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Developers seeking financing to extend St George’s marina exclusivity deal

Big plans: How a new marina at Ordnance Island would look

A group of developers’ exclusivity agreement to build a hotel and marina on St George’s Harbour ends next month.But the Corporation of St. George’s said it could be extended - after a review.Leading Edge Ltd, whose principals include Jeremy Spencer and Chris West, had until December 31 to meet certain criteria set by the Corporation of St George.But so far they’ve not met the criteria and do not have the financing in place for the proposed development - although the principals told us they expected to soon have in place an initial first investment in the project from a private source.Corporation Secretary Courtney Trott confirmed the exclusivity agreement expired at the end of December.He said the Corporation is in touch with the developers on a regular basis and was open to extending their exclusivity agreement.The proposed 60-room hotel and 100-berth marina were expected to cost at least $80 million and take about two years to construct, with the marina to be built first.The Corporation was providing the land - a parking lot opposite Ordnance Island - and was to have the opportunity to profit from the development.Mr Spencer and Mr West had spoken of their hope of breaking ground next spring.“We are staunchly working on getting this done and are absolutely resolute in our intent to do this project for Bermuda,” said Mr Spencer, a former project manager for PW’s Marina and Atlantis apartments. “It’s a perfect project for St George’s. We have put enormous effort into it so far.”Mr West confirmed: “We will be seeking an extension. For 18 months of work on this so far we have done really well.”Plans for project have not been submitted yet for Planning approval although the principals and the Corporation have held preliminary discussions with Planning.There were no updates on two other major projects slated for the East End:l Plans for developer Carl Bazarian’s proposed resort on the old Club med site received planning approval with 45 conditions attached, but detailed plans were still being drafted and have not yet been submitted to Planning for final approval. Once approved, the resort is expected to take two years to build from ground-breaking.l Final design plans for a proposed 160-berth marina in St George’s near Swing Bridge on Meyer land by WEC Ltd remain “under review” at Planning. The plans have in-principle but not final approval.

Vision of the future: An artist's sketch of the planned boutique hotel in St George's