A $60 million plan for a hotel and all-weather entertainment complex at the Victualling Yard in Dockyard has been shelved after the consortium behind the venture failed to secure the required funding in time.

Wilson Allen Architecture & Interior Design had been selected as the front-runner to develop the historic site, but its deadline to deliver a return-on-investment case, already extended by three months, has now come and gone.

Andrew Dias, the general manager of the West End Development Corporation (Wedco), has said that letters had been sent to the two other shortlisted developers, including a group from Boston that is developing hotels around the world.

Mr Dias said it was “not yet appropriate” to name the group and would not say whether it had made a case for a hotel in Dockyard.

However, he did say: “They are an overseas group that has been developing hotels globally.

“We feel that they fit closest to Wedco’s development plan.

“Part of our plan is to attract people to the Dockyard area all year round. It could be residential through the private sector, businesses or a hotel.

“The challenge in Dockyard is we are a cruise ship port and we are moving people out all over Bermuda. We would like to extend the shoulder months to have more activity, whether it is through a hotel or through residents who live, work and play in the area or on a commercial basis. You need a reason for people to be here.”

The original plans by Jon Wilson Allen, the principal, had included a lavish glass dome roof covering the Victualling Yard, housing an all-weather entertainment complex as well as a 125-room hotel.

Mr Dias said that, while the consortium was still interested in pursuing the plan, he could not “leave it open-ended for ever”.

He told The Royal Gazette: “We have an ROI that expired at the end of October. We followed up with the Jon Wilson Allen group and, while they still have a desire to do it, the financing has been more of a challenge than they had anticipated.

“They were trying to secure funding from various different sources, which to date has not come to fruition.

“We felt it was time to not continue with the MOU [memorandum of understanding] we had in place. It doesn’t mean they do not have the capability of putting a plan together; if it is completed, we encourage them to come back to us.

“However, at that time, they would have no exclusivity to the negotiation time frame.

“We have sent out letters to the other applicants and I am waiting on responses — it has been only a matter of days.”

Mr Dias said that Wedco believed that only the first two choices in the request for proposal process “had the ability and possibly the funding” to proceed with.

The corporation is already planning to “clean up” the Victualling Yard and pull down the dilapidated roofs on the surrounding buildings.

Mr Dias said that if that nothing came of the existing applicants, Wedco would continue its search for another developer.

“I would encourage anyone who not only has an idea but the capability and financing to please provide us with some information,” he said.

Asked what the chances of a development being completed in time for the America’s Cup in 2017, he added: “My gut feeling is that there will not be time to get something there in time due to the time it takes to come up with a design, getting it through planning, consulting with the public, government and stakeholders, and getting it all completed. To do that by early 2017 is pretty tough, at best.

“Anyone can approach Wedco if they have a solid business plan and show how it will fit in with the overall area. We want to do something; we want to get it cleaned up, used and back to its former glory, and be able to create some activity.”