Fire destroys Nygard's Bahamas compound

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This article was published 12/11/2009 (2834 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of Winnipeg’s richest entrepreneurs is potentially homeless — temporarily at least — after a fire in the Bahamas destroyed much of the sprawling residential compound of Peter Nygard.

Firefighters were called to the fashion designer’s 150,000-square-foot Mayan-themed complex at Lyford Cay early Wednesday morning and found its famous multi-storey tree house as well as several other buildings in the northern and southwestern part of the compound fully engulfed in flames.

Sharon Clarke, director of communications with Nygard International, said the damage was "substantial" but the cause of the blaze has yet to be determined.

"(The site) still had hot spots on it. The main thing is nobody was hurt at all," she said. "Will he rebuild? Most likely, yes."

The multi-million-dollar complex, which was constructed over the last two decades, featured two beaches, three lit beach volleyball courts, a tennis court, a basketball court, a disco, three boats, a 24-seat movie theatre, a staff of 20, a grand dining hall and 25 cabanas, each equipped with a kitchen, bathroom, jacuzzi and outdoor shower. It has been profiled on Oprah Winfrey’s television show as well as Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

A report in The Nassau Guardian said that a little over two weeks ago, Nygard told the paper that he had spoken to the government about plans to turn his multimillion dollar Lyford Cay home into an uber-luxurious development for high-end visitors.

"We're in the planning process to expand Nygard Cay tremendously [and we're] working with the Bahamian government to summarize plans for a major expansion into operations," Nygard said. "It's going to be very exciting ... It's going to be a luxury development, a very high-class exclusive hotel or resort for top end customers."

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca