By GENEA NOEL
Freeport News Reporter
Shop owners, straw vendors and workers at the International Bazaar are agitating for the reopening of the Royal Oasis Hotel to breathe life back into the once popular shopping and entertainment arena.
These individuals, who relied heavily on the tourists staying at the resort, are awaiting work to begin at the hotel, as promised by Har-court Developments Limited (HDL). Many of them had to shut their doors due to poor sales. Out of the 85 stores that were opened prior to the closure of the hotel, only a mere 38 remain.
Chris Payne, vice president of the International Bazaar Owners Association (IBOA), said that they have not heard any word to indicate when work on the resort will begin. Despite efforts to rejuvenate the bazaar, Payne said that there was nothing more that they can do because the closure of the hotel greatly affected their businesses.
"The hotel's customers were our biggest customers," said Payne.
Shop owners even tried decreasing rental rates by 50 percent, but according to Della Cambridge, a bazaar worker, that effort has not helped to boost any sales.
"No matter what we do, we cannot survive because the hotel is closed. It is a big deal because no one comes here anymore. We barely have any customers," said Cambridge.
She added that HDL came with high hopes for Grand Bahama and have not done anything to the hotel.
"Not a nail or hammer has gone into that place from the hurricane. How can we let people invest not knowing what their true intentions are?" Cambridge questioned.
Straw vendor Agnes Miller said that she was frustrated because straw vendors have not been able to make a decent profit in four years.
"I don't know what to do some days. This is all I know how to do and I barely have any customers. The tourists are not interested in coming here because there is nothing here for them to come to. The closure of the hotel killed most of our business," said Miller.
At a press conference held in March, Senator David Thompson cited the investment made by Harcourt Development as a major boost to Grand Bahama's economy.
"To date, Harcourt has invested more than $53 million in restoring that property. A master plan is being worked out, a project manager is on-island. Foxwood, a huge international casino company has been engaged to manage the casino and they are involved in the development plans, the demolition, the refurbishment and the development of the tower and retail shops," he said, adding that Grand Bahamian should expect major moves for the area.
However, Bazaar owners have not seen or heard of any work being done by Harcourt.
The Irish development company had invested some $400 million for the site which included the towers, country club, casino, 98 timeshare units and two golf courses, which according to the company, represents a major expansion of its interests on the island.
The Royal Oasis has been closed since September 2004 and Harcourt had revealed that they were finalizing a deal with a major international casino and hotel operator to run the 427.5-acre resort property.
At last report, Harcourt was in discussions with Foxwood Development Company (FDC), operators of the world's largest casino, to do just that.
Back in April 2007, Foxwood said it was investigating the possibility of managing the Royal Oasis if Harcourt purchased the property.
"The company intends to make significant capital investment in order to improve the hotel and facilities at the Royal Oasis and create a high quality tourist destination. When reopened, the resort will bring major benefits to the local area through increased tourism and employment," a Harcourt release read.
Once extended and renovated, Harcourt noted that the resort would be home to a new hotel, casino, convention/meeting facilities, spa, fitness centre, food and beverage, retail, recreation and a host of other amenities. The golf courses will also be restored to their former glory.
The new owners estimated that up to 1,000 people would eventually be employed across the varied disciplines to construct, refurbish, manage and operate the resort.
Harcourt is one of Ireland's most successful privately owned property development companies. They are involved in a diverse range of projects across the globe from Latvia to Las Vegas.
Its projects include a Business Park in Latvia, an International Financial Services Centre in the Channel Islands, the largest chain of shopping centres in Ireland, the Titanic Quarter waterfront development in Belfast, Northern Ireland and an entire residential 'village' in Las Vegas, among others.
Harcourt Developments have been involved in the Caribbean for many years. Most notable is their luxury hotel development of Carlisle Bay in Antigua.
The Dublin, Ireland-based company beat out World Investment Holdings, a Florida-based investment conglomerate group, to purchase the troubled resort from Lehman Brothers, mortgagors of the property.
The company was also successful in acquiring Bahamia Services, which owns the subdivision next door to the resort property, and Princess Isle and is presently developing a luxury waterfront condominium complex called Suffolk Court in Bahamia.
The Freeport News made numerous attempts to contact Harcourt representatives, but up until press time, did not receive a response.
Bazaar owners remain hopeful that work will begin in the near future.
