Premier Dr. The Honourable Natalio Wheatley has revealed that the Government of the Virgin Islands is well on the way to acquiring the Toad Hall Estate in Virgin Gorda, without having to pay any money for it after the business responsible for managing the property was struck out.
“We discovered when seeking to purchase Toad Hall that it was actually owned by a company that’s been struck off… Therefore, we actually had to go through a legal process of having the Toad Hall returned to the Government of the Virgin Islands without having to pay any money,” he said.
Toad Hall Estate is a luxury vacation villa built in the 1970s on a 5.5-acre property located within the Greater Baths National Park. The property was reported to have been damaged during the 2017 hurricane season.
The Government of the Virgin Islands had been trying to purchase the property over the span of several years, with things appearing to be nearly concluded in October 2019 when the Cabinet approved the purchase of the property for a reported $5.5 million.
Dr. Wheatley explained that this money will no longer need to be spent because the Virgin Islands, as the registering country of the property’s defunct management company, is legally due to be returned the company’s assets.
“When those companies are struck off, generally they return to the government for where the company was registered and, considering its an asset in the BVI, a legal process is ongoing right now and should be concluded shortly for that to be returned to the Virgin Islands”, he said.
With this new means of acquiring the property taking the place of the intended monetary purchase, the Premier was asked whether or not there would be any effort to compensate the family of the property owner who they had negotiated the purchase with, and whose death was believed to be a factor in the company being struck off.
The Premier offered this response:
“It seems to be a legal matter and I’d probably just caution myself from answering but certainly, perhaps that’s something that, privately, I can discuss with the Minister for Environment and with the ministry and the Attorney General’s Chambers”.
Plans for the property once legally under government ownership include transitioning it into the Territory’s newest national park. This process will include the construction of a headquarters for the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands (NPTVI), inclusive of a state-of-the-art visitor interpretation and environmental education centre, a gift shop and a rooftop restaurant.
The property will also be rented out as luxury accommodation and an events centre.
This project is expected to create 20 new jobs in the territory.