A Taiwanese development company is proposing to spend $200 million to develop Ypao Point.
Negotiations to lease the property from the Chamorro Land Trust Commission are nearly complete.
An announcement that a deal has been inked could come as early as the end of this month on terms and conditions of the lease.
A technical development team from the Taiwan-based resort developer Yue Tzang Tcheng Corp. also referred to as the Himalayan Group; has been meeting with Chamorro Land Trust and Department of Land Management officials the past three weeks to iron out a deal for one of the most valuable properties in the CLTC’s inventory.
Local government officials remain tight-lipped on current negotiations but Journal sources said that a separate ground lease and a development lease are close to being signed.
An artist’s rendering of the proposed development shows a 60 room hotel project located on the southeast corner of the property. Approximately 80 to 100 duplex type homes would be constructed along the cliff line proceeding inward toward San Vitores Rd. while a 60-foot high “Guam” tower rests in the middle of the project.
The deadline for development proposals for Ypao Point formerly known as Oka Point was Oct. 17 2003. Joseph M. Borja former administrative director of the commission and current acting director of Land Management had received a copy of a proposal submitted by the group.
“It is my understanding that the deals are nearly done and that there will be something concrete by the end of the month if not sooner ” Borja said.
Himalayan Investment Corp. is a prominent investment-banking group in Taiwan. Over the years they have helped UMC Formosa Plastics Corp. and many other famous companies in Taiwan to obtain financing from European sources.
Borja told the Journal in a mid-2003 story (See "Prime Guam land up for lease and Development" in the Aug. 25 2003 issue of the Journal) that the original RFP was designed for one developer but that the door was open for other options considering the then-fragile state of the economy. MBJ
