Earlier in the news, you saw Mirab owner Mike Bou-Nahra explaining how he sold his old Mirab Building, and other properties, to the Public Utilities Commission for 10.3 million dollars. We have a little more from that interview, in which he took on tough questions about his asking price, and about concerns that there was a conflict of interest. His brother, Pierre, was a sitting member of the Commissioner back in December 2019 when the deal was first struck. But he told the media today, that his brother was not in any way involved in it. Here are those parts of the conversation:
Michael Bou-nahra - Sold Properties to PUC
"My brother, Pierre, had nothing to do with the negotiation. He was actually not involved. I'm the CEO of the company, and I met with Mr. Kimano Barrow and the Chairman of the PUC, Mr. Avery, and we started the negotiations."
Reporter
"Did your family member in any way interacted interact with this particular sale, giving any sort of contact, any sort of connections to the people you met with?"
Michael Bou-nahra
"Not as far as I am concerned. I know he was not involved in any of it."
Reporter
"Did the Government over-pay for an asset that isn't worth as much as the agreement that was signed for it?"
Michael Bou-nahra
"Definitely not because if we calculate - and it's general terms, the building is 21 thousand square feet. A building with that quality is - construction at the moment now, at this time, is anywhere between $250 to $500, and that's public knowledge. Something with that quality, let's take an average of $350 dollars per-square-foot. That puts it at 7 million, 350 thousand, for the building, just to construct that in today's market. What happens to the properties that it sits on? That's one of the best properties in that area, luxurious. It sits on 2 properties, 20 thousand square feet. At 2 million dollars for the property, that's 9.3, and the other property is worth a million dollars. So, that's 10.3. That's where the figure came from."
We have reached out to Dean Molina, the new Chairman of the PUC for comment, but up to news time, we have not received a response. We also contacted Kimano Barrow, the former PUC commissioner who Bou-Nahra named as one of the contact persons for this sale. He declined comment saying that he is no longer at the Commission.
