Lacovia 10-storey revamp delayed over costs
(CNS): The first strata-backed redevelopment of an existing Seven Mile Beach condo community has been delayed. Construction on the Lacovia revamp, converting it into three 10-storey towers, was due to start this month, but although the start date has been rescheduled, “the project will be proceeding”, Kim Lund, the realtor and agent on the project, told CNS.
He said that “unprecedented increases in construction costs” have caused the delay and both the owners and developers are taking a “cautious” approach.
Lund, an owner and broker at ReMax, said that because this project is a redevelopment, it is different from a typical new development and so there are different considerations. In this case, the owners of the existing Lacovia apartments have agreed to a partnership with Bronte Development Ltd whereby, in exchange for allowing their existing apartments to be demolished, they will receive a new apartment in the redevelopment.
“The mechanics of the project are very different from a typical development where the developer owns the land and can sell all the apartments constructed,” Lund said. “The total cost of the redevelopment is funded predominantly from the sale of the additional apartments. Given the unprecedented increases in construction costs, caused firstly by COVID and its impact on the materials and labor supply chains and most recently the global macro and geopolitical volatility, we have adopted an extremely conservative and responsible approach to the redevelopment.”
Lund said that the construction budget had been “recalibrated to factor in a worst-case scenario that assumes that construction costs will remain at the current inflated levels throughout the entire redevelopment period and possibly increase further”.
Despite the cost challenges, Lund said that Bronte is fully committed to starting the Lacovia project as soon as it is commercially viable.
The price of construction materials has increased dramatically in Cayman over the last couple of years. Contractors have told CNS they have seen the cost of critical materials such as concrete increase by more than 100% and the shortage of things like steel is delaying projects. A piece of plywood that was priced for years at around $30 is now more than $100. As a result, any project priced before the pandemic, as is the case with Lacovia which secured planning permission in January 2020, will have to be re-priced.
The original estimate for the 96 apartments across three towers, 13 swimming pools and other facilities was $180 million. It is not clear what the new cost projections are but it could be as much as 50% more.
Lund said that Bronte is now working closely with its general contractor to put in place solutions to mitigate the construction cost volatility and to incorporate contingencies to ensure the successful
completion of the project. “The general contractor and Bronte are fully committed to the project and are confident that construction will commence once they are satisfied that the construction cost increases have been mitigated,” he said.
The risks in a redevelopment project are considerable, given that the owners are trusting the developer to demolish their home and replace it with a better one. If the demolition goes ahead but the rebuild drags on for years, or worse still the project folds, the owners’ loss is far greater than the loss of a deposit on a new build.
Lund said that the Lacovia owners have been very understanding of the unavoidable delay in commencing construction. However, when letters were circulated a few weeks ago about the delays, some owners contacted CNS to raise concerns. Some had already vacated their condos and put their belongings into storage in preparation for the start of construction this month.
But Lund said the majority of owners are extremely appreciative of the cautious manner adopted by Bronte, given the worldwide volatility. He said the new buyers also supported the decision and remain committed to their investment. “The upheaval in pricing and inflation is a global phenomenon, so the conservative approach by the developer is a prudent way to proceed,” he added.
When Lacovia announced its decision to redevelop the existing 3-storey condo buildings that were built back in the 1980s, it was the first existing strata to do so. But the idea was expected to catch on, not least because of the demand from the world’s wealthy elite for condominiums on Seven Mile Beach.
“Our current supply of available inventory on Seven Mile Beach is extremely limited,” Lund said, adding that with almost no development land available, redevelopment of this type of project could supply that demand. “Going forward, the strata redevelopment model will become more popular, as there are precious few raw land sites available for development on Seven Mile Beach and strata corporations are more aware of the value created by this type of redevelopment,” he said.
So far, however, the only other proposal on the agenda for a 10-storey redevelopment is at Aqua Bay condos, which was originally planned to be completed by the end of next year but has yet to receive planning permission. That complex was developed by Brian Butler back in 1987. At the end of 2020 it was announced that the strata had agreed to demolish the existing buildings and Butler would redevelop the 1.4-acre site with a single 10-storey apartment tower.
It is not clear yet whether or not construction costs, supply problems and now increasing interest rates will burst the Cayman property bubble. But there are significant concerns that the demand from overseas owners for condos is pushing up the price of land across Grand Cayman to unsustainable levels and is having a massive knock-on effect on the price of regular homes, resulting in an increase in homelessness.
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Category: Business, Construction, development, Local News, Real Estate
Malls and retail stores do face a lot of compitition from online shopping.
Maybe, the residence of George Town should be consulted on any re-development plans and if the developments are mixed use developments, then maybe the people that own property, should be included and able to occupy some of these residence
With the uncertainty of online shopping affecting the sales in malls, stores and other retail outlets.
Maybe a re-development plan case study should be considered for George Town and discussed with the people
With the economy being down and most cruise ship visitors being bussed off to attractions leaving the stores downtown empty
Maybe a revamp of George Town with a mixed use development like this transformation re-development with malls in the US and Canada need to be considered
https://westbankcorp.com/news/vancouvers-oakridge-mall-gets-a-makeover-and-a-new-lease-on-life
Once they are allowed to go up to 12 floors, it will be back on again.
We rented at LaCovia many times, and we always loved it there. The last time was Feb. 2020, just as the Covid wave was about to break. We met a really nice family who were owners, and they told us all about the plans they had voted for to redevelop and how they were getting an awesome condo in return. They told us that the developer was paying each owner a sum of money each month until the project was completed, kind of a “loss of use” payment. The owners said it was almost a no-brainer to approve the deal. I wonder if those payments ever started up? I have thought about this nice family often, and wondered if the project was gaping forward or not. I don’t want to say their name for privacy reasons, but if you are reading this, your last name started with a T, and our family competed against your family in Trivia at the Lone Star. I hope, somehow, everything works out for you!
“Despite the cost challenges, Lund said that Bronte is fully committed to starting the Lacovia project as soon as it is commercially viable.”
Sure. And i’m totally committed to levitating once it is physically possible.
This Lacovia project is an extraordinary mess, whilst the increases in construction costs are not their fault, the developers and brokers are completely at fault for not doing proper diligence, locking in pricing ahead of time, taking insurance that would cover worst cases, designing a development that really looks way over built for what is not a huge parcel of land, and on and on.
People got greedy. Happens all the time. Just most times the brokers and developers get away with it.
Not this time. There are going to be serious lawsuits.
Our Island was built on banking and tourism and out of the 500 banks we had, only 111 are still operating here that provided jobs for many Caymanians.
We had five hotels that permantly closed after Ivan when they recognized that our banking industry was shrinking which brought about plans to expand our hospitality and tourism industry to go east
Accoring to recent media reports, 4,000 bank branches closed in the US in the last year and 1,000 new branches opened while the UK seen 4,000 bank branches close in the last 6 years
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/palashghosh/2021/04/23/3-major-banks-plan-more-branch-closings-as-thousands-shutter-in-us-and-uk-amid-covid-digital-growth/amp/
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/future-of-in-person-banking-services/
This is primarily due to technology advancement with online banking where more people are using online banking from making deposits to applying for loans
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/21/banks-close-record-number-of-branches-in-2021-led-by-wells-fargo.html
What i am having a hard time understanding, is that again in this modern day age, where information is available at your finger tips, we as Caymanians are being re-active to proper development instead of being pro-active and following the advice by the British Tourism Consultants who wrote the case study for our government to discuss the Go East Initiative and the National Tourism Development Plan with our people, inparticularly, the stake holders or land owners
If bank branches are closing in the US and the UK and people are losing jobs to technology, do it not make sense that the same thing will eventually happen here in Cayman
Wouldn’t it not make sense for us to have sensible discussions with our people to make proper plans for development so that future generations in Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac would be able to find honest and gainful employment
Royal Bank of Canada and Scotia Bank have either moved thier operations out of George Town and in some cases reduced its staff, do we have to wait until those jobs become obsolete and are outsourced overseas as technology improves or are we going to wait until Caymanians are unemployed and forced to seek jobs overseas like the last generation did
https://www.flexjobs.com/jobs
https://www.nationnews.com/2022/05/08/hundreds-applying-cruise-jobs/
Give one or two units to a certain politician, make a certain real estate company the exclusive sales agent, maybe adjust the pool count since gamblers don’t like unlucky numbers, and a variation to the planning laws to allow for a 25-story condo development on that site makes the project feasible again.
I know right!! 13 pools… lawdy.
Hmm, so nothing do with Russian $$& then ?
This is the “imperfect” storm.
4 years ago the 55 condo owners were faced with incurring significant costs to update an aging 40-year old condo complex on a deep and wide beachfront property, so they sought proposals from several developers. The plan was to knock down the existing complex and build a new one. The owners would get a new unit at no cost, and the developer would sell the additional 33 units as “profit” on the development.
On paper it looked great. The existing owners would get a $3-4 million condo in exchange for their aging $1 million condo (badly in need of upgrading). If built today, those condos would go for at least $6 million. The condo owners would retain ownership of the land. The developer would incur the cost of building the project, but would wholly get the revenue from the sales of the 33 additional units.
The problem: the developer rightly pre-sold many of the 33 units in 2019 and beyond, at the then $3 million-ish prices. Then the pandemic hit and quashed construction timelines, followed by an unprecedented disruption to supply chains and raging inflation. Now, the projected $180 million cost of developing the project has maybe hit (or will hit) $300 million, which would put the project underwater (the developer would not have received enough revenue on the sales of the 33 units to cover the costs of the project). It is probably the financer (bank) that has halted this, as the simple math no longer works.
Added unfortunate wrinkle: at least one unit (maybe more?) was purchased by a person or entity(ies) that is on the UK Russian sanctions list.
So the owners, on this deal, are not likely to turn their $1 million condos (prices 4 years ago) into new $6 million condos. But those $1 million condos are probably worth $2.5 million now on an immediate as-is sale (on that stretch of beach for sure).
So this deal will be abandoned. The owners theoretically could start from square one and re-engage a developer with reset economics. But practically, not that easy, as rights to units have been sold and re-sold, non-participating owners paid out etc. A bit of a mess but all parties will need to walk away and take their managed losses.
An unfortunate tale. Conceptually, this should have worked; the pandemic and unprecedented inflation has killed this.
My guess would be that this is the first of many projects that will have to fold in the coming months due to the increase of energy on island and tightening financial conditions. Lots of the projects in the pipeline at this stage made very little economic sense when you started to look too close at them.
Cayman’s real estate market is vulnerable on 3 different fronts .
1) Cost of energy , the higher you build the more energy intensive the process gets especially if 90 percent of the power available relies on diesel.
2) Costs of bringing building materials which also relies on fossil fuels and sends Costs of Living to new heights.
3) Rising interest rates and the probable decrease of the Federal Reserve “wealth effect” .
As in 2008 in the US it did not take much nor long to see effects of those factors compounding on one another. So far the situation will lead to a short stagflation period followed by a recession as demand destruction creeps up.
But but but Cayman is different isn’t it ? There will always be a marginal buyer ! Which is exactly the thinking that led to the crash in 2008! As long as 90 percent of the energy needed to build depends deeply on fossil energies and little effort is made on changing that part of the process I for one wouldn’t expect a change in the situation.
Hold on to your hats and look out below!
Delayed over payments that don’t meet the new adjusted costs. Things aren’t getting cheaper, so could be a forever wait, particularly if there are payments due from embargoed stakeholders.
This didnt age well — from Jan 2019. (In fairness, no one predicted a year later we would be hit with a global pandemic that shut down economic activity for a year, followed by a consequent 50-year high in inflation and severe supply chain shortages)
“Lacovia owners vote to replace aging condo complex”
https://www.caymancompass.com/2019/01/31/lacovia-owners-vote-to-replace-aging-condo-complex/
your ill-informed comment about a ’50-year high inflation rate’ now, is not supported by actual data. Research before you type and click…
https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/WLD/world/inflation-rate-cpi
Should these condos be replaced with others with further hotels, one of which is under development together with further developments east of West Bay Road, what further infrastructure plans do the government have in mind. From my own personal observation there has not been a single day in the past ten years when someone has not been digging up West Bay Road.
Whilst traffic on West Bay Road is not comparable to that of the east it will suffer from gridlock at times particularly with the increase in cruise ships.
Surely it is time to start up again on the new road from North Church Street to Eastern Avenue.
Chris you make too much logic that is why you get the thumbs down.
Quite right. What happened to that mess on N Church St? Why did they stop work?. Little any of the successive governments do makes any sense whatsoever. Like starting work on Cardinal Avenue on practically the very day the first ships arrive. (Also why is that taking so long? It had better be pretty spectacular when it’s done).
No more condos on West Bay Rd – there’s already too much traffic and we don’t want any more ugly multi storey buildings there. If people are so keen on the Miami-look they can live or stay there.
Say it again!
A few years ago an owner in there was telling me how the nasty apartment they just bought in there for almost $1m was going to be replaced by one worth $4m. Haven’t really been paying any attention since but thought at the time that it sounded too good to be true… and what da ya know.
He is selling himself short. Units are listed on Cireba for US 5.5 mil to US 11.5 million.
From above, cost per unit is 180mil over 96 units = approx 1.875 cost per unit. From the listing, the developer is making 3.625 mil to 9.625 mil per unit … I repeat …per unit, and this is not enough profit to absorb increased cost? Wow !!
Listed is not the same as SOLD. Public figures are initially highly inflated – this is commonly understood. Sharpen your pencil.
Joke numbers
Just because it currently looks like that ‘From above’ now, doesn’t mean it will look like that in 3 or 5 years time . How Cayman manages its “ Inflation Future” will have trickle down effects on all sectors.
Land is scarce in Grand Cayman – so now they have to build up on existing buildings – so SAD what Grand Cayman has become.
We have to blame OUR GOVERNMENTS (previous and present) for destroying our beautiful island!
Hope we don’t have another hurricane like Ivan or all those buildings close to the sea are gone.
The Lacovia EC better hope they have good D&O insurance cause it’s gonna get ugly. Paid-out former owners who chose not to take the new condo good luck trying to get the money back, owners who took the new condo and can’t flip it and people who bought in and now have a signed contract for a set price with no start date in sight. No ability to negotiate a max construction price and higher interest rates coming of at least another 250 bps not to mention a worldwide recession late 2022. what could possibly go wrong.
Lacovia and Bronte are totally screwed. But it’s never been a better time to buy🤔🤔🤔
I hadn’t considered all of these other factors. I just thought they could just abandon the redevelopment plans, and the existing owners still have their units so nothing really lost.
That’s exactly what will happen. No big deal.
That’s for sure. Get your 🍿 this is gonna get nasty.
Nothing of course to do with dodgy Russians.
James Lagan is certainly building a name for himself… haven’t managed to find one person with something good to say about him.
I love the coffee at Bluestone!
You love the price of it as well, most expensive coffee around.
Ill put my hand up and say good things about James!!
Easy to sit back and cast stones. Sounds like you don’t know him personally but happy to be a dick.
Don’t be a dick!
Awwwwwwwwwww.
Let me get my smallest violin
Watercolors’ neighbors are happier, another decaying mess in the neighborhood makes Dart’s old Hyatt property fit in much better, owners still have their existing units that have gone up in value since the ‘dream’. So the ‘dream’ is over but really, how bad is this outcome once cancelled except for the loss of mega real estate commissions?
Yes, the existing owners still have their units. A $1 million condo at Lacovia four years ago is probably now worth $2.5 million plus now, especially if an owner spends $150K on interior renovations. The condo interiors are extremely dated, but that can be remedied with a bit of interior design. Still a great stretch of deep and wide beach there.
This “dream” is dead, unless the economics are re-worked, with the owners kicking in some money for the units they are getting at no cost.
I suggest the secured lender appoints a fixed charge receiver asap, to take it away from the realtors who a) have no idea what’s happening and b) charge stupid commission for thinking doing a open house is hard work.
There is no secured lender. Why would y0u think there is. Check the facts before making comments.
At least these guys had enough sense not to start, what about the projects that are half way up, the numbers don’t work on most of those given costs which are only going to go up up up.
“Developer holds off on Lacovia project, citing inadequate profit margin”
There, I fixed the headline for you.
And why do we need to keep caving in to these ‘demands’ for inventory? Who does the additional inventory benefit??? Most of us are in agreement that Seven Mile Beach is already overdeveloped. Stop already.
The ‘ Inventory’, which Kim decries is in short supply just benefits the CIREBA cartel members rake in of commissions .
More like “Developer holds off on Lacovia project, citing a guaranteed multi-million dollar loss”.
The developer was maybe allocated $250 million in inventory that it pre-sold at lower prices a few years ago, when costs were projected at $180. Now that projected costs are maybe approaching $250 to $300 million for the project, and in a rising interest rate environment with long lead times for materials, this is too risky to proceed.
Nothing wrong with a decision not to embark on a venture that will lose money…
Would ANYONE who is in any business do that.?
Like the developer of not answer that question honestly before you enjoy posting derogatory comments .
Kim’s super power is that he wakes up each and every morning truly believing that there has never been a better time to buy Cayman real estate.
I give him full credit for that positive outlook and think it is a large of what has made him successful.
Well, he has shown that his super power isn’t flying;-)
6.32 that is a disgusting comment , how low do you have to be to mock a man in a wheelchair, following a fall.?
Good time to get in… we’re raising prices tomorrow.
This is very distressing news as what a wonderful project this will be. Who is the developers contractor?
Love the sarcasm.
Hopefully it was sarcasm? Not sure with this audience of clowns.
The developer doesn’t have a contractor.
…and, what’s the history, prospectus, scope, mission, etc. of ‘Bronte Development Ltd’?
The website has very limited info:
https://www.bronte.ky/contact
Let me guess, you’re one of the younger realtors in ReMax?!
What does that have to do with anything? There are you here realtors coming up in all of the brokerages. In Remax there are 3 new Caymanian realtors. That should be celebrated that Caymanians are stepping up to the plate instead of foreigners.
50% more than the 2020 estimate? In Kim’s dreams . It would (at this date), be at least 75% of 2020 & just keep compounding the stratosphere of future Cayman inflation in an ongoing basis on top of that figure.
Never been a better time to rip people off.
Probably because the Russian buyers can’t close their options to buy.
Yes, it is well known amongst realtors and others that there were sanctioned Russian entities and/or persons that had purchased in that complex. Dont know how many units. But definitely at least one.
Well, the Feds will not leave any stone unturned. The kleptocapture bureaus, agencies, Attachés, int’l alliances are all still conducting a worldwide search for assets.
In 1930s Germany, Jews were not allowed to buy property, and Germany stole their assets and property. We never could have imagined, after the horrors of 1930s and 1940s Germany, that such racism and official evil would ever rise from the ashes again.
Xenophobia, much?
Should make them pay in KYD
Certainly the more cautious approach given the state of the world and i think its only going to her worse.
According to an unknown realtor from one of the franchises who spoke at a conference recently, Cayman is completely recession proof so chill yer beans!
First strata redevelopment? What about Caribbean Club?
You do know that lot just make shit up to suit their target markets (aka “prey”), right?
Caribbean Club wasnt a “strata-backed” redevelopment. The former Caribbean Club (series of pink cottages) was a wholly owned ‘hotel’. Joe Imparato tore them down and put up Caribbean Club as a condo.
Wrong. Former ramshackle unit holders got, or flipped their new millionaire condos. A great trade up.
I’m from a poor Caymanian family so I wouldn’t be privy to a lot of information, but my understanding was the “pink cottages” were all individually owned and the owners collectively owned Caribbean Club Restaurant. When the restaurant did well the owners did well, and when the restaurant lost money the owners were called on to share the expenses.
This arrangement probably existed long before Cayman passed the first strata law. If Caribbean Club was strata-backed then why did Joe Imparato come out as the only big winner?
You are quite correct. The Caribbean Club was ‘the’ place to stay or visit the restaurant. Some owners had several units both there and at the West Indian Club which was purchased by Mr Dart.
The staff there were brilliant with a nice mix of Caymanians and expats largely from Europe. Happy days indeed.
I remember the restaurant — it was called “Lantanas”!
I think that came very much later. Remember in the 60s/70s there was no upstairs restaurant. In fact no upstairs at all. One gentleman, a local character, who will remain nameless was so intoxicated he went to sleep on the lawn after the restaurant closed.
And I believe Beachcomber as well?
Good news for 7 mile Beach!
Hope it stay unbuilt.
Why is it that the real estate agents are the ones out front making announcements? They really have nothing to do with a development except taking excessive commission from every purchaser.
Please government pass a law restricting commission rates to 2%.
It’s an anti-competitive cartel and at least half of them are barely literate. Can’t stand them and their fake smiles.
Add them to the recruiters on the Island and I thank god that we don’t have to accommodate their special needs at the tax payers expense. Because they definitely need it.
Yes, why do they charge so much? In the UK, if you get 2% sales commission, you’re doing well. Another Cayman rip-off!
If the market is doing as well as the Realtors say it is, just put your property on Ecaytrade and reduce the property price by 5% to achieve the sale. Personally, I don’t need some gormless twit showing me a room and telling me its a bathroom!!
Or how about get rid of commission entirely and just be a set fee like the lawyer cost? Companies are popping up across Canada that do this and taking a ton of business.
Convenyancing lawyers charge a %
Not all of them.
Shows how little you know. They do not get paid by the purchaser, they are paid by the seller.
Government won’t do that because they have sense. Don’t like it because your broke ass can’t pay fees, stick to Ecay trade.
Grand Is Not A Status That Comes Easily.
Or Fast.
Except Grand only refers to the size of an island relative to the most proximate in archipelago, like Grand Bahama and Grand Turk. So all Grand Cayman needed and needs to be Grand is to be larger than the Lesser Caymans.
This sounds like a bunch of people who don’t know what happens next are playing a guessing game with high stakes…..
with a humongous chance of losing their ass. Deal me out.
Hyatt eyesore Part II, this will now sit until the billboards fade and the chickens take over! Greed will get you sooner or later. CIG needs to require a very large surety bond for any of these SMB redevelopments, this will get rid of the quick flip crowd.
AbsofreKingloutley @1:44. Enough of this bunkumspeckin. Let’s see the color of ya money. Hruump!
They aint that stupid. They are already advertising for 4000+ a month for people to live in a potential building site and inside an apartment that was literally decorated from a 1980s catalogue.
I dread to think of the walking, leather skinned north Americans that own those caves. Socks and sandals, think that golf is the only way to do things.
Plenty of natives on this island are praying for the worst hurricane in known memory this year so that it forces these parasites back to where they came from.
I agree with them and I think we should start getting the joiners to start making both a gallows and a guillotine. It isn’t going to be long.
The increase in homelessness is directly attributable to a mismanagement of the immigration regime and in some instances, intentional breaches of law by authorities. This has included or resulted in the mass importation of poverty, and its resulting depressive effect on wages and opportunity for local persons. This was done by the government and civil service to provide the cheapest possible labor to the ruling elite and their friends. It has literally destroyed the foundation and viability of Cayman. Wealthy investors are not the problem. Certain Chief Officers and politicians are. It is important that the Caymanian public understand what is happening to them and why. Those responsible are happy to deflect the blame to outsiders who are investing. They are actually part of the solution.
What a bunch of cow manure, 1:38. Lazy assed Caymanians who think they should be partners in law firms but have the education standards that go along with manual labor are the reasons for locals of a certain type not thriving. Educated, hard working Caymanians…and they DO exist…are doing very well.
What is cow manure?
That we have imported poverty?
That wages in certain roles are artificially low?
That investors are part of the solution?
And who the hell mentioned partners in law firms?
“Lazy assed Caymanians who think that they should be partners in law firms…”.
What does this have to do with the Lacovia development? What does that even mean? Please explain. Just asking for a friend.
Tell your ‘friend’ to actually read the article, the comments, research the background, and get educated before he/she needs you (a friend) to ask their questions. Sheesh, such ignorance. Yes, I do understand the intended linguistic feint.
Very insightful comment, making it clear to the community just how these “law firm partners” really think about the locals of the island they want to live in, as if we crave your presence here. Much in the same way, we don’t want law firm partners” coming to out beautiful land polluting it with “luxurious condos” and masonic lodges. You don’t need a degree from a school your dad paid for you from his trust funds to have a livable wage. The most amount of people you should need to live with to have a decent means of survival is 1, but look at the amount of filipinos and indians accomodating a household of up to 9 just to be able to survive. There’s clearly an imbalance here.
This comment is right on the money. However, it is not only the ruling elite. Many middle class Caymanians or expats also demanded cheap domestic or other labour. The poor labourers that have come to the island are, for complicated reasons, more interested in government handouts than the traditional Caymanian approach of investing in long term projects. This is reflected in the makeup of the current government (and also in recent governments as well). There is a strong possibility that Cayman will go the way of Argentina, which fell from one of the richest places in the world to a socialist nightmare.
economics of this never made sense even 2-3 years ago when it was first muted.
its another white elephant for remax….ask them about the island project or the treasure island redevelopment.
the fact that they cannot start this during the biggest boom ever in real estate values….tells you everything.
They (ReMax) aren’t starting anything. Simply sitting around, doing very little but raking off excessive commission. They are good at convincing sellers that they are necessary.
And since they manage the sales… they get their commissions. Don’t want to pay the commissions, sell your property yourselves. Quit bitching.
Mooted.
A lot of these projects are going to be delayed/scrapped and investors left high and dry in the coming financial climate.
Not to mention 100% of the current Lacovia and Aqua Bay structures will be bulldozed and trucked away to be piled unsorted onto the GT landfill.
Nothing has happened on Aqua Bay. This is another Butler project
so that tells you a lot.
I’ve got to hand it to Lund: he can make you believe the pile of shit you’re standing in actually smells good.
Realtors are one are the same , the smoke & mirrors suits them both ways to their advantage ,in boom or bust economics
Estate agents are SCUM, just like recruiters. They are worse than lawyers that people like to give crap to because at least lawyers need to have earned a real degree.
Any spastic can become a recruiter or a “realtor” (read: stupid north American made up shite) given they take the exams and know a fellow parasite to give them a leg up.
😆😆😆….comment of the month so far
“It’s never been the best time to buy” ROTFL
Never a better time to buy!
The plan is for the developer to give all existing owners a new condo (at zero cost) and any excess inventory goes to the developer as profit.
The problem is that the developer sold a lot of this excess inventory a few years ago at the then lower prices, and now the costs of building the entire project are projected to exceed the revenue generated on the sale of this excess inventory.
What I think will likely happen is that this project will be ended with the developer giving the deposits back to the purchasers. It is no longer economically viable.
The owners can then decide to start from square one with another developer on a new project with reset pricing. Or the owners just decide to keep the existing Lacovia. Units would have appreciated significantly in the last few years so an owner can sell for a nice profit, or continue using the place.
You are correct. The developer may sold the excess inventory for, say, $250 million, which looked good when costs were estimated at $180 million. But if revised projected costs exceed, say, $300 million, this is not viable anymore.
Maybe the developer will ask if the existing owners would be willing to kick in $1 to $2 million each. They all got a “free” condo that was worth about $3 million a few years ago, which now might be worth $6 to $7 million. But I cant see owners wanted to take that risk.
The “as is” condos were worth maybe $1 million a few years ago. The “as is” condos would likely fetch $2 million today. The condo owners are probably better off scrapping these plans.
They also get a nice new fancy fence!
I agree. Not financially logical in 2022. They wasted time by not locking in construction costs.
You should be aware that the owners are facing huge payments for existing Lacovia. Their decision was not only based on perspective of receiving new premium condos but also avoiding repairing costs for existing buildings.
Nicely summarized.
Or maybe developers walk with the existing deposits and leave both existing owners and pre instruction purchasers high and dry.
But what happens to all the real estate commission ReMax has been paid. Think they’ll give it back?
A good summary on all points. Of note just driving by the place is that demolition has not begun, which may prove to be in owners favor now, as technically all the condos are still able to be occupied. Yes, you have the aged terra-cotta tiled roof and 8 foot ceilings inside ( 7 foot 6” in the drop ceiling kitchen in some), but with a revamp of interiors( where needed) , why can’t these condos still be viable ? They were once the Ritz Carlton of 7 mile beach. Why do they now need to look like everything else recently new in Cayman, which is largely now modeled on either a trendy suburb in Vancouver or Toronto. The owners should just ditch Brontë, get out of the agreement and count their losses and refunds (& their blessings) to revisit the plan later. Meanwhile they get to use their ( old) but absolutely rock solid condo on a nice strip of beach, play tennis and enjoy the pools. Just need to rip down that street side billboard wall with the now defunct promo’ -motto.
There should be designated units solely for hardworking Caymanians at a deep discount price in order for steps to be taken to provide affordable housing for Caymanians. Fair is fair. Time to give equity balance back to the community. Maybe have a lottery draw to relocate Caymanians from West Bay Dog City to Lacovia ten story high rises
Here here! I add that Caymanians should get royalty payments on that land to subsidize Cayman mortgages being paid. Progressive thinking solves all
So says the communist.
LOL
And are YOU going to pay for the “deep discount” afforded to the electorate who elects corrupt ministers?????
Hahaha! Do nothing, get a beach condo. Genius.
I agree that developers should be made to build affordable housing as part of the planning permission but firstly, this is a banana republic where the cpa and the developers are effectively the same thing / people and finally, it ain’t gonna happen on seven mile beach bobo!
And mandate that at least one of them is in the executive committee… LOL
How will they then afford the strata fees?
Hmmm..I bet they wish Alden was still in power now.He could have given them a concession to get this built..
Not going to happen..Watch this space..
The math on this development was a brain buster from the start.
Rich people problems.
They should HAVE to start and complete within a certain time frame or face penalties. Why should the neighbors experience the unsightly mess for an indefinite period.
Make them pay huge fee for demolition debris disposal.
In the civilized world tear downs now need to be taken apart and recycled as appropriate and by that I mean screws unscrewed and electrical, plumbing disassembled instead of bulldozing and tossing. Any new developments as such should have the same requirements.
Nice, but not financially feasible in Cayman and will never happen. A pipe dream. So what is your plan B??
No, prob not, but then they shouldn’t redevelop then should they?
“unprecedented increases in construction costs” have caused the delay 👍👍👍
Frustrate the existing buyers then resell at even higher prices so greedy developer get the profit they want. Its a Mantras thing.
Lawsuit time
13 swimming pools…? Who needs 13 swimming pools on ONE complex…? 🤷♂️
I know…sounds more like a water theme park is being proposed. I’m guessing more like Six Flags.
13 pools to service 96 condo units across 3 high-rise buildings? Seems a bit excessive.
Even if there were a trio of roof-top pools included in the plans, it’s still difficult to phantom how the other (many) pools would fit into the plans. 😕?
The penthouses need to have their own private pools…come on now are we living in the stone ages? You can’t possibly expect me to use the same water as the peasants on the lower levels now can you?
The Watermark will have 11 pools. 4 of them on the roof for sole use by the 4 penthouse owners.
https://www.thewatermarkcayman.com/renderings/
He finished the Grand Hyatt yet?
He is a real estate agent, not a developer. How is he supposed to complete the Hyatt?
Hi name on the ever changing hoarding. (Opening mid-2022/coming in 2024….). Over 80% sold my ass.
I ask again, has he finished Grand Hyatt yet? If not, why not?
He is not the seller, the owner, the developer, the contractor. But he is the only one making any money off this development (not really a development though).