HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021720.jpg
5.26 MB
Extraction Summary
7
People
12
Organizations
5
Locations
2
Events
3
Relationships
4
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Newspaper article
File Size:
5.26 MB
Summary
This document is a newspaper article from the Virgin Islands Daily News dated July 29, 2013, detailing the economic struggles of merchants at Havensight Mall in St. Thomas. The Government Employees Retirement System (GERS), which owns the mall, granted a six-month rent abatement to tenants who owed over $2 million collectively, due to factors like road construction, high utility costs (WAPA), and competition from Crown Bay. The article includes quotes from local business owners and GERS officials but does not explicitly mention Jeffrey Epstein, though it relates to the USVI economy and GERS.
People (7)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Amanda Norris | Author/Reporter |
Daily News Staff writer covering the Havensight mall story.
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| Austin Nibbs | GERS Administrator |
Presented rent relief options to the board for Havensight tenants.
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| Terry Robinson | Business Owner |
Owner of The Draughting Shaft; denied rumors of closing; discussed impact of road construction.
|
| Ram Mirpuri | President |
President of the Havensight Merchants Association; discussed economic downturn and competition from Crown Bay.
|
| Minoj Mirpuri | Business Owner |
Son of Ram Mirpuri; owns Bliss Jewelers.
|
| Sonny Panjabi | Business Owner |
Owner of Casa Blanca jewelry store; quoted regarding high utility bills and gratitude for rent abatement.
|
| Jerry Woodhouse | President |
President of St. John's Bay Rum; discussed changes in tourist spending habits and hotel policies.
|
Organizations (12)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| The Virgin Islands Daily News |
Publisher of the article.
|
|
| Havensight Mall |
Location of struggling businesses; owned by GERS.
|
|
| GERS |
Government Employees Retirement System; owner of Havensight Mall; granted rent abatement.
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| Dockside Bookshop |
Business closing after 35 years.
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| The Draughting Shaft |
Office supply store in Havensight.
|
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| Bliss Jewelers |
Store owned by Minoj Mirpuri.
|
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| Casa Blanca |
Jewelry store owned by Sonny Panjabi.
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| St. John's Bay Rum |
Fragrance company.
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| WAPA |
V.I. Water and Power Authority; cited for skyrocketing utility costs.
|
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| Havensight Merchants Association |
Trade group representing mall tenants.
|
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| Carnival Cruise Lines |
Mentioned in context of ships docking at Crown Bay.
|
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| Royal Caribbean |
Implied by ships Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.
|
Locations (5)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Island where Havensight Mall is located.
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Area and mall in St. Thomas.
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|
Location where fewer cruise ships are docking.
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|
Competitor location for cruise docks.
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Site of ongoing road construction.
|
Relationships (3)
Mirpuri's son, Minoj Mirpuri, owns Bliss Jewelers.
GERS Administrator Austin Nibbs
president of the Havensight Merchants Association
Key Quotes (4)
"We were almost closing down. There was no way we could survive. We are extremely grateful for the abatement. It will be a big help."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021720.jpg
Quote #1
"I don't like this rent abatement, but if we want to continue to have tenants, we are going to have to help them."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021720.jpg
Quote #2
"WAPA is killing us."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021720.jpg
Quote #3
"The mall has been hurting since Crown Bay opened. We lost about 500,000 passengers because of that."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021720.jpg
Quote #4
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (5,763 characters)
Monday, July 29, 2013 VIRGIN ISLANDS The Virgin Islands Daily News 3
Struggling Havensight merchants see rent-abatement as last chance for them to resuscitate their businesses
By AMANDA NORRIS
Daily News Staff
Daily News Staff
ST. THOMAS — For merchants at Havensight mall, it's summer time, but the living is anything but easy.
After being granted six months of free rent by the mall's owner, the Government Employees Retirement System, many said this has been the worst off-season they have experienced.
They cited a perfect storm of prolonged road construction in front of the mall, fewer cruise ships docking in St. Thomas Harbor, competition from Crown Bay merchants and skyrocketing utility costs.
When the GERS board voted to relieve the tenants of rent obligations from July 1 to Dec. 31, they did so because tenants had accumulated a delinquency of more than $2 million and reported that they could no longer sustain the cost of doing business. The board discussed the closure of Dockside Bookshop, which has announced that it will close within the next two weeks after 35 years in business.
GERS Administrator Austin Nibbs presented the board with two options: forego rent for six months altogether with the stipulation that tenants pay all arrearages by April 1 or give tenants a 25 percent reduction in rent over the next 24 months. The board decided the six month abatement, which would cost GERS a little more than $3 million, would be the best feasible way to give tenants a chance to pay the $2 million in back rent owed.
"I don't like this rent abatement, but if we want to continue to have tenants, we are going to have to help them," Nibbs said.
At the meeting, some board members were under the impression that another Havensight business, an office supply store called The Draughting Shaft, was also scheduled to close, but, according to The Draughting Shaft owner, Terry Robinson, that was never the case.
Nevertheless, Robinson said, he has had discussions with GERS board members and attended meetings to inform them of the adverse conditions that had caused him to fall behind in his rent.
Robinson said his business, unlike many of the boutiques and stores that cater primarily to tourists, had been unduly hit by prolonged construction, with orange barricades diverting traffic into and out of the mall's parking lots.
[Photo Caption 1] Dockside Bookshop in Havensight Mall is scheduled to close within the next two weeks after 35 years in business. Daily News File Photo
[Photo signage visible: OPEN, Dockside Bookshop, NEW STORE HOURS, 1ST ANNUAL FATHER DAUGHTER DANCE Sunday June 16, 2013]
[Photo signage visible: OPEN, Dockside Bookshop, NEW STORE HOURS, 1ST ANNUAL FATHER DAUGHTER DANCE Sunday June 16, 2013]
"Many of our customers are locals and residents, and many have called and said they just don't want to come in because they don't want to deal with it," Robinson said of the construction.
Robinson is among a number of long-time Havensight merchants who say they have been in business for decades but never had to weather anything quite like the last six months.
"I remember in the 80s the slow season was only three months, now it is a full six months," Ram Mirpuri, president of the Havensight Merchants Association said. Mirpuri's son, Minoj Mirpuri, owns Bliss Jewelers.
Ram Mirpuri said he hoped the six-month abatement would be the "springboard" Havensight merchants need to recover. If not, about 30 percent of the association's membership had reported that they would go under this year or the next, he said.
"The mall has been hurting since Crown Bay opened. We lost about 500,000 passengers because of that," Mirpuri said. He added that the larger Carnival cruise ships, the Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas, dock at Crown Bay, where the harbor can support them.
Projections are that, with more cruise ships scheduled through 2014, businesses on the brink of closure might be able to use the abatement to get through to a breakthrough season in the winter of 2014, Mirpuri said.
Other merchants said their WAPA bills had tripled or quadrupled since they opened, leaving them to wonder if an abatement would be enough to counter the rising rates.
"WAPA is killing us," Sonny Panjabi, owner of the Casa Blanca jewelry store, said. Utility bills total $3,000 during the busy season, and $2,000 during the slow season, when hours of operation are cut back, he said.
[Photo Caption 2] Daily News File Photo
Havensight Mall merchants say because of the ongoing Long Bay road project, rising V.I. Water and Power Authority bills and other issues that they have had their worst off-season ever. The Government Employees Retirement System, the mall's owner, has granted the merchants six months of free rent to help them repay $2 million in overdue rent.
Havensight Mall merchants say because of the ongoing Long Bay road project, rising V.I. Water and Power Authority bills and other issues that they have had their worst off-season ever. The Government Employees Retirement System, the mall's owner, has granted the merchants six months of free rent to help them repay $2 million in overdue rent.
[Pull Quote]
We were almost closing down. There was no way we could survive. We are extremely grateful for the abatement. It will be a big help.
— Sonny Panjabi,
jewelry store owner
We were almost closing down. There was no way we could survive. We are extremely grateful for the abatement. It will be a big help.
— Sonny Panjabi,
jewelry store owner
"We were almost closing down. There was no way we could survive. We are extremely grateful for the abatement. It will be a big help," he said.
Since the recession hit, travelers "seem to spend all their money on the trip itself, and they come with less disposable income," according to Jerry Woodhouse, president of St. John's Bay Rum, a fragrance company that supplies other Havensight stores and has offices behind the mall.
Woodhouse also said that in the last decade hotels, which used to provide transportation to shopping districts, have shifted to providing as many amenities as possible to guests and have limited the excursions to beaches rather than shopping districts.
"They want to grab as much revenue as possible per customer while they are staying at the hotel," Woodhouse said.
— Contact Amanda Norris at 714-9104 or email anorris@dailynews.vi.
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021720
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