WILLEMSTAD – The Curaçao government’s offer to purchase the former SEHOS complex contained no plan for restoring and protecting its cultural heritage, while competing buyer Otrabanda Village B.V. submitted a broader redevelopment proposal, according to bankruptcy trustee Danilo Narvaez.
The difference between the proposals was one of several factors Narvaez says were considered when the SEHOS estate sold the hospital complex to Otrabanda Village for XCG 10 million.
The trustee disclosed the information in an October 7 letter following criticism from Minister Charles Cooper over the sale.
Narvaez said the decision was not based solely on which party offered the highest purchase price.
According to the trustee, Otrabanda Village’s proposal included a master plan covering restoration and protection of the complex’s cultural heritage as well as the future development and operation of the hospital property and surrounding land.
Curaçao’s offers, by contrast, dealt only with payment of a purchase price and did not address restoration, cultural heritage protection or future development, Narvaez said.
The issue is particularly significant because Cooper has argued publicly that government involvement was necessary to protect the historic property and prevent the area from falling entirely into the hands of commercial developers.
Narvaez’s account now presents the other side of that argument: according to the trustee, it was the private purchaser rather than the government that included a heritage and redevelopment plan as part of its proposal.
The trustee also said abandoning negotiations with Otrabanda Village after they had reached an advanced stage could have exposed the bankruptcy estate to legal liability and damages.
Otrabanda Village had originally shown interest in the property shortly after SEHOS was declared bankrupt on June 11, 2025.
According to Narvaez, the company offered XCG 10 million in early October 2025. The trustee considered that price acceptable based partly on a September 2022 appraisal that placed the forced-sale value of the hospital complex at XCG 8.15 million.
Narvaez said he was not aware of appraisal reports valuing the complex at XCG 18 million or XCG 26 million, figures subsequently mentioned publicly by Cooper.
The trustee said that, to date, he still has no knowledge of such appraisal reports.