The sale of the old Yacht Haven Hotel and Marina at Long Bay, St. Thomas, is set to close next week, according to paperwork filed with the Coastal Zone Management commission, but it could be delayed.
The purchase agreement was actually signed April 19, 2000.
The current owners filed July 3 to assign the existing CZM major permit to something called Long Bay Partners, LLC, described as a wholly owned subsidiary of PRM Realty Group, LLC, which is to purchase the fastland at the site.
Information on both companies is sparse. Although the request for the transfer of assignment of the permit stated that Long Bay Partners is authorized and licensed to do business in the Virgin Islands, neither the Corporate Division of the Lieutenant Governor's Office nor Licensing and Consumer Affairs had any paperwork on the company. Nor was there any for PRM Realty.
According to an informed source, at least one partner in PRM was previously associated with another business on St. Thomas. Peter Morris was a partner in VMS, a group that once owned what is now Marriott Frenchman's Reef.
Long Bay Partners is actually an Illinois limited liability company, according to the request for the permit transfer. It 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.
The 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.
Ownership in the property is now 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.
According to the request for transfer of the CZM permit, the closing of the sale is scheduled for July 18. However, there have been some reports that it might be postponed because some details need to be resolved.
