Bahama Pundit
A selection of weekly articles by top Bahamian commentators.
Hope Town Becomes a Battleground Over Out Island Development
by Larry Smith
Despite the economic downturn, a new fight is brewing over development in the out islands - this time the battleground is Hope Town - one of the most successful family island communities. Tough Call visited Abaco over the weekend to take a closer look at a controversial proposal to redevelop the old Elbow Cay Club.
HOPE TOWN, Abaco—Skimming over the shallow Sea of Abaco past the familiar striped lighthouse that marks the best-known harbour in the Bahamas, we arrive at a small cove backed by a handful of low-rise buildings. The shoreline is punctuated by a crumbling wooden pier.
Here, tucked away out of sight of the settlement, are the remains of New Hope Lodge - a camp for recovering alcoholics founded by American Ruth Kenyon-Lundgren on nine acres of undeveloped land back in the 1950s. Ruth has now left the Bahamas, but in her time she had a big impact on the little community of Hope Town.
New Hope was eventually sold to a Danish-Canadian investor named Robert Maltarp, while Ruth went on to buy the former commissioner's residence in the settlement, adding a three-storey wing to create the Harbour Lodge. Later, she operated the nearby Abaco Inn (then called the Fin and Tonic). Both are 20-room boutique hotels.
In the meantime, Maltarp had acquired 10 more acres and turned New Hope into the Elbow Cay Club, which operated rather unsuccessfully as a typical out island inn throughout the 60s and 70s. It later became a rooming house for locals, eventually descending to its present status as a Haitian ghetto - probably the only "resort" for immigrants in the country.
Elbow Cay is five miles long and half a mile wide, and the tiny settlement of Hope Town retains immense rustic appeal. An ever-widening patchwork of roads and upscale subdivisions radiates from the picturesque settlement harbour. And the island is home to high-flying lawyers, politicians, architects and corporate bigwigs. Abaconians refer to the place as "Hollywood".
There are some 400 permanent residents together with perhaps 500 second home families who come and go, as well as an uncertain number of Haitians. And although Abaco may have suffered less from the recession than the rest of the Bahamas, due to its large second home economy, Hope Town has suffered least. Despite a drop in property sales, rentals, and construction starts, it remains one of the most desirable pieces of real estate in the country.
It is well known that most of Hope Town's Bahamian families can trace their roots back to a single Loyalist widow from South Carolina named Wyannie Malone, who arrived here in the 1780s following the American War of Independence. And ironically, most of the group who are planning a $25 million redevelopment of the derelict Elbow Cay Club are also from South Carolina.
They include three contractors from the Charleston area - Philip Smith, who builds high-end custom homes; Victor Apat, who specialises in historical restoration; and Hank Hofford, a big land developer. The front man for the group is a trial lawyer named Mark Mason who has a home on Elbow Cay. The remaining partner is Bahamian realtor Greg Graham.
When Robert Maltarp put his 19-acre property on the market in 2004, Kerry Sullivan of Damianos Sotheby's Realty was the listing agent. The Charleston group put the property under contract in January 2008, but the sale is subject to government approval of the development.
"Mason and Greg Graham met through a mutual friend and realized they had a common interest so the developers offered him a partnership," Sullivan told me. "It was a great chance for him to get in with an experienced team and people who have the capital to implement a plan that, in my opinion, is the best use of the land."
But her opinion is not widely shared. A groundswell of local opposition has developed, creating much ill feeling in this small, close-knit community. Hundreds of leading citizens and second home owners have petitioned to stop the development in its present form - a letter-writing campaign that is led by former realtor Chester Thompson, Hope Town's 88-year-old patriarch; and Clay Wilhoyte, a naturalised Bahamian who owns the popular Harbour's Edge restaurant.
Their objections relate to the scale and character of the development. The plans call for over 100 structures on 19 acres. This includes a dozen homesites, 88 townhouses, a 24-room hotel/conference centre and six staff apartments, in addition to common facilities and infrastructure. Based on a three-person occupancy per unit and a total staff of 100 the density could be as high as 27 per acre, critics say.
"Such high density will have a major impact on infrastructure such as roads, power supply, refuse removal, fire protection, health services, etc." according to one letter to the town council. "Furthermore, it will represent the first step in an undesirable 'Floridarization' of this beautiful island."
The harshest criticism is reserved for the massive marina that is being proposed. It will occupy over seven acres of the Queen's bottom (as the seabed is known locally), with a rubble breakwater jutting out well over 500 feet into the Sea of Abaco. It will be designed to accommodate up to 150 boats as big as 43 feet, with lifts, a ferry dock and fuel pumps.
"This marina will be a permanent blight on one of the most attractive areas in the Abacos," one letter-writer said. "We believe that this destructive conversion of public property into private, for-profit use, with its attendant, unfortunate environmental effects, should not be permitted."
According to Linda Cole, of the Wyannie Malone Museum, there is no need for such a marina when existing facilities are under-utilised. "I for one do not wish to see another Miami Beach shoreline...If the developers are not prepared to scale back, then let them move to the mainland. (People) come to Hope Town for what we offer, not (what) they can get in Treasure Cay, Freeport and Nassau."
One local developer I spoke to pointed out that different islands have different characteristics and should be branded differently. "There is no one-size fits all solution. And the average occupancy for out island hotels and marinas is 50 per cent, so I don't know why anyone would want to build a marina of that size at Hope Town."
But the Charleston group says that with or without their project Elbow Cay will continue to grow, more houses will be built and more boaters will need dockage. They say their development will be based on demand, with a 10-15 year build-out that will not overburden the island or its infrastructure.
"The project will provide good jobs to local residents and their children well into the future. If it took 10 years to build out, we would add 10-12 units to the island per year," Mason said. "In fact, our master planning will provide for controlled growth of the island in an area where there will be existing roads, wastewater treatment and other infrastructure to handle the growth."
Critics argue that Mason is a clever lawyer who sees an opportunity to profit from an exclusive, high-demand product by catering to a broader customer base. The question is whether this will change the very dynamics that created the demand in the first place.
"I have always been an advocate of low density in Hope Town," Chester Thompson told me. "The island is a gem where people can step back in time and enjoy peace and quiet. It would be bloody tragic if this goes through. "
His comment goes to the core of a heated argument over putting big projects in small communities. Bimini Bay and Exuma's Four Seasons Resort are prime examples of inappropriate development, critics say. It is a model that dates back to the early years of the 20th century, and most examples in the out islands have failed - often leaving derelict buildings and environmental havoc in their wake.
Treasure Cay on the main island of Abaco is a notable exception to this rule, although it has taken many years to achieve stability. It began in 1957 when Chester Thompson's late brother, Leonard, leased 930 acres of crown land to develop the resort with American investors. It opened with its own airport and marina in 1963 and now features 93 rental units, a commercial centre, golf course and adjoining residential estates.
Hope Towners don't want another Treasure Cay or Boat Harbour on their island. But the real elephant in the room is the immigrant community that now occupies the Elbow Cay Club. Estimates of the Hatian population on Elbow Cay range as high as 600, and most live at the club. This mini version of the Mud is even served by a Haitian freighter, which brings in people and takes away discarded items and goods of uncertain provenance.
According to Mason, the club's Haitian tenants, whether legal or not, will be treated humanely: "Prior to completion of the purchase, these tenants will be given proper legal notice to vacate by the current owner and the developers will insist that the current owner also help with their relocation." But no-one can say why the Haitians are here in such numbers in the first place.
In the end, it is in everyone's interest to compromise. As former MP Robert Sweeting told me over breakfast: "We've got to fnd a middle ground on these developments. Some people who came here 30 or 40 years ago think they should be the last ones to come in and do anything. On the other hand, Hope Town doesn't really need this, whereas more investment is needed on the mainland."
Following an acrimonious town meeting recently, the developers have withdrawn their application for local planning approval. But this was submitted only as a courtesy in the first place. All foreign investment proposals must be approved by the National Economic Council in the first instance, and then local councils are asked for their input.
Perhaps the developers will use this opportunity to make their proposal more palatable to the residents of Hope Town. As Harbour's Edge proprietor Clay Wilhoyte put it: "Mr. Mason has the opportunity to do something wonderful with this property. He should listen to the suggestions that the community and others are giving him."