mooney bay, north sound, virgin gorda
Mooney Bay Estates Limited Announces Plans to Develop 22 Acres in VGinto a Luxury Resort Development. RELEASED BY MOONEY BAY ESTATE LIMITED
Mr. Doug Riegels, President of Mooney Bay Estates Limited, a belonger company, announced that it took possession earlier today of a 22 acre freehold estate commonly known as Mooney Bay in the North Sound, Virgin Gorda from Westwind Investments Limited and Robert and Heather Cawthorn.
Mooney Bay Estates Limited plans to develop this 22-acre property into a new luxury resort development that will be eco-friendly incorporating state of the art solar energy techniques and waste treatment facilities.
Photo Credit: Mooney Bay Estates Limited
Mr. Riegels who, recently returned home from Arizona, and plans to develop several projects in the BVI said that this new project is a validation of the fact that the BVI remains one of the few remaining places in the Caribbean, during very difficult economic times, where it makes business sense to make this type of investment. He thanked the Premier, the Hon. Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE and the leadership of the BVI Government for being very supportive of belongers like him who are returning home to make this type of investment.
According to Mr. Riegels, Phase One of Mooney Bay Estates will be to upgrade the existing 6-bedroom villa into an upscale luxury tourism product that will be available for rental for the first time ever beginning this Christmas 2009. This Estate already has a tennis court and pool together with a caretaker’s apartment. Located in a beautifully landscaped setting on approximately 1,000 feet of waterfront with approximately 300 feet of beach front with beautiful palm trees and two docks on the prestigious North Sound, this Estate overlooks Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island and Moskito Island Mr. Riegels said that he hoped that this luxury villa in this special setting would attract additional high-end tourists to the BVI who want good value for their money in these challenging times.
Mr. Riegels added that Mooney Bay Estates Limited was pleased to host the final dinner in the July series of the 2009 Winemakers Dinners series on Sunday, July 19, 2009. The other dinners will be held at nearby Necker Island, Falcon’s Nest Villa at Peter Island and Jost House at Guana Island. “I am glad that we could support the BVI Charitable Fund and the four charities that these dinners benefit by being part of this prestigious event. For more information, visit www.winemakersdinners.com.”
Upon completion of Phase One, this private 6-bedroom villa will have a fully equipped kitchen and each bedroom and the living areas will have luxurious new furniture. Large flat screen televisions, iPod docks, satellite TV and radio, high speed wireless Internet, in-room safes and an all-in-one fax/printer will be standard features. In addition to having 56" Tommy Bahama designer ceiling fans throughout, each bedroom will also be air-conditioned.
Virgin Gorda Management Company Limited (VGMC), which currently operates Nail Bay Resort, a luxury 148-acre villa resort in Virgin Gorda, will exclusively manage Mooney Bay Estates.
Mr. Riegels stated after Phase One is completed, a comprehensive Master Plan would be developed for the remainder of this property with a vision to create a series of luxury products on this special beachfront site in North Sound, Virgin Gorda with an emphasis on marine activities. Each unit sold will have it’s own private slip making this one of a few places in the BVI where the ownership of a unit will also include a private slip.
Mr. Riegels had previously announced in April that one of his other companies, Anegada Beach Club Limited, had acquired 10.44 acres of freehold land to develop that land as the first luxury resort development in Anegada.
The project in Anegada will initially focus on 7.989 acres of beachfront land with approximately 700 feet of beach frontage including an existing 16-room hotel formerly known as the Sands Hotel at Keel Point near the well-known Cow’s Wreck Beach Resort.
Mr. Riegels, who is the son of Norma and Michael D. Riegels, Q.C went to St. George’s School in Tortola. After graduating from Arizona State University with two degrees (one in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design and the second in Urban Planning), he started off working in the plant nursery business as a horticulturalist and designer before taking a job with the Del Webb Corporation as their 'in house' landscape architect at their flagship property of Sun City Grand in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2001, Mr. Riegels joined the development team at Miller Holdings and Omega Construction initially as the company's landscape architect and then served as vice president of the construction division. Over the past eight years, he has been intimately involved in the processing, designing, planning and construction of over 7,500 acres of land owned by Miller Holdings in California and Arizona. About 11,500 houses have been built in these communities together with the related infrastructure (grading, drainage, sewer, water, electric, roads, landscape, etc). Mr. Riegels wants to use all this experience that he has gained in developing real estate in the BVI and the Caribbean. On December 2008, he was elected by the members of Nail Bay Community Association Limited (“NBCA”) in Virgin Gorda to serve as one of the directors and recently the Directors of NBCA elected him President.
In addition to Mr. Doug Riegels, the two other directors of Anegada Beach Club Limited are Norma and Michael Riegels, Q.C. Mr. Michael D. Riegels who was appointed Queen’s Counsel by Her Majesty the Queen was a senior partner of Harney, Westwood & Riegels in Tortola, which is the oldest and largest law firm in the British Virgin Islands.
Mr. Michael Riegels was the inaugural chairman of the Financial Services Commission of the BVI. He has also served as President of the BVI Bar Association, Rotary Club of Tortola and the BVI Red Cross. He and Mrs. Riegels have been long time shareholders and directors of Virgin Gorda Investment Company Limited, which owns and controls Nail Bay Resort, a 148-acre luxury real estate development in Virgin Gorda. To date, over 42 million dollars worth of homes have been built at Nail Bay. They were also involved in Pond Bay Beach Villas Limited, which acquired, sub-divided and subsequently sold in its entirety a 7.68-acre development at Pond Bay, Virgin Gorda.
Ajit Mathew George, Managing Director of Nail Bay Resort has also been intimately involved in this project from its inception and will continue to be involved in the development of this parcel of land as secretary of Mooney Bay Estates Limited. According to Mr. George, this project, upon completion will generate in excess of $40 million in real estate sales. For additional information, visit www.mooneybayestate.com, which will be updated regularly. Ms. Sheila George from Harneys represented the Seller on this transaction.
Link to a PDF copy of the article in the Island Sun, July 4th, 2009
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