3 La Fiesta bidders could get contracts

Three bidders vying to revitalize the former La Fiesta Mall in San Roque may all get a share of the pie as the Fitial administration considers its options, including combining the separate expertise brought to the table by Island Ventures LLC, United Micronesia Development Association Inc., and Pacific Entertainment Technology.

Besides reestablishing a commercial tourism center, the multimillion dollar project will also ease the government’s annual lease payment of $200,000 for the property.

Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos said one of the three bidders is into shopping malls, one is into hotels, and one is into gaming, so combining their expertise could make the revitalization project a successful one.

He said the administration is looking at “how we can put them together.”

“That’s kind of the current thinking right now. No one proposer can do the whole thing,” Inos told Saipan Tribune.

The La Fiesta project seeks to revitalize the property to make it a tourism center that features shops, restaurants, and video lottery terminals, among other things.

“It [contract] hasn’t been awarded to anyone yet. It’s a complicated RFP,” he added.

The three bidders responded to a Department of Finance-reissued request for proposals early this year.

“Looking at the three proposals, they have different fortes. …So how do you blend [them] is the key. That’s why we cannot just give it to one of the proposers,” he said.

There’s no final decision on the matter, he said, adding that a review team is going over the details of the proposals.

Herman P. Sablan, representative of Island Ventures in the CNMI, said that combining the expertise of the three “could be the best route because of the economic situation.”

“The combined efforts will be good. …Otherwise the project won’t be done and we need that project because of our economy,” Sablan said in a phone interview yesterday.

He said Island Ventures is into shopping malls development. Besides vying for the La Fiesta redevelopment, Island Ventures is also planning to build an almost $60-million “seven-story, five-star” hotel resort on public land in San Roque near the former mall. It is negotiating with the Department of Public Lands for a 25-year lease.

Juan Demapan, president of Pacific Entertainment Technology, which is also a bidder for the La Fiesta revitalization project, said yesterday he’s not privy to the issue about the government’s plans about the RFP.

“It’s up to the government. It’s now beyond our control so I cannot comment on that,” he said.

Besides Demapan, the other officers of Pacific Entertainment Technology are Manny Borja, first vice president; Tony Rasiang, second vice president; and Jack Manglona, treasurer/secretary.

UMDA, the third bidder, owns the now-closed 313-room The Palms Resort across La Fiesta.

Initial estimates are that La Fiesta Mall renovations will cost at least $5 million, but this figure has turned out to be too conservative.

The government has been paying for the mall property lease at $200,000 a year at least since 2004 or a year after the government bought the complex in 2003.

The Babauta administration originally gave Northern Marianas College $3.5 million to purchase a property for a Pacific Gateway Project, which aimed to make NMC the region’s “education hub.” NMC, using the funds to make the initial payment, bought the former La Fiesta Shopping Complex for $7.5 million on Aug. 18, 2003. The $4-million balance was to be paid in increments of $200,000 annually until paid in full. In 2004, the Office of the Governor took over from NMC responsibility for the property.

Eight years after the purchase, the government is still spending $200,000 in annual lease payments, while the mall structure has deteriorated due to neglect and vandalism.

“The only reason why La Fiesta is an issue for us right now is because it’s an idle investment…so we’re trying to make it find some return,” Inos said.

Inos estimates that the government has already spent some $5 million to $6 million for the property, including the annual lease payment of $200,000.