Mario Carey urges incentives, national conversation, and possible taxes on large parcels to help build airports, infrastructure
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Vast tracts of land throughout the Family Islands are lying untouched when they could be sustainably developed, benefitting local economies and slowing the brain drain, says a leading businessman who believes that only a lack of incentives is standing in the way.
Real estate magnate and social entrepreneur Mario Carey is proposing a national discussion that he believes could “stir up emotions but unleash a welcome flood of activity”.
Carey has reportedly turned over executive management of his real estate company to devote more time to national development and social causes, according to a press release.
He said his most important sale may be persuading officials and his own industry to take a hard look at Family Islands with an open mind and national perspective that could ‘ruffle feathers’ but stir economies.
“How do you get the economies of many of the Family Islands to open up and move forward?” Carey said.
“How do you make them dynamic so they are not dependent upon a few small hotels or Airbnb’s but offer real opportunities enticing kids who grow up there to want to live there as adults?
“You have to create communities, not just settlements, and creating communities means opening up vast sums of land that are generally owned by a few families.”
Carey said those vast sums have often been passed down from generation to generation and in many places are in the hands of those who have little incentive to create activity. Notwithstanding this, he said island residents want airports and infrastructure that are expensive to build or upgrade, and to maintain.
“So how do you help government find ways to fund what residents want or need when you have vast sums of land sitting idle with no economic activity?” he continued.
“Is it time to consider incentives, a level of taxation on large parcels of land owned by Bahamians who are not using the land in a sustainable, productive way, whether farming or solar fields or resort, even light industry, but some sort of beneficial use — plus green space – that builds communities and allows government to upgrade the airport and maintain the roads.”
Carey said he was not suggesting any level of taxation on small parcels like a lot owned by a Bahamian who one day wanted to build a retirement cottage, just large parcels remaining idle for long periods of time.
The discussion, he believes, should be open and transparent with the government holding town hall meetings throughout the islands.
“In some cases, the land was given or deeded to a single individual a hundred years ago or more,” said Carey.
“Land was cheap then and hundreds of acres could have been given as a gift of appreciation for service rendered or purchased for a song. We know of one story where a parcel was exchanged for a can of corned beef, but for the most part, these were grants that were made to members of the ruling party at the time.”
Real estate companies with foresight, he said, also took advantage of cheap prices and purchased huge parcels, even those often falling prey to family inertia or disputes. As ownership grows with more generations involved, agreement on what to do becomes more of a challenge.
“So for the most part, the land just sat there, unless the family decided to farm it or lease it for farming,” said Carey.
“In many cases, squatters moved in and when the right to pursue ownership was reduced from 20 years to 12 years for squatters, and the value of land in The Bahamas, anywhere in The Bahamas, was increasing, I think that spurred some activity.”
But nowhere near the potential activity it could have stirred, he said.
“You fly over The Bahamas and you see this mass density crowded along the northern coast and central corridors of New Providence and then you see open vast lands in Andros, the Berry Islands, Long Island, Exuma, all through the southern islands,” he said.
“And you ask yourself, why? Why are these beautiful, green places that are in many ways far more desirable than Nassau just lying fallow with nothing happening and young populations moving out?”
As the demand for The Bahamas continues to climb, the supply of available land for sale is declining.
“The clock is ticking on vast unused Family Island land. It’s time for a national conversation to light a fire under those sitting on the precious commodity that holds the secret to the future of many of our Family of Islands,” Carey said.
“I don’t know where that conversation will take us, maybe even to real property tax on Bahamian-owned large parcels, but I do know this – we either have to find an incentive to move the building of Family Island communities forward or we are going to face a future when these magic islands will be the gold we gave away while our younger generation moves on and leaves its heritage behind.”
