“SUCCESS lives here” reads the wonky sign on the gaudy new house by the side of the road. We’re in Grenada, southernmost of the Windward Islands in the eastern Caribbean, 145 miles off Venezuela and site of a new $550 million (£271 million) property empire, brainchild of the British entrepreneur Peter de Savary, the former owner of Skibo Castle and Millwall FC.
The upbeat slogan is a sign of changing times in Grenada, where success has not always resided. Sighted by Columbus in 1498, it was home to cannibalistic Caribs, who committed suicide en masse in 1650 rather than submit to French rule. The British gained control and traded slaves there before granting independence in 1974. In 1983 a Marxist coup was quickly squashed by US troops. Then, in 2004, Hurricane Ivan destroyed 85 per cent of homes.
Grenada today shows almost no sign of its turbulent history. Almost all the houses have been rebuilt, many daubed with improving mantras such as “Learning is Never-Ending”. Unlike its ritzy neighbour, Barbados, global tourism is still a novel concept here, despite the palm-fringed beaches and balmy climate. In April the island’s 1,500 hotel rooms struggled to cope with the influx of cricket fans attending the World Cup at the new 25,000-seat stadium.
These problems are unlikely to recur. The Prime Minister, Keith Mitchell, has seized the chance created by the hurricane’s havoc for a new start, embracing the tourist dollar while shunning the mass-market approach blighting other Caribbean islands. Tasteful luxury developments are going up, headed by the bombastic de Savary, or PDS as he insists on branding himself. His developments alone will double the number of four and five-star rooms by 2010. De Savary is described by his adoring staff as a “visionary”. One told me, straight-faced: “PDS is an artist, and real estate is his canvas”.
One thing he’s certainly good at is schmoozing. The Grenadian Government normally taxes nonresidents 11 per cent on property purchases, plus 15 per cent on sale. De Savary’s buyers, however, pay no purchase tax and only 2.5 per cent sales tax. According to Guy Gittins, de Savary’s sales director, the Government “used to be sceptical about property investors, but PDS invested $200 million of his own money, which convinced them he was serious”.
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The first canvas to be unveiled is Mount Cinnamon, a family resort on the island’s best beach, Grand Anse. Construction starts in six months on 110 one, two and three-bedroom flats, plus four six-bedroom villas with infinity pools. The first phase of 21 units, plus restaurant, spa and beach club, is already up; half have been sold, many to Britons, who can expect everything to be done for them, down to unpacking the bags. Those who can’t be bothered to walk the two minutes to the beach can order a golf buggy complete with cocktail waiter. Prices are $500,000 for a one-bedroom flat, $745,000 for a two-bed, and $4.5 million for a six-bedroom villa at 6,000 sq ft. This is a quarter of the Barbados market rate. The decor is rather lurid, but sizes are generous – one $545,000 one-bedroom, two-bathroom flat I saw was 1,100 sq ft.
According to Beverly Renwick, of Altman Real Estate on the island, “land prices have gone up 50 per cent since the hurricane”, but it can still be as cheap as $35 per sq ft. “You can buy a three-bedroom house with a sea view for $500,000,” she says, the same price as a one-bedroom flat at Mount Cinnamon and its sister development, Port Louis, but she considers the developments “reasonably priced” for their location and level of service and luxury.
The developments are not primarily aimed at investors, so buyers may use their properties as often as they like and let it on their own terms or enter it into the rental pool, paying a 40 per cent management fee. Other similarly priced developments, such as Bacolet Bay on the south coast, which has also benefited from tax concessions, restrict owners’ use to one month a year and charge a 50 per cent fee.
Port Louis, on a headland with stunning views next to the capital, St George’s, will be a sort of Caribbean St Tropez. By 2010 it will have a top-notch marina, duty-free designer shops, a brace of clubhouses, spas and gyms and 300 one, two and three-bedroom flats and villas. Prices will range from $500,000 for a one-bed to $3 million for a villa. “Capital appreciation is likely to be greatest here”, says Gittins. “It will become the most desirable place to buy in the Caribbean.” No wonder Grenadians are optimistic about the future. “This is an exciting moment for Grenada,” says Beverly Renwick. “We’ve been through so much and now it’s our time.”
www.mountcinnamongrenada.com www.portlouisgrenada.com www.bacoletbay.com
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ISLANDHOPPERS
Grenada is 133 sq miles in size and home to 102,000 people. Barbados, 167 sq miles, has 280,000 residents.
The number of tourists in Grenada fell by 58 per cent in 2005, the year after Hurricane Ivan. But British tourists increased by 68 per cent the next year to 18,820. Barbados has 547,000 visitors a year.
Flights to Grenada take 11 hours, and to Barbados about nine hours.
Grenada produces a third of the world’s supply of nutmeg.
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