Trincity is to have more mall space. An industrial park is to be developed in Trincity. A new shopping centre is targeted for San Fernando. And a $90 million eight-storey, 500-spot car park will be built at Long Circular Mall. Those are just four of the major projects occupying the attention of Winston Richard Le Blanc, 40, acting chief executive officer of Home Construction Ltd (HCL), a CL Financial subsidiary. According to the CL Financial annual report from 2007, CL Financial owns 100 per cent of HCL. Lawrence Duprey, former chairman of CL Financial, in January 2009 approached the Government for a bailout for the CL Financial subsidiaries: Clico, British American Insurance Company Ltd, Clico Investment Bank and CMMB. The State has since injected more than $7 billion into CL Financial. Trincity Mall, a main attraction in HCL's Trincity Millennium Vision, which now has 500,000 square feet of retail space, will be expanded to one million square feet on completion. By Le Blanc's estimation, T&T could easily absorb two million square feet of retail space.
According to the Web site, oneillrealestate.ca, Maureen Atkinson, an analyst with the Canadian retail consultancy JC Williams, Canada (population: 32.2 million) has about 14.6 square feet of shopping centre space per capita. The United States (population: 307 million) has about 23.8 square feet of retail space for every American. "If you extrapolate into Trinidad, you'll realise that we still have a lot of room for expansion as regards shopping, entertainment," said Le Blanc, in an interview last week Tuesday at HCL's offices at Long Circular Mall, one of three malls in the CL Financial Group. Its other malls are Valpark Shopping Plaza and Trincity Mall. He said the eastward expansion of Trincity Mall will be a "hybrid-type mall" where there will be a combination of enclosed space and an outdoor entertainment and retail area. Four more restaurants will be added to the mall's existing six dining spots. "More shopping, more entertainment," Le Blanc said. "A lot of the retail will comprise big ticket stores."
He said there are retailers, some of whom are located at Long Circular Mall, who want to expand, but can't.
"The kind of stores they really want to develop in Trincity, the mall within a mall might actually make it feasible. It will be far better for them to move out and build their own buildings. "You don't want these types of retailers moving out and scattering because part of the whole advantage of being in a mall is being close to each other so people could synergise off of each other." Le Blanc said HCL will bear the cost of basic infrastructure for the common areas of the mall's exterior at an estimated $60 million cost. Interested parties will build their own buildings, which will be connected, "pedestrianised" and aesthetically designed. Le Blanc, who studied economics at the University of the West Indies and is a qualified chartered accountant, initially shared responsibility of managing HCL with Hayden Ameerali, chief operations officer of HCL, following the August 2008 retirement of managing director Anthony Michael Fifi. Ameerali left the company in December 2009.
Restructured deals
The HCL boss said there are certain challenges facing the property development company, both from the "CL Financial debacle in January 2009," and the global recession. "There is a slowdown stemming from the world economy. There are no two ways about it," Le Blanc said. Asked about the source of financing for these projects, Le Blanc said, "all projects will be financed by the company." He said while all companies would have been affected by what he called the "CL Financial debacle, the projects are strong and speak for themselves." However, Osbourne Nurse, as then government-appointed chairman of HCL, on May 20, 2010, signed a $1.073 billion debt-restructuring deal with state-owned First Citizens Bank. Nurse is no longer HCL chairman. According to the Web site of PAF (PanAmericanFinance) Securities, a Miami-based, First Citizens-hired consulting firm, in September 2010 advised Caribbean Money Market Brokers Ltd, a former subsidiary of CL Financial that First Citizens acquired as part of the Government's memorandum of understanding with CL Financial, on the structuring and provision of a new US$12.8 million long-term debt financing to HCL as part of the comprehensive restructuring of HCL's debt facilities. In August 2010, PAF Securities also advised First Citizens on the comprehensive restructuring of US$171 million in existing long-term debt facilities provided to HCL for the construction of One Woodbrook Place (OWP), the billion-dollar, triple-tower residential and retail development. According to the CL Financial annual report for 2007, HCL has borrowed $699 million from First Citizens Bank Ltd, secured by a first mortgage over the lands of OWP. The proceeds of the facility were used to finance construction of the OWP development.
One Woodbrook Place
According to Le Blanc, OWP, which in 2007 had an original budget of $800 million and a scheduled completion in 2008, has leased out 80 per cent of its retail space. He said the completed project is likely to cost $2 billion. Already opened for business there are Unit Trust Corporation, Nike, Adidas, Puma, bmobile and Chaud's. Le Blanc said Tower Three is being completed, followed by four podiums-four-storey apartment buildings. Of OWP's 432 apartments, about 150 are occupied. And, of that number, about 75 are rented by expatriates from the energy and construction sectors. According to the real estate company, Executive Properties, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments rent monthly for US$1,500; up to US$2,800 and US$4,000, respectively. Podium apartments, which are two-and three-bedrooms, rent for US$2,500 a month. Le Blanc gave an estimate of the cost of the apartments: one bedrooms, between $1.8 million and $2 million. Two-bedrooms cost between $2.5 million and $3 million. And three-bedrooms cost between $4.2 million and $4.3 million.
HCL projects
Le Blanc, who started at HCL as a management trainee doing property management, said HCL is now master planning a shopping and entertainment centre on 16-and-a-half acres next to the San Fernando Technical Institute. "It's a new concept. It would be more like a series of individual shops, cluster of shops, which are all conveniently located, pedestrianised so that there's easy walking from one building to another.
"Given the type of shopping centre it is, it's not like Long Circular Mall, Valpark or West Mall. It may very well just be development of a site that's all connected and people buy their own lots and build their own buildings. It may be more of an outdoor shopping and entertainment destination," he said.
Cost of the project is still undetermined.
Le Blanc, who worked with Fifi for 15 years, said a lot of Fifi's ideology continues, just that he's added more entertainment into the shopping mix. For instance, Caribbean Cinemas 8 at Trincity Mall might likely grow to 14 screens. A new community on a 200-acre site south of The Crossings, located at Santa Rosa West, Arima, is also being master planned. HCL is currently selling two- and three-bedroom units for $1.6 million and $1.9 million, respectively, in West Lakes Golf Course Condos, Trincity. The gated community, to comprise four six-storey medium-rise buildings totalling 120 units, is being marketed as being equipped with a swimming pool and golf course membership. Each condominium will have a dishwasher, microwave, washer, dryer, fridge and stove. Le Blanc mentioned that HCL is seeking statutory approvals for a residential/commercial project on a 20-acre site opposite the Santa Cruz Fire Station, but divulged little otherwise.
Trincity Business District
As of April 28, HCL had advertised lots for businesses at $125 per square feet at Trincity. "Those prices are soon to be changed. It's going up," Le Blanc said. "We have a land committee. We have certain targets, when we hit them, we sit down and review where we are and where we are going. We have been hitting our targets. That $125 is what we started Phase One of the park with." HCL has so far sold about ten 20,000 square foot lots to develop the 25-acre business park. Lots range between 20,562 square feet and 34,188 square feet. "The majority of people who buy at these sizes tend to put up A-class offices." To an argument that Trincity is becoming too developed, too dense, Le Blanc said he doesn't agree. He said Trincity has sufficient green spaces, including the 18-hole, 63-hectare Millennium Golf Course. "Any more green space and it will be a ranch we're selling," Le Blanc said, with a laugh. "I can't see it being a congested, high-density area. I believe there is enough green space there." More mall development is good, it would seem. He cited the success of an expanded The Falls at West Mall and Gulf City Mall, MovieTowne, Price Plaza and shopping club PriceSmart. "The whole idea is creating the destination first; people will come after. You can't get a spot in Trincity Mall right now."
Due diligence and the FIU
Le Blanc mentioned during the interview that the company now has to do its own due diligence on people purchasing property based on the Financial Intelligence Unit of T&T Act, 2009. "We have a lot more administrative steps to take. You have to provide a source of funds, who you are. If you have a company, do you have a certificate, who are your directors? Our internal sales people were trained by the FIU. "This process started about three months ago. We had somebody come in and do a whole training. It exposes us to what we do, conceptually. We have a compliance officer in the company that makes sure we adhere to the rules of the FIU in terms of the Act." The FIU was established to implement the anti-money laundering policies of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-an intergovernmental organisation set up by the Group of Seven industrialised countries. The main objective of the FATF is to develop and provide international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Le Blanc said under the due diligence process, everyone who has purchased HCL properties has been "legit, very legit."