Staff Reporter, Susan Gordon
STEWART
KINGSTON'S POPULAR midtown outdoor entertainment centre Mas Camp Village located on Oxford Road New Kingston, has been sold.
The property which is worth at least $160 million and owned by Y. P. Seaton and Associates appears to have been bought by Sandals chairman Gordon 'Butch' Stewart.
Up to press time, the Financial Gleaner was unable to confirm whether Mr. Stewart was in fact the buyer or the details of the sales agreement. Mas Camp is four acres of relatively flat gravelled land. Real estate experts say the owners could fetch at least $40 million for an acre of the property which is positioned in a commercial zone in Kingston's prime business hub.
"I have no comment. That's Mr. Stewart's private business, That's a most inappropriate question," said Patrick Lynch responding to the Financial Gleaner's inquiry on what Mr. Stewart plans for the land. Attempts to reach Mr. Stewart or Mr. Seaton for a comment were futile.
EVENTUAL SALE
In March of this year, The Gleaner reported that Mas Camp was up for sale. But the eventual sale of the property did not go by without a line up of bidders. Several parties expressed an interest in acquiring the property but commented that the asking price was quite steep.
A director of Bacchanal Jamaica, Earl Franklin had expressed interest in acquiring the property at the end of the lease on the venue.
"I really don't know. Somebody else is now trying to buy the place, but we have first option of buying. I won't disclose the money that was quoted, but the amount that they want for the place is about 100 times outside our budget," Franklin said, in an earlier interview.
Mr. Franklin also informed that a car dealership company is in hot pursuit of the land.
The centre is famous for staging entertainment events such as Carnival, 'Yesterday', 'Bacchanal Jamaica', 'Heineken Startime' and 'Good Times'. Event organisers regard it as an ideal location because it creates a bridge for people from downtown and uptown.
