's geared equally towards locals and tourists. The location itself is prime because it's smack in the middle of the Cable Beach neighborhood, and would attract a lot of local residents, but we're also on the doorstep of Baha Mar.
We're the only commercial development on Baha Mar Boulevard. Naturally as guests come in from the highway the first thing they will see is the Towers. We do think we would get a good amount of traffic out of Baha Mar." The development will have 64,000 square feet of rental space, divided into 1,000 square foot bays. Gavin Christie confirmed interest to date from jewelery retailers, coffee companies, and others interested in putting in "small" offices.
"It's geared toward retail, food and beverage, and there would be minimal office space."
The partner said that the opening of Baha Mar Boulevard was "huge" for the western side of the island, providing an entirely new access to Cable Beach from the airport, which happens to run directly past the company's development.
Charles Christie added: "One has to accept that everyone's talking about Baha Mar, but we're more concerned about the number of employees that will be there. They will all be coming along that gateway - that's 7,000 employees everyday - in addition to everyone else."
Overall, the development could put a decent dent in unemployment numbers, with over 100 construction workers expected to participate in the creation of the project. Based on a conservative estimate of three employees per retail space, the project could generate over 150 long term jobs.
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