Four men and a woman have emerged as primary movers behind two ambitious hotel projects for the Island.

The five are key figures in two separate development bids, one to bring a Ritz Carlton to the heart of Hamilton and the other for a five-star hotel resort on the overgrown Southlands estate in Warwick.

Well-known and successful Bermuda businessman Brian Duperreault and Theodore A. Adams III ? the son of a notable US Army officer and business leader who championed minority business development in the US ? are two of the five aspiring hotel developers.

Mr. Duperreault, 59, is one of the names behind the Southlands project, which became public knowledge last week when dramatic artist?s impressions were lodged at the planning department.

The non-executive chairman of ACE together with wife Nancy own Hall Limited, which holds one-third of the shares in Southlands Limited.

Southlands has proposed a two-phase redevelopment of the 37-acre estate in Warwick to create a hotel resort that slopes down to the beach with South Road tucked out of view beneath a landscaped land bridge.

Jumeirah, the operator of some of the world?s most opulent hotels, including the stunning sail-like Harj-al-Arab hotel in Dubai, has signed an understanding to run the hotel. The plan is currently awaiting approval for two special development orders to proceed to the next stage.

In 1976 the Southlands estate, which at the time resembled a botanical garden, was bought for $1,750,000 by the Willowbank Foundation charitable trust, which owns the Christian Willowbrook Hotel.

In August 2005 Southlands Limited ? with all its shares held by the charitable trust ? was incorporated as a company. At the end of the year it amalgamated with Brigadier Limited, a company incorporated in 2005 by businessman Nelson Hunt and Craig Christensen, 51.

The amalgamated Southlands Limited now has no connection with the Willowbank Foundation, according to a spokeswoman. Its two shareholders are listed as Hall Limited (the Duperreaults) with the remaining 8,000 shares belonging to Continental Trust Corporation Limited acting as trustee for the Tamarind Trust on behalf of Mr. Hunt and the Ferdinand Trust on behalf of Mr. Christensen. Mr. Christensen is a partner of professional services company Arthur Morris, Christensen and Co, while Mr. Hunt operates a number of business on the Island including Hunt?s Food and Supplies and Hunt?s Sanitation. Meanwhile, the proposed Ritz-Carlton business hotel in Hamilton has been granted a special development order and is now on its way to finalising its planning permission.

The developer behind is Unified Resorts Limited, with the sole shareholder listed as Theodore A. Adams III of Virginia.

Mr. Adams III, 42, is the son of the late Lt. Col. Dr. Theodore A. Adams Jr who formed Unified Industries Incorporated in 1970. The company, which is now headed by Mr. Adams III, has grown in size and employs hundreds of staff in offices across the US with a large diversity of interests and specialities.

A graduate of Rice University, UCLA, a Yale University programme in Hong Kong, and Harvard Business School, Mr. Adams III runs the organisation which he says has the expertise and knowledge to undertake large and complex developments as it employs former US Army generals and US Navy admirals who have previously been responsible for building military bases and complexes around the world. The corporation has done many projects for the US government during the past 35 years.