A five-star hotelier has been secured to run the new hotel development planned for the old Club Med site in St. George's.

Head of the St. George's Consortium Wanda Dorosz said yesterday that the hotelier has been landed, though she would not reveal who it was.

The consortium is planning to develop the old Club Med site into a five-star hotel and condominium complex, and a local company has been incorporated to do so. Demolition of the old Club Med at the site could begin by this autumn.

Financing for the project is also in place and the company is "very advanced" in outstanding matters with Government over the project, Ms Dorosz said. She declined to reveal what those matters were, however added they are in the "ordinary course" of business.

Projected outlay for the project stood at around $210 million at the start of 2005. The number of hotel units will be greater than the number of housing units, she said (originally there were to be 90 of each), and the development will necessitate the demolition of the old hotel on the site.

The development will be completed in Bermuda-style architecture and the existing underground theatre will be refurbished along with Fort Victoria. Those venues will then be used for cultural activities.

"We are just weeks away from major announcements," Ms Dorosz said during a brief break between travels in Canada yesterday. "If we meet the set deadlines, demolition could begin by fall of 2005."

The development will touch many Ministries in Bermuda Government, she said, adding that all have been very cooperative since work began on the project in spring of 2002. "I'm very happy from this end. So far so good."

It may appear that little has been done at the site itself, she added, but much has been going on behind the scenes.

Work will begin on both the condos and the hotel simultaneously, and the development may be the largest on the Island.