From September 2005, nearly $2 million has been spent repositioning the Cotton Bay Resort in South Eleuthera in the international market, according to Franklyn Wilson, a key Bahamian investor of that project.
Mr. Wilson told The Bahama Journal that while the development is expected to create an economic boom for Eleuthera some setbacks are being experienced.
“We are beginning to experience challenges because [there] is more construction taking place in South Eleuthera than at any time in the last 30 years or so,” Mr. Wilson explained.
“There was not that much infrastructure to support new construction going on. By infrastructure, I mean suppliers, vendors, and skilled craft people. So that’s a pace that is a little slower than we expected, but we can only go as fast as the community could support.”
Phase one, which started last August, is expected to include two and three-bedroom villas, 114 estate lots and a clubhouse with full amenities. The development is scheduled to be completed some time next year.
Phase two, according to developers, will comprise a 73-guestroom resort, an 18-hole golf course, a spa, real estate development and expansion of the Davis Harbour Marina.
Mr. Wilson said that investors are determined not to change what makes South Eleuthera special.
He added that the resort has captured international attention.
“We are delighted that the international press like Travel and Leisure magazine is already saying that the return of Cotton Bay is really, really big news,” Mr. Wilson said.
“A lot of Bahamians do not know [the] wonderful legacy of Cotton Bay as the destination of choice in The Bahamas for the most discerning. We are making sure that we are launching that and I think that it is going to be absolutely phenomenal for The Bahamas as really a top shelf destination.”
Mr. Wilson also said that by the time the resort is completed, more than $300 million would have been spent.
On Monday, while announcing a development for Cat Island, Prime Minister Perry Christie touted the benefits of having anchor investment projects in Family Island communities.
“So long as we are able to have a major investment in each of the islands, you’re going to have that investment trigger off or act as a catalyst for the development of an economy that can sustain itself and then keep people on the island.”
Mr. Christie praised Mr. Wilson and his group for being bold enough to invest in a Bahamian island when so many Bahamian businesspeople have declined to do so.
“Franklyn Wilson’s development in Eleuthera, which is a mega investment for a Bahamian and the first of its kind for a Bahamian-led group, will hopefully demonstrate to Bahamians that we do not have to wait on, as has happened in the past, the lead Jamaican hoteliers-to come to the Bahamas to demonstrate confidence in the tourism industry.”
Meanwhile, several other Family Island investment projects are facing other difficulties.
For example, in Harbour Island, some residents have voiced fears that that project could destroy the island’s uniqueness.
Developers for that property are proposing to construct a 40-unit hotel condominium and a 50-slip marina.
Another project that has encountered resistance from some locals is the controversial Baker’s Bay development in Guana Cay.
The $500 million development will include oceanfront units, hillside units, internal gold lots, beach club cottages, mangrove beach bungalows, marina bungalows, village units and several boathouses.
The Save Guana Cay Association took the matter to court and an agreement was made to
cease construction until court proceedings are completed.
Meanwhile, some residents of Bimini also oppose the Bimini Bay project.
By: Royanne Forbes-Darville, The Bahama Journal
