Whitter lists 1,000-acre property for sale
Published:Friday | September 9, 2011 | 12:00 AM
The Whitters have placed close to a near thousand-acre property on the market worth more than a billion dollars saying the asset has been sitting idle on its books for a decade.
Orange River Ranch, a 998-acre secluded mountain and river valley property in Johns Hall, St James, that houses an inn, is held by SBJ Whitter Limited, one of 10 companies within the Whitter group owned by Angela and Joe Whitter. SBJ is the acronym for Slidie Basil Joe.
SBJ acquired the property in 1981 and at the time the 24-room inn was in business. But 20 years later in 2001, the Whitters shuttered the property.
Angela Whitter told the Financial Gleaner that the inn had been a poor performer.
"Orange River used to do well. We had to close it down because of break-ins and high light bills. It was being vandalised," she said. The sale, she insisted, was not prompted by a need to raise cash.
"We are operating in an environment [being experienced] all around the world. Everybody is facing challenges. One just has to hold strain and pull through."
The property, a former banana plantation, features a river as well as natural spring and "beautiful flora and fauna," Angela said, noting that the last valuation on the property placed its value at US$12 million (J$1.03 billion).
Orange River Ranch is currently being advertised on the website of the Whitter group. The site also features the projects of Ironshore Construction Limited which owns the couple's latest development - the US$35-million (J$2.97-billion) Whitter Village shopping complex.
Whitter said proceeds from the sale would finance ongoing ventures of the group, which includes a phase two of Whitter Village comprising both apartments and offices.
"If I sell something, I don't put the money into the bank. I put into projects. That is what we do, develop properties," she said.
No connection
The developer said that while the ranch was advertised on the website dedicated to the Whitter Village, there was no connection between the two projects. The sale, she said, was not directly connected to Whitter Village.
The shopping complex, which officially opened last year, has 92 shops but take-up has not performed to the levels the Whitters expected.
Less than 70 shops are currently occupied. Whitter said, however, that business is flowing in.
"Every week another shop opens, which is what makes it so exciting," she said.
Whitter Village officially opened in December 2010 with 240,000 square feet of retail shopping, dining and entertainment space.
The shops, which range upwards in size from 600 sq ft, are priced for rental at US$19 per sq ft per annum.
Earlier this year, the Whitters also placed on the market land located near to the mall priced and designed for residential development at US$120,000 to US$510,000 per lot.
The Whitters are developers of the almost three-decade old Ironshore community which spans 1,300 acres and now features residential, commercial and peripheral light-industrial developments.