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Real Estate - APRIL 29, 2019

U.S. billionaire family in talks to buy Bahamas resort

by Andrea Zander

The Asplundhs family, the owner of the Willow Grove and Pennsylvania-based tree trimming firm Asplundh Tree Expert, with $3.6 billion in revenue, has been rumored to have plans to purchase the Rupert Roberts’ Bimini Sands Bahamas Resort, reported Nassau-based newspaper the Tribune.

The sales price is estimated to be $15 million. Bimini Sands Bahamas Resort currently features 216 condo units and around 60 marina slips. The new owner has plans for a redevelopment project, which will include paving all roads; new landscaping and lighting; a new condo rental program; new security camera system; marina expansion and fix-ups with “first right of refusal” to current homeowners; repairs to the infinity pool; beach replenishment; “addressing the current restaurant deficiencies” and water supply woes; fixing the sewerage treatment plant; and marketing and rebranding Bimini Sands.

Asplundh Tree Expert cuts trees and vegetation for electrical utility companies. The Asplundh family was named America’s 103rd wealthiest family in 2015, with a net worth of $2.6 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

Roberts is the president of Super Value. The sale is part of his efforts to focus more on “selling meat and potatoes” via his Super Value supermarket chain and other food retail ventures.

“This has been a challenging task for me and well worth the time spent putting this deal together,” Roberts told the Tribune. “This new company, without a doubt, will put Bimini Sands back on the map as well as increase our property values, and they have asked me to be the direct communicator as well as their liaison between them, homeowners and association board members going forward.”

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