A New York hedge fund manager intends to create a $145 million "ultra-luxury resort" on the site of the old Lantana cottage colony.

Lawrence Doyle said he had bought out the previous owners of the 9.6-acre Somerset site, Lantana Resort Ltd. and Great Sound Realty Ltd., and hopes to start work on the redevelopment by the start of next year.

In a statement released on Friday, Mr. Doyle said: "Lantana was previously under contract with Mr. Tom Lawrence. Mr. Lawrence withdrew, in writing, on February 1, 2008, citing 'the influence of an imminent recession'."

DR Lantana Management LLC, 100 percent owned by the Lawrence P. Doyle and Karen Doyle Irrevocable Trust of New York, is the new company founded to develop the West End property. The deal was closed on Friday.

Mr. Doyle plans to develop a small, ultra-luxury, exclusive resort, aimed at affluent, repeat visitors. The cottage colony, which was owned by the late John Young, closed down 10 years ago.

The statement added: "The project will leverage the site's unique attributes, such as its sheltered bay and stunning mature vegetation, by creating an award-winning resort, featuring a world-class restaurant, spa and yacht club, befitting the history and potential of the site and island." Mr. Doyle told The Royal Gazette: "Depending on how it goes with the planning process, I'm hoping that we can start work on the project by the first of next year, with a view to opening in the summer of 2010."

Previously, a number of investors had planned to transform the resort with 40 hotel suites, 17 beachfront villas, a 25,000 square-foot spa and conference centre, a marina and an expanded man-made beach. But after a key investor, Connecticut-based Tanner and Haley, pulled out in early 2006 and sold its interest in the scheme to a third party which subsequently opted out of the project, the plan was scuppered.

The site was put up for sale in the summer of 2006, with an asking price of $18.5 million.

"I'm the sole person putting the team together, so I'm hoping I can streamline it a bit compared to when there were a number of different people investing," Mr. Doyle said.

The money manager who is chairman and co-founder of Kinetics Asset Management, Inc., which manages some $20 billion in assets and is based in New York, said he would be providing a proportion of the estimated $145 million project from his own pocket.

Mr. Doyle said he loves the site and will be visiting it this week, when he arrives on the Island with Chris Lehman, whom he described as a "future partner" in the project.

Lantana was one of the first cottage colony resorts when it opened in the 1950s and it retained a reputation for friendliness and excellent service until its closure in 1998.