After a delay last month, the much-anticipated sale of the old Yacht Haven Hotel and Marina at Long Bay St. Thomas reportedly will close today.
The Coastal Zone Management Commission has approved the reassignment of the major permit for the property from the current owner (various corporations of Tan Kay Hock) to a Chicago company, PRM Realty Group, LLC, and its local subsidiary, Long Bay Partners.
The purchase agreement, according to papers filed with CZM, was actually signed April 19, 2000.
The current owners filed July 3 to assign the existing CZM major permit to Long Bay Partners/PRM Realty Group, and at the time they anticipated a closing date of July 18. No one involved with the sale has even confirmed that it is happening, much less explained why it was delayed.
Long Bay Partners, a limited liability company, was organized Oct. 29, 1999, and two managing officers are listed in the file – Robert W. Harte and Calvin D. Denison.
A Malaysian investor, Tan Kay Hock, purchased the property after it was heavily damaged by Hurricane Marilyn in September 1995 and the hotel had sat idle for years. His plans for a mega-development included expanding the marina from its existing 140 slips to 750, building a new 350-room hotel and creating an "Asian Village" of shops and restaurants. After he met with opposition, he scaled back somewhat but failed to win enough support to continue the project. Last summer he announced plans to sell.
His asking price was $8.5 million, but the general feeling in the industry was that it would go for much less. The paperwork at CZM does not include the sale price.
Tan's ownership in the property was divided among several related companies: Mega Holdings Inc., Safe Haven Development Inc., Safe Haven Marina Inc., Equity Holdings Inc. and Land Holdings (St. Thomas) Ltd.
