Fairmont Southampton SDO is officially gazetted
A special development order that paves the way for the construction of 250 tourism and residential units at the Fairmont Southampton provided for the creation of three protected conservation areas at the site, the realignment of South Road and improvements to the Railway Trail.
The statutory instrument was published this week on the Official Gazette, more than two years after Walter Roban, when he was the home affairs minister, greenlighted the scheme that split opinion across the island.
It noted that redevelopment of the 593-room hotel began last year with a reopening date of 2026 and added: “The new units of the development shall not be occupied until after the hotel’s opening date.”
The SDO provided that no use and occupancy certificates for units shall be issued until the hotel is fully redeveloped and reopened.
It allowed for the development of up to 159 tourist accommodation and up to 91 residential units in buildings of two to four storeys, with associated development such as common areas and recreational facilities.
Protected conservation areas outlined in the SDO included a 4.9-acre portion next to South Shore — zoned coastal reserve, open space reserve and woodland reserve.
Area 2 is a 1.4-acre spot to the North of Turtle Hill, zoned open space reserve and woodland reserve, while the third protected area is 1.2 acres to the north of the hotel, zoned tourism.
The SDO provided for the development of an internal system of roadways and associated parking areas, a network of footpaths, outdoor areas and landscaped grounds.
It added that the development will include “the realignment of South Road and consequent revised vehicular access to any affected existing property”, along with:
“The installation of an appropriate traffic control system, as approved by the minister responsible for highways at the northern site access junction with Middle Road and Lighthouse Hill.
“Improvements to the Railway Trail such as the replacement of an existing staircase or addition of a ramp, the installation of lighting and the removal of invasive species.
“The provision of seating and signage to promote visits to the historic gun emplacements within or adjacent to the Turtle Hill historic protection area.”
Westend Properties Ltd, the resort’s owner, applied in 2023 for an SDO that would significantly increase the scale of development permitted under an order granted in 2009 — ten years before the hotel site was acquired by Miami-based investment firm Gencom, of which Westend is an affiliate.
The earlier SDO allowed for the development of 71 fractional tourism units and 37 residential villas “for sale to non-Bermudians”, plus 22 townhouses “for sale only to Bermudians”.
Westend’s first proposal in April 2023 sought in-principle approval for up to 261 tourism and residential units in buildings of two to six storeys.
More than 4,000 people signed a petition calling for the plans to be scaled back over fears about their impact on the environment.
The redevelopment scheme was backed by former premier Sir John Swan and the Bermuda Industrial Union.
In July 2023, a revised SDO requested in-principle approval for up to 250 units and a number of community benefits were outlined.
A planning department report to the Development Applications Board found the proposal was considered to “represent an unsustainable form of development which would result in several adverse environmental effects” that Westend Properties had “failed to demonstrate can or would be satisfactorily mitigated”.
It was recommended that the minister did not proceed with making an SDO based on the submitted proposal.
The DAB, in September 2023, “unanimously confirmed its wholehearted and complete agreement with the assessment, conclusions and recommendations of the department that the minister should not proceed with making a special development order”.
Announcing his decision to approve the SDO the following month, Mr Roban said: “This is an anchor hotel … Everything rides on its success.”
He cited then an estimate by PricewaterhouseCoopers that the redevelopment of the island’s biggest resort, closed since 2020, would deliver an economic impact of $1.4 billion — with roughly $300 million attributable to job creation and $1.1 billion to “the broader impact of the demand for local services”.
Diallo Rabain, the Minister of the Cabinet Office and Digital Innovation — to whom responsibility for planning matters was later shifted — said this week that after “extensive conversations” with the Department of Planning, the SDO was finalised and ready to be signed into law.
He said that 24 local contractors and 641 people, including 242 Bermudians, spouses of Bermudians or permanent resident’s certificate holders, have worked on the redevelopment so far, and 450 people are expected to be employed at the hotel by the end of 2026.
Mr Rabain added: “Once the hotel is fully ramped up, I anticipate them employing close to 700 staff, and the Government is committed to seeing them hire as many qualified Bermudians as possible.”
In an Opinion article published in The Royal Gazette today, Chris Maybury, a representative of Westend Properties, said that the hotel was being “restored to its former glory, and beyond”.
He added: “There is still much work to be done on the residences project including final designs, planning applications and permits, and it is unlikely that any work will commence before 2027.”
Mr Maybury said: “We understand the concerns over environmental impact and are taking proactive steps to mitigate these effects, and protect and support the surrounding environment.”
He added that a website will soon be launched with information on the Southampton Residences project, and that additional information will be added to the site as plans progress.
• To read the Special Development Order, see Related Media
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