WESTERN BUREAU: Three months after the 130-room Jack Tar Village Resort in Montego Bay closed its doors, there is still no clear indication as to when the property will be reopened.

Jack Tar was closed in September last year following the premature termination of a management contract with its then operators, Allegro Resorts. The contract was terminated by Hescov Investment Limited who operate out of Montego Bay.

At the time, a Hescov representative who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they would work towards reopening the hotel in time for the start of the winter tourist season. But the December 15 deadline has come and gone without any sign that the resort would reopen any time soon.

On Monday, a company official told the Observer that they were currently in discussions regarding the management of the hotel. The source added, however, that it was too early to give details on the progress of those negotiations.

“We are just talking to various people (but) nothing concrete has been arrived at and I don’t want to say more than that right now,” the representative said. “I am in the middle of discussions and I can’t say anything more than that.”

He said he did not want to jeopardise the negotiations.

“These things are very sensitive. I don’t want to spoil anything. I am just trying to do good for myself and (for) Montego Bay,” he added.

Allegro had managed the property since the late 1970s when it was owned by the now defunct National Hotel Properties. Hescov renewed the management contract with Allegro in 1997, seven years after purchasing the Montego Bay property.

But faced with falling occupancy levels, down from 92 per cent before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Hescov reneged on the contract with Allegro, bringing a premature end to the agreement.

It, however, came as no surprise to Allegro who accepted Hescov’s decision, ostensibly without complaint.

“We have accepted (it and) negotiated the departure with them (Hescov). So at this stage, I would call it a mutual agreement,” an Allegro official told the Observer last September after they were served with the notice for the premature termination of the contract.

Some 100 workers were laid off when the hotel closed last September but Hescov has retained a team of employees to guard against the property falling into disrepair.

“I have a couple of gardeners and engineers and the property is being kept up to date,” the Hescov representative said Monday.